#UK 16 gifts that the modern gentleman actually wants this year

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hamilton watch gift guide

What do you get for the man that has everything he needs? Easy. You get him something he didn’t know he needed.

Buying for men is difficult. They might not always have a wish list ready, so you’re often stuck guessing.

Guess no more. We have a list of gifts that the modern gentleman in your life will, no doubt, love.

From his new favorite whiskey to a watch that will last years longer than anything with an Apple logo on it, these are 16 items he didn’t even know he needed.

You can take all the credit. We won’t tell.

SEE ALSO: 17 gifts any beer geek would love to get

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A whiskey he’s never heard of — but will love.

Widow Jane is an award-winning bourbon whiskey distilled right in Brooklyn. It’s aged 8 years with deep cherry notes and a light tannic finish.

It’ll likely be his new favorite.

Price: $65

And a set of nice drinking glasses to go along with it.

New direct-to-consumer ecommerce brand Snowe bypasses the department store to offer well-designed, quality home goods online. These short tumbler glasses are a handsome add to any bar set.

They’re made from beautiful crystalline glass with a weighted bottom, but they’re still durable and dishwasher-safe.

Price: $60

A duffle bag that will last him his entire life.

Sure, he probably already has a duffel bag. But it’s likely an Adidas sports one he used to take to lacrosse practice in college. He deserves an upgrade that’s no less rugged.

Filson makes virtually indestructible products that will last him his entire life — and then some. Oh, and they’re quite handsome, too. 

Price: $345

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#UK A CEO says one of the biggest challenges of her job is something no one can fix

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Stephi MaronStephi Maron has a lot on her plate.

She founded the first Blushington Makeup & Beauty Lounge in West Hollywood in 2011, and has since opened four more stores.

Her company, which offers professional make-up application services starting at $20, among other things, currently employs about 100 people — and the business is still growing.  

But with growth come challenges, says Maron, 26, who is also the CEO of her company.

One of the hardest parts of her job, she says, is not having enough time to get everything done.

“Brand new businesses require a lot of attention,” she tells Business Insider. “As a CEO or founder, you have to know and understand everything that goes on in your business at every level. There just aren’t enough hours in the day — and that’s one of my biggest challenges. But I am not complaining … I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Of course, there’s no way to “fix” this problem, as we can’t add a twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth hour to the day — but there are ways to deal with the challenge, she says.

To get more done in the little time she feels she has, Maron says she’s diligent about managing her time and prioritizing tasks.

Blushington“I map out with my team what we have to do for the week, month, and year,” she says. “We have ‘touch-base meetings’ where we create to-do lists and those are always helpful. I keep the lists on the wall in my office.” Managing and planning out her days, weeks, and years helps her stay on track.

“As we continue to grow our business, I have also found that prioritization is instrumental in our success,” she adds. “I like to meet with my teams on a monthly basis to pre-plan all of our upcoming activities. This ensures that as a business we are all on the same page and can operate smoothly.”

Prioritizing tasks and projects helps remind Maron of what’s most important to get done when she feels like she’s running out of time.

Multitasking is another time-saving skill she’s learning to master.

“I travel a lot, so working from the plane always helps,” she explains. “Blushington is my baby, so I technically have five babies that I care for at all times in the day. It’s a 24/7 job.”

SEE ALSO: A startup founder shares her 4 best tricks for saving time

DON’T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

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NOW WATCH: These are the worst jobs for your health

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#UK Life or death of hospitalized 20-year-old back in Reno court

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RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada hospital wants a judge to order new tests for a college student who has been on life support since doctors declared her brain-dead more than six months ago, a move her father opposes because he insists she’s alive and doesn’t want to pull the plug.

The case returns to Washoe County District Court on Wednesday after the Nevada Supreme Court refused to allow Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno to disconnect Aden Hailu, 20, from a ventilator and IV tube.

In granting her father’s appeal, the high court on Nov. 16 directed Judge Frances Doherty to hold hearings on whether the American Association of Neurology’s brain-death guidelines cited by hospital doctors conform with Nevada’s Determination of Death Act and effectively determine whether Hailu is legally dead or alive.

