Business health plan slows drug costs again

The cost for prescription drugs under the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health's plan increased 5.8 percent in 2007, vs. 7 percent to 11 percent increases reported in national surveys. This is the fourth consecutive year of single digit increases for PBGH. Plan officials say employers and their workers saved $8.3 million last year, but still will pay an estimated $365 million for prescription drugs in 2008. The PBGH program, which covers more than 180,000 lives, is administered by Caremark.

Renaissance workers ratify first contract

Workers at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel have ratified their first labor contract with Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources, the hotel's owner. The contract, which will run until Dec. 31, 2011, covers 160 workers represented by UNITE HERE. The contract provides fully paid health insurance for those workers who have been with the company for five years, and full coverage for those employees who will have been working for the length of the contract. Room attendants, who make up a majority of the employees, will see their wages rise from $9 an hour now to $11 by the end of the agreement.

Pens ice marketing deal with New York agency

The Pittsburgh Penguins, who have been handling marketing efforts in-house, are hiring Cenergy, an agency based in East Aurora, N.Y., to serve as the team's agency of record. The campaign, which will include TV, print and digital work, will launch in October. The team's marketing budget was not disclosed. Cenergy worked on advertising for the outdoor match earlier this year that pitted the Penguins against the Buffalo Sabres. Agency clients include the Cleveland Cavaliers and National City Bank.

US Airways says charges a hit with attendants

US Airways, the only U.S. carrier to charge for sodas, coffee and tea, said its new policy has cut cabin congestion and the time flight attendants spend serving drinks. The attendants, who initially opposed the program, would "riot" if the airline tried to return to the old system of free nonalcoholic beverages, President Scott Kirby said yesterday. "Logjams in the aisles, significant trash collection, lines at the restrooms -- all those things are largely gone on US Airways because fewer people are buying and drinking sodas," he said. "We spend less money, we generate a little revenue, and those problems are largely gone."

Also in business ...

The Boscov's department store chain is seeking approval of a Delaware bankruptcy court for a possible buyout from Versa Capital Management. Versa has offered to pay $11 million in cash and assume Boscov's debt, which was $479 million when the retailer filed for bankruptcy in early August ... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a liquefied natural gas terminal along the Columbia River in Oregon -- the first LNG terminal on the West Coast to receive such approval ... Citing the risk of losses in selling portfolio securities, Putnam Investments closed a $12 billion money-market fund and announced plans to return investors' money after institutional clients pulled out cash despite the fund's lack of exposure to troubled financial firms.