Commentary
Commentary
What Bill Gates says “Isn’t Supposed to Happen” – Did
Bill Gates, one of the most successful men in history, has weighed in on a problem that will prevent others from achieving success like his. American students now languish near the bottom on international rankings. “This isn’t supposed to happen,” Bill Gates told Oprah Winfrey on an August 7, 2008, ...
California
Why Governor Schwarzenegger’s – and Organized Medicine’s – War on Choice in Health Insurance Will Backfire
Ever since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ABX1 1 stumbled just short of the finish line last January, he and his Democratic allies in the legislature have been looking to move bits and pieces of the failed health reform plan forward. Amazingly, one that he favors is sponsored by the legislator who ...
Commentary
Code for drug reps should fend off new regulations
The pharmaceutical industry’s trade group just announced a new voluntary code of conduct. The updated rules, which take effect on Jan. 1, severely restrict drug company sales reps from giving gifts and purchasing meals for doctors. The rules also impose new regulations on consulting arrangements between physicians and drug companies. ...
Commentary
Questions about a Blues For-Profit Conversion in New Jersey
New Jersey’s biggest health plan, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, has applied to the state to convert to for-profit status. As discussed by the Philadephia Inquirer, the state will likely require Horizon BCBS to disgorge its retained earnings into a charitable foundation that will fund expanded health care – as ...
Business & Economics
How Water, Oil, and Government Mix in California
On August 6, the California Coastal Commission approved a desalination plant at Carlsbad in San Diego County, a region with severe water needs in normal times and hard hit by the current drought. The $300-million for-profit venture by the Poseidon Resources Corporation aims to produce as much as 50 million ...
Business & Economics
MS ranks as 9th best in US for tort status
The Pacific Research Institute released its report comparing the legal climates of all 50 states. According to the U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report, Florida ranked the worst in terms of tort costs and litigation risks, while North Dakota ranked the best. In a separate ranking, the study also evaluated ...
Commentary
Maryland in middle of pack on health care control, private insurance access
Maryland ranked 31st among all states in a new study that measures the degree to which patients, health professionals, entrepreneurs and taxpayers have control over their health care. The state also ranked 24th for access to care through the private insurance market and 38th for the quality of its tort ...
Business & Economics
Best U.S. Cities To Earn A Living
Forbes.com, August 18, 2008 Yahoo! Finance, August 21, 2008 How To Do Just About Everything, August 21, 2008 MSNBC.com, August 24, 2008 ActiveRain (Bellevue, WA), August 27, 2008 Though Houston has plenty of fat cats, this is not a story about America’s Most Overweight Cities. Rather, Houston is recognized here ...
Commentary
Study: Md. 31st for individual health care control
A new study designed to measure the degree of control Americans have over their own health care ranks Maryland 31st in the country. The U.S. Index of Health Ownership was released Thursday by the Pacific Research Institute, a private research and policy analysis group. Study author John R. Graham, the ...
Commentary
Is There A “Cost Shift” from Cutting Medicaid?
One zombie that just will not die, no matter how many stakes are driven into it, is the argument that the health care “crisis” is driven by hordes of uninsured people who crowd the ERs for “uncompensated” care, shifting a so-called “hidden tax” onto people with health insurance. This is ...
What Bill Gates says “Isn’t Supposed to Happen” – Did
Bill Gates, one of the most successful men in history, has weighed in on a problem that will prevent others from achieving success like his. American students now languish near the bottom on international rankings. “This isn’t supposed to happen,” Bill Gates told Oprah Winfrey on an August 7, 2008, ...
Why Governor Schwarzenegger’s – and Organized Medicine’s – War on Choice in Health Insurance Will Backfire
Ever since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ABX1 1 stumbled just short of the finish line last January, he and his Democratic allies in the legislature have been looking to move bits and pieces of the failed health reform plan forward. Amazingly, one that he favors is sponsored by the legislator who ...
Code for drug reps should fend off new regulations
The pharmaceutical industry’s trade group just announced a new voluntary code of conduct. The updated rules, which take effect on Jan. 1, severely restrict drug company sales reps from giving gifts and purchasing meals for doctors. The rules also impose new regulations on consulting arrangements between physicians and drug companies. ...
Questions about a Blues For-Profit Conversion in New Jersey
New Jersey’s biggest health plan, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, has applied to the state to convert to for-profit status. As discussed by the Philadephia Inquirer, the state will likely require Horizon BCBS to disgorge its retained earnings into a charitable foundation that will fund expanded health care – as ...
How Water, Oil, and Government Mix in California
On August 6, the California Coastal Commission approved a desalination plant at Carlsbad in San Diego County, a region with severe water needs in normal times and hard hit by the current drought. The $300-million for-profit venture by the Poseidon Resources Corporation aims to produce as much as 50 million ...
MS ranks as 9th best in US for tort status
The Pacific Research Institute released its report comparing the legal climates of all 50 states. According to the U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report, Florida ranked the worst in terms of tort costs and litigation risks, while North Dakota ranked the best. In a separate ranking, the study also evaluated ...
Maryland in middle of pack on health care control, private insurance access
Maryland ranked 31st among all states in a new study that measures the degree to which patients, health professionals, entrepreneurs and taxpayers have control over their health care. The state also ranked 24th for access to care through the private insurance market and 38th for the quality of its tort ...
Best U.S. Cities To Earn A Living
Forbes.com, August 18, 2008 Yahoo! Finance, August 21, 2008 How To Do Just About Everything, August 21, 2008 MSNBC.com, August 24, 2008 ActiveRain (Bellevue, WA), August 27, 2008 Though Houston has plenty of fat cats, this is not a story about America’s Most Overweight Cities. Rather, Houston is recognized here ...
Study: Md. 31st for individual health care control
A new study designed to measure the degree of control Americans have over their own health care ranks Maryland 31st in the country. The U.S. Index of Health Ownership was released Thursday by the Pacific Research Institute, a private research and policy analysis group. Study author John R. Graham, the ...
Is There A “Cost Shift” from Cutting Medicaid?
One zombie that just will not die, no matter how many stakes are driven into it, is the argument that the health care “crisis” is driven by hordes of uninsured people who crowd the ERs for “uncompensated” care, shifting a so-called “hidden tax” onto people with health insurance. This is ...