“Aden is alive, under both the AAN guidelines and Nevada state law,” said David O’Mara, the lawyer representing Fanuel Gebreyes, the woman’s father.

Hailu, a University of Nevada, Reno, freshman, was hospitalized April 1 after complaining of stomach pain. She suffered severe low blood pressure and a lack of oxygen to the brain during surgery to remove her appendix and explore the cause of abdominal pain, and she never awoke from anesthesia, according to court documents.

Electroencephalogram, or EEG, tests in early April showed brain function. But hospital doctors concluded May 28 that Hailu couldn’t breathe on her own without a ventilator and declared her brain-dead, the documents said.

“It was Saint Mary’s administrators and lawyers who determined Aden’s death,” O’Mara said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “We should err on the side that this person is alive.”

The hospital had agreed to continue life support pending Gebreyes’ appeal.

William Peterson, lead lawyer for the hospital and its parent company Prime Healthcare Services, filed documents Nov. 25 asking that the father be required to show why he won’t allow another EEG test.

The hospital attorney accused Gebreyes of trying “to avoid a prompt and timely testing of brain functions so as to delay a prompt and timely determination of death.”

Peterson said Gebreyes insists that his daughter be given thyroid medication and a tracheostomy so she can receive nutrition through her throat, not just fluids through an IV.

“Aden needs treatment, not tests of her brain,” Gebreyes wrote in a Nov. 20 letter to the hospital that he demanded be attached to her patient chart. “The Nevada Supreme Court ruled … that Aden Hailu is alive.”

He has declined to comment ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. His attorney said in a letter to the hospital that Gebreyes won’t allow brain tests until his daughter is given a tracheostomy, nutrition and thyroid medication.

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Associated Press writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

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#UK No. 1 Clemson, No. 8 North Carolina worried over turnovers

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FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2015, file photo, Clemson’s Jordan Leggett, left, dives for a loose ball that he fumbled with several Syracuse players in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Syracuse, N.Y. Syracuse recovered the fumble. Turnovers is an area of concern the top-ranked Tigers need to shore up before facing No. 8 North Carolina for the ACC championship Saturday night. (AP Photo/Nick Lisi, File)

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney still can’t wrap his head around it: The Tigers routinely lose the turnover battle and yet win the game.

“It’s a concern,” Swinney said. “The good news is we’re 12-0 so we don’t have to play perfect to win.”

There been little evidence of perfect play on offense at times for No. 1 Clemson (12-0, No. 1 CFP), which faces No. 8 North Carolina (11-1, No. 10 CFP) for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship on Saturday night.

The Tigers have committed more turnovers than their opponents in six games this year, including the past three weeks. Quarterback Deshaun Watson, tailback Wayne Gallman and receiver Artavis Scott all coughed up the ball against South Carolina to help the hapless Gamecocks score their most points this season in a 37-32 Tigers’ win.

But it could catch up with the Tigers.

Swinney knows it’s an issue, noting teams that commit two more turnovers than their opponents win just 16 percent of those games.

“It’s happened to us six times,” the coach said of his team beating the odds. “I don’t recommend that.”

Swinney worries a seventh time losing the turnover battle could be costly.

The Tar Heels are tied for 16th nationally in turnover margin coming into the title game. They went three straight games at one point this season — coinciding with wins at Pittsburgh along with home routs of Duke and Miami — without a turnover.

Not that North Carolina has been unaffected by miscues.

It’s lone loss, 17-13 to South Carolina in Charlotte to start the season, came in part because of Marquise Williams’ three interceptions — two of them coming in the end zone.

The quarterback took full responsibility for the loss, and made a personal pledge.

“I told myself, I’ll be back here. It’s going to be a special one. That’s what I promised myself,” he said. “” just tell the guys, ‘I let you down that first one, but I’m going to get us back and we’re going to have some fun during the second one.'”

Only if they, like the Tigers, stop the mistakes.

