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CTV News
20 minutes ago
- CTV News
High bacteria levels closes local beaches
Lifeguards on duty at Main Beach in Port Stanley, Ont., seen on July 7, 2019. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) A few local beaches have been declared not safe for swimming by area health units. In Huron County, Ashfield, Port Albert, and Goderich Main Beach are under a no-swim advisory. At Little Beach in Port Stanley, a swimming advisory is in place after high levels of bacteria were detected in the most recent water sample results.


CTV News
20 minutes ago
- CTV News
Dr. Trevor Arnason named Ottawa's new medical officer of health
Dr. Trevor Arnason speaks to CTV News Ottawa. May 1, 2025. Arnason has been appointed as the new medical officer of health for the City of Ottawa. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa) Ottawa City Council has approved the appointment of Dr. Trevor Arnason as the city's new medical officer of health. Arnason has been serving as the interim medical officer of health since Feb. 1, after Dr. Vera Etches left Ottawa Public Health earlier this year to become the new president and CEO of CHEO. Arnason served as deputy medical officer of health in Ottawa since May 2024 and associate medical officer of health (AMOH) since 2019. 'As AMOH, he was the physician responsible for immunization programs and served as the lead medical consultant for the City of Ottawa's COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Taskforce. He has also been the AMOH responsible for portfolios in sexually transmitted and bloodborne Infections, chronic disease and injury prevention and mental health and substance use,' Ottawa Public Health says on its website. Prior to joining Ottawa Public Health, Arnason was the Regional Medical Officer of Health for Halifax, N.S. from 2016 to 2018. OPH says Arnason was born and raised in Ottawa and holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biology and a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Ottawa and a Medical Doctorate from the University of Toronto. Arnason earned a salary of $270,912 in 2024 as deputy medical officer of health. Etches, in her final year as medical officer of health, earned $325,484, according to Ontario's Sunshine List.


Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
What's Shaping CVS' Health Care Benefits Arm for the Rest of 2025?
In the first quarter of 2025, CVS Health 's CVS Health Care Benefits segment grew 8% year over year, mainly due to strength in Medicare. Elevated utilization trends in inpatient, outpatient and medical pharmacy categories persisted, though a seasonally strong performance in the Part D products provided a boost. CVS highlighted improved Medicare Advantage star ratings for the payment year 2025 as a key contributor. Encouragingly, Aetna is making headway in returning to its target margins, supported by improvements across all its business lines. Medical cost trends remained elevated but showed initial signs of stabilization. In Medicaid, the company's rate advocacy efforts are tracking in line with 2025 expectations. The commercial business could continue to modestly outperform, aided by regained competitiveness in CVS' fully insured book through disciplined pricing, trend and stronger retention. Meanwhile, CVS plans to exit its individual exchange business in 2026 from the states, where Aetna independently operates Affordable Care Act ('ACA') plans, to concentrate on Medicare, commercial and Medicaid areas. In this regard, a $448 million premium deficiency reserve was created for expected 2025 losses, including $431 million tied to healthcare costs. Further, Aetna's new approach of bundling prior authorizations for certain cancer-related scans and tests has received positive feedback from plan sponsors, with expansion planned for musculoskeletal and select cardiology services this year. Medical membership stayed flat sequentially at 27.1 million. The medical benefit ratio (MBR) improved 310 basis points from last year to 87.3%. Following the quarter, the expiration of a premium grace period for the Individual Exchange members led to a nearly 300,000-member decline, which will be reflected in second-quarter numbers. CVS projects full-year 2025 MBR to land around 91.3% while maintaining a 'respectful view' of medical cost trends. Lastly, Health Care Benefit adjusted operating income is expected to reach around $1.91 billion, an increase of approximately $400 million. The gain largely reflects the prior-year reserve development, offset by changes in estimates related to prior-period revenues that it experienced in the first quarter. A Note on CVS Health Care Benefits' Rivals UnitedHealth Group 's UNH UnitedHealthcare revenues grew 12% in the first quarter of 2025, supported by higher individuals served through Medicare Advantage, fee-based commercial offerings and those with higher acuity needs and the IRA-driven impacts on Medicare Part D plans. Unexpectedly, UNH saw heightened Medicare Advantage care activity trends in the quarter, especially in physician and outpatient services. As a result, UNH now projects operating earnings in UnitedHealthcare between $16 billion and $16.5 billion for the year. The Cigna Group CI reported strong first-quarter 2025 revenues from Cigna Healthcare, driven by growth in Select segment customers and strong rate execution. Within the U.S. Healthcare unit, Cigna completed the divestiture of Medicare businesses to Health Care Services Corporation on March 19, 2025, a month later than planned, which modestly lifted earnings for the quarter. However, CI's medical care ratio (MCR) rose as businesses typically run at a higher MCR than the rest. CVS' Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates Year to date, CVS Health shares have risen 36.1% against the industry's 10.3% fall. CVS shares are trading at a forward five-year price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24, much discounted than the 13.59 industry average. The stock sits with a Value Score of A. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Analyst estimates for the company's 2025 earnings are showing a bullish trend. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research CVS stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis Report Cigna Group (CI): Free Stock Analysis Report CVS Health Corporation (CVS): Free Stock Analysis Report