The Tar Heels lost three fumbles at Virginia Tech, which nearly proved costly when they blew a 24-10 fourth-quarter lead before winning in overtime to clinch the Coastal Division crown. They followed that with three more turnovers at rival North Carolina State, which helped the Wolfpack hang around after falling behind 35-7 in the first quarter.

North Carolina coach Larry Fedora has emphasized protecting the ball all season to Williams and the team, preaching the importance of “100 percent ball security” and noting that coaches in practice are often yelling at players who aren’t in their position group to protect the ball if they notice a concern.

The Tar Heels have turned the ball over 15 times this season while Clemson has had 24 turnover — 10 of those coming the last three games.

The Tigers’ problems could come from lack of focus: It’s final three opponents in Syracuse, Wake Forest and South Carolina were a combined 10-26 this season.

Clemson has certainly performed better in its biggest games. It created four turnovers while only giving away one in a 24-22 win over Notre Dame. The Tigers were turnover free and forced two against Florida State to clinch the ACC Atlantic.

Watson has made his errors, too, with 10 interceptions, five times as many he threw as a freshman.

Clemson tight end Jordan Leggett said players are drilling on ball protection this week, even doing extra laps if they drop a ball.

“It’s almost like muscle memory to try and make us not have that happen,” Leggett said.

While Swinney is working to eliminate the turnovers, he said several of them come from players seeking extra yards or making that successful play. He can live with those.

“There ain’t nothing wrong with that extra want-to or that extra fight,” he said. “That’s why we’re 12-0.”

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AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard contributed to this report from Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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#UK Outfielder Chris Young, Red Sox finalize $13M, 2-year deal

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FILE - In this July 28, 2015, file photo, New York Yankees' Chris Young is congratulated in the dugout after he and Garrett Jones scored on a John Ryan Murphy single in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, in Arlington, Texas. Outfielder Chris Young and the Boston Red Sox have finalized a  million, two-year contract in a deal announced Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. The 32-year-old Young had been with the New York Yankees since August 2014 and hit .252 with 14 homers and 42 RBIs in 318 at-bats. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

BOSTON (AP) — Don’t expect any more blockbusters from the Boston Red Sox this offseason, new baseball boss Dave Dombrowski said after announcing a deal with outfielder Chris Young on Wednesday.

The $13 million contract, two-year contract to make Young a fourth outfielder comes a day after the Red Sox agreed to give potential ace David Price the biggest deal ever for a pitcher: $217 million over seven years. That agreement has not been announced, but a person with knowledge of the negotiations described it to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because Price must still pass his physical.

“I feel good about the roster as it is. I think we’ve been able to address really our biggest needs,” Dombrowski said Wednesday during a conference call. “I think our major moves are done. But when you go into the winter meetings, you never know what happens.”

Young, 32, had been with the New York Yankees since August 2014, batting.252 with 14 homers and 42 RBIs in 318 at-bats. He hit .327 against left-handers this season; with its 37-foot high Green Monster just 310 feet from the plate in left field, Fenway Park seems ideal for his swing.

“One of my major strengths is pulling the ball. I think that Fenway can be advantageous to that,” Young said. “Hopefully, my just-misses, I can get rewarded for that.”

A 2010 All-Star with Arizona, Young has a career .235 average with 169 homers and 528 RBIs over 10 seasons. He will receive $6.5 million in each of the next two years.

The announcement came a day after the Red Sox agreed to terms with Price to become the ace of a pitching staff that lacked one in 2015, when the once-proud ballclub went 78-84 for its third last-place finish in four years. Red Sox spokesman Kevin Gregg said at the beginning of the conference call that the team would not be discussing Price.

But Young said the news was encouraging as his new team tries to bounce back.

“It’s a great feeling to be on a team that’s trying to make those moves and go all the way,” he said. “I think that sends a message to your team, I think that sends a message to your fans of what the goal is.”

Dombrowski said at the end of the season that his goals were to add a pitcher for the front of the rotation and a fourth outfielder to shore up a lineup that is expected to include youngsters Rusney Castillo, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts. Manager John Farrell said Young could play himself into the lineup as more than just a reserve.

“He was at the top of our list,” Dombrowski said. “He fits really what we were looking for as a player.”

Right-hander Roman Mendez was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot.

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#UK Lululemon has a new mirror that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before

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Lululemon

Retail stores are testing new high-tech mirrors.

Ralph Lauren launched interactive mirrors in its New York City flagship store in November.

Now Lululemon has a similar feature in its flagship store — only this mirror offers different features for use. 

While Ralph Lauren’s smart mirrors are in its fitting rooms, Lululemon’s are on the floor and emphasize learning about the community.

Lululemon refers to it as its digital community board. 

While it was tricky to photograph, I went to Lululemon to check it out.

SEE ALSO: I tried the new fitting room at Ralph Lauren and it blew my mind

Lululemon has two digital community mirrors created by tech company Noble. One is located in its flagship store in Manhattan, the other is in Vancouver.

Lululemon’s digital community board is interactive with its concierge service that connects shoppers with places to see, eat, or sweat in the surrounding area. A sales associate can update the mirror with classes, restaurants, and events happening in the community.

These interactive mirrors have five options to choose from: “mirror”, “see community events”, “find places to sweat”, “plan your run”, or “view our favorites”.

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#UK The major concern about a powerful new gene-editing technique that most people don’t want to talk about

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dna cut and paste crispr

Scientists, bioethicists, and members of the public have descended on Washington, DC this week for an international meeting to discuss the ethics of a promising lab technique that lets scientists edit our genes.

The technique, known as CRISPR/Cas9, lets scientists cut-and-paste DNA inside cells to correct genetic defects or, potentially, add new capabilities. It offers enormous promise to improve our understanding of biology and to treat or even eliminate genetic diseases.

But there’s a dark side to manipulating our genetics that few want to discuss: Eugenics, the racist practice of trying to “improve” the human race by controlling genetics and reproduction.

A disturbingly widespread practice

While eugenics is most commonly associated with Nazi Germany, it was alive and well in the US and in other countries well before World War II, Daniel Kevles, a historian of science at New York University, said during a talk at the gene editing summit on Monday.

“Eugenics was not unique to the Nazis. It could — and did — happen everywhere,” Kevles said.

He and others worry that gene editing tools like CRISPR could bring back something similar to eugenics by allowing us to create so-called “designer babies” with specific mental or physical characteristics.

Francis_Galton_1850sEugenics first gained popularity at the turn of the 20th century. The term was coined by the English polymath Francis Galton, Darwin’s half-cousin and one of the field’s pioneers. At its core, eugenics is about promoting the reproduction of so-called “superior” people and preventing reproduction among so-called “inferior” people.

Many prominent scientists were also supporters, Kevles said, including Charles Davenport, the director of New York’s prestigous Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Davenport founded the Eugenics Record Office, which pursued eugenics research from 1910 to 1939; its board included the inventor Alexander Graham Bell, according to the ERO archives.

Eugenics was popularized in books and articles, and newspaper headlines of the time heralded the “era of supermen.” State fairs held fitter family contests, where teams of doctors performed psychological and physical exams on family members. The family with the highest eugenic health grade was awarded a trophy.

But it gets far worse than that.

Forced sterilization

The US also has a sordid history of involuntary sterilization. More than 60,000 people in over 30 states had forced sterilization laws, which were often applied to people with mental illness or minorities. In the 1927 Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell, the court ruled in favor of a Virginia law allowing state-sanctioned sterilization. Eighteen-year-old Carrie Buck was ordered sterilized because she was deemed “feeble-minded” after becoming pregnant (though she was allegedly raped).

These sterilization policies paved the way for similar laws in Europe, including Nazi Germany. In the wake of Nazi eugenics experiments, the practice became less popular, but it persisted in the American legal system for years.

Today, eugenics is a dirty word. But that doesn’t mean we’re immune to going down that path again, Kevles argued. With CRISPR, we have the ability to make changes to the human genome with unprecedented ease.

For example, sometime in the future you could imagine using CRISPR to create a child who was blond-haired and blue-eyed, like the racist Aryan ideal espoused by the Nazis.

We now know most of the genes involved in controlling eye color. But hair color and other “designer” traits are more complex, controlled by many genes, and today’s gene editing tools are still fairly rudimentary.

Still, they’re getting better all the time.

Kevles pointed to a number of forces that could drive gene editing technology in an uncomfortable direction: the economics of lowering medical costs, selection for races with a lower risk of a particular disease, overconfidence in genes as the basis of bad traits, and finally, consumer demand to improve ourselves.

The question is, he asked, how will couples who plan to have a baby respond to these pressures?

SEE ALSO: Scientists may soon be able to ‘cut and paste’ DNA to cure deadly diseases and design perfect babies

DON’T MISS: 2 leading biologists say we should allow gene editing on human embryos

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NOW WATCH: Watch science writer Carl Zimmer explain CRISPR in 90 seconds

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#UK Derek Jeter and David Ortiz are giving a hot Valley startup an unprecedented opportunity to shine — or fail

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Blue Jeans Network’s CEO Krish Ramakrishnan

On December 4, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz will announced the details of his retirement through Derek Jeter’s media startup, The Players’ Tribune.

And he’s doing it an unprecedented way.

He’s holding a live Internet press conference in his home country, the Dominican Republic, from the golf course during his 8th Annual David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic.

An internet press conference isn’t so unusual, but in this case, The Players’ Tribune is also going to allow 1,000 fans to virtually attend the video conference, and give a few of them the chance to talk with the baseball star and ask him questions over the internet.

And the whole situation has Blue Jeans Network’s CEO Krish Ramakrishnan alternatively thrilled and biting his nails, he told us. 

That’s because the event will take place through Blue Jeans Network, a hot Valley startup with a video conference platform that allows people on different video conference apps to chat together, i.e. Skype, Google Hangouts, Cisco’s big room-sized conferences, etc.

The nerve wracking part: when Kobe Bryant announced his retirement on The Players’ Tribune, the website was so overwhelmed with visitors, it crashed.

David Ortiz announcement on Blue JeansRamakrishnan has got his team working hard to make sure the live, internet press conference doesn’t crash.

Packed as it will be with sports reporters from all over the country, if there are problems with the livestream or question/answer process, he knows Blue Jeans will be fried in the press. And he’s got no control over the quality of the internet connection in the Dominican Republic.

Still, if the live event works well, this will be yet another way that Jeter’s startup is trying to take on and change the media industry.  And it will be a big feather in Ramakrishnan’s cap. 

Jeter’s startup has gotten a lot of attention because the articles are written by current and former pro athletes (including a touching series called “Letter to my younger self“).

But clearly Jeter envisions more ways that athletes can connect directly with fans via video.

Jeter was an investor in Blue Jeans in the $76.5 million round it raised in September. He met Ramakrishnan through the VC that backed The Players’ Tribune, NEA’s Jon Sakoda. NEA is also one of Blue Jeans major investors.

Jeter also integrated Blue Jeans technology into The Players’ Tribune website.

And in a couple of days all of it will be put to the test on a worldwide stage.

SEE ALSO: 50 enterprise startups to bet your career on in 2016

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NOW WATCH: Mark Cuban explains why downloading Snapchat is a huge mistake

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#UK Record Cyber Monday spending tops $3 billion

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NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers spent more than $3 billion online this “Cyber Monday,” making it the biggest online shopping day ever.

Research firm comScore said shopping by phone, laptop or tablet jumped 21 percent to $3.11 billion Monday.

The 10-year-old shopping holiday has lost some of its luster as retailers push sales forward on the calendar to Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Yet “Cyber Monday” has become engrained in the minds of enough shoppers and it endures as the top online spending day of the year.

“Despite some talk of Cyber Monday declining in importance, the day’s historical highs and continued strong growth rates confirm it is still a hugely important shopping event,” said comScore chairman emeritus Gian Fulgoni.

It’s the sixth year in a row that Cyber Monday has been top online sales day on record. Mobile spending, or sales via smartphones and tablets, jumped 53 percent to $838 million, making up 27 percent of total online spending. Top online shopping destinations included Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Target and Best Buy.

The spending spree comes even as several retailers had problems during Cyber Monday. Amazon said some orders in the U.S. and Canada had incorrectly applied shipping charges, but it discovered the error and refunded the charges. Target’s Web site was briefly offline due to high traffic.

ComScore expects online sales to rise 14 percent to $70.06 billion during the November and December shopping period, slowing slightly from last year’s 15 percent rise. Online sales make up 10 percent of overall retail sales, but that increases to 15 percent during the holidays as online shoppers snap up Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, according to research firm Forrester.

The name “Cyber Monday” was coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation’s online arm, called Shop.org, to encourage people to shop online. The name was also a nod to online shopping being done at work where faster connections made it easier to browse. Now, even with broadband access, Cyber Monday continues to be a day when retailers pull out big promotions.

The NRF estimates overall sales for November and December will rise 3.7 percent to $630.5 billion compared with last year.

Shopper Diane Boral, from Oxnard, California, found toys, games and clothing at Kohls.com for 20 percent off.

“Most of my shopping is done online, only because I have more time to browse for items,” she said.

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#UK High court skeptical of state power to gather health data

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared skeptical that state officials have the power to require health insurers to turn over reams of data revealing how much they pay for medical claims.

Most of the justices seemed to agree during a one-hour argument that efforts by Vermont and other states to collect and publicize the data conflict with federal law governing certain health plans.

Vermont is one of at least 18 states that gather health care claims data in an effort to keep down health costs, increase competition and improve quality. More than a dozen other states are interested in starting up similar databases to compile health claims and allow consumers to compare plans.

But that has run into resistance from Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., which operates a self-insured health plan for its workers and refused to turn over the data to Vermont officials.

A federal appeals court sided with the company, saying its plan already is subject to reporting requirements under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA.

Justice Stephen Breyer said he was concerned that some 93 million people are covered under self-insured health plans in which the employer pays out claims with its own funds rather than going through an insurance company.

“There can be 50 different states with 50 different sets of regulations, imposing a huge financial burden upon health care,” Breyer said.

Justice Elena Kagan said the prospect of every state developing different rules and formats “just all adds up to a lot of hassle, which all adds up to a lot of money.”

Breyer wondered if the Department of Labor could set uniform national regulations on data reporting or issue a regulation allowing states to do so. But Justice Antonin Scalia said he doubted the department could simply approve state plans that conflicted with federal law.

Vermont’s solicitor general, Bridget Asay, argued that the state is using its traditional powers to ensure the health and safety of its citizens. She said the state simply takes information the company has already generated, which doesn’t impose a burden or interfere with any of ERISA’s requirements.

But Justice Samuel Alito noted that President Barack Obama’s health care law now authorizes federal officials to collect data similar to what states are gathering.

“I don’t see how that does not undermine your principal argument,” Alito said.

The Obama administration has backed Vermont in the case. Justice Department lawyer John Bash told the justices that the state’s law is “incidental” to ERISA and used for state interests such as hospital budget review and oversight of health insurance rates.

That met with skepticism from Chief Justice John Roberts, who pointed out that “one of the things ERISA plans do is report data and compile data.”

Arguing for Liberty Mutual, lawyer Seth Waxman argued that federal law intended self-funded insurance plans to run without burdensome state regulations. He said a patchwork of conflicting reporting requirements from states would hinder those plans.

Both Kagan and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg later pressed Waxman on whether the cost of compliance is really so high. They noted that Liberty Mutual was already passing along much of the same data to other agencies.

Waxman said specific compliance costs were not available from Liberty Mutual’s plan administrator, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. But he said Vermont is requiring “that we keep records that we don’t keep, and that we display them and provide information in ways that we don’t.”

“This doesn’t end at Vermont,” Waxman said. Every dollar spent complying with data reporting “comes directly out of the benefits that they can pay.”

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