Examining the Jones Act ’s Harm to U.S. Ports
Colin GrabowEarlier this weekWall Street Journal columnist Mary O ’Grady penned anexcellent piece detailing the myriad ways in which U.S. maritime protectionism interferes and distorts trade. Some of the examples presented may be familiar, such as theimperilment of Alaska ’s summer cruise season. But the column also delves into effects of the law that are often overlooked, such as its impact on ports:The Jones Act is particularly costly to Puerto Rico because it keeps the island from capitalizing on its comparative advantage as a transit point for cargo. Colin Grabow, who heads the Cato Institute’sProject on Jones ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - April 7, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Colin Grabow Source Type: blogs
Time to Reboot “Medicare-For-All”
By MIKE MAGEE
In the fog of the Covid pandemic, many are wondering what ever happened to prior vocal support for universal coverage and Medicare-for-All. Expect those issues to regain prominence in the coming months. A bit of recent history helps explain why.
The January 6th insurrection, followed by the past weeks two mass shootings, have served to remind our citizens that we must address a range of issues while continuing to confront the pandemic threat.
Modern civilized societies rely on a double-armed approach to maintain order, peace and security. The first arm is laws. But laws are of little value without ev...
Source: The Health Care Blog - April 5, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Health Policy Medicare Politics Public Health Medicare For All Mike Magee Source Type: blogs
Further follow up on crime and punishment
Comes now the question: what can be done about racial disparities in law enforcement. As I have said, there are multiple decision points and decision makers: police, prosecutors, judges and juries. However, since something like 80% of cases are plea bargained (probably effectively more if you count dismissals and diversion) judges and juries come in for only a minority of cases. Plea bargaining seems to be where most of the action is.So maybe the answer is to eliminate plea bargaining and have every case go to trial. Seems easy, right? Well, before we get to plausibility, would that eliminate disparities? Judges will still...
Source: Stayin' Alive - March 31, 2021 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
What's new in midwifery - 31st March 2021
COVID-19Two that appeared in a Medline alert I have running for Long COVID:Kotlar B; Gerson E; Petrillo S; Langer A; Tiemeier H. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and perinatal health: a scoping review. Reproductive Health. 18(1):10, 2021 Jan 18.Vardhelli V; Pandita A; Pillai A; Badatya SK. Perinatal COVID-19: review of current evidence and practical approach towards prevention and management. European Journal of Pediatrics. 180(4):1009-1031, 2021 Apr.Then, a systematic review looking atintrauterine fetal death in women who had tested positive for COVID on admission for delivery. A systematic review from...
Source: Browsing - March 31, 2021 Category: Databases & Libraries Tags: midwifery Source Type: blogs
Intel ’s CEO Says They Don’t Need Subsidies; the Government Should Take Him at His Word
Scott LincicomeAs discussed hererepeatedly, semiconductors are at the center of the debate in Washington about whether the United States should (once again) embrace industrial policy. In particular, numerous elected officials and wonks support appropriating tens of billions of new taxpayer dollars, initially approved under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, to subsidize the construction of semiconductor manufacturing facilities ( “fabs”) on U.S. soil. Among the primary reasons for why such subsidies are urgently needed is the claim that American chipmakers have lost their edge and either can’t or won’t bu...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 26, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Scott Lincicome Source Type: blogs
Ron Paul and our Big, Fat Fed
George SelginRegular readers ofAlt-M don ' t need to be told that yours truly isno fan of the Fed ' s gigantic credit footprint. Even before the recent crisis, he lamented both the extent to which the Fed went from merelyregulating this nation ' s short-term money market tobeingits short-term money market, and the switch to an abundant reserve or" floor " operating system that made a bigger Fed footprint inevitable.By the time the Great Recession ended, the Fed ' s balance sheet was more than four times as large as it was in mid-2008. And now, thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, it has doubled in size yet again, to just shy of ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 15, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: George Selgin Source Type: blogs
Highly specialised services 2019
NHS England and NHS Improvement - This document provides key information about highly specialised services in 2019. It comprises: a description of each service; a list of the expert centres that deliver the service; NHS England ’s total expenditure for each service; a measure of the activity that each service undertakes; clinical outcomes from the service; and information about geographical equity of access to the service. In a small number of cases, some additional information is provided about the service in relation t o service innovation, improvement and listening to and acting on patient feedback.ReportMore de...
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - March 15, 2021 Category: UK Health Authors: The King ' s Fund Library Source Type: blogs
Pandemic Accelerants: Life Under the “New-Normal.”
By MIKE MAGEE
Confrontation is good. Governor Abbott’s “We are getting out of the business of telling people what they can and cannot do” was “Neanderthal thinking” as President Biden said. Insurrectionist Richard Bennett, whose feet sat on Speaker Pelosi’s desk two month’s ago, does need to cool his jets in jail awaiting trial. And states lagging in immunizing teachers, opening schools, and accelerating their vaccine efforts need to realize that they will be held accountable by voters in the near future.
That is surface turbulence, but quietly below the surface, there are other transformational forces ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 8, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 Health Policy jobs Mike Magee Pandemic Source Type: blogs
Member briefing: Budget 2021
NHS Confederation - The government has published its spring 2021 Budget, summarising the state of the economy and forecasting the economic landscape, as well as outlining urgent additional spending needs. The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), which will provide further detail on longer-term system planning and restructuring, will follow later in the year. This briefing provides details on key areas of expenditure announced by the Chancellor, our view of where this leaves the health and care system, and the longer-term investment that will be needed in the CSR later this year.Briefing (Source: Health Management Specialist Library)
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - March 5, 2021 Category: UK Health Authors: The King ' s Fund Library Tags: NHS finance Source Type: blogs
Wages Did Not Rise in Arizona After SB1070
Alex NowrastehNational conservatives have latched onto the idea that cutting immigration will increase wagesdespiteallof theevidenceto thecontrary. One of the pieces of evidence they cite most is a 2016article in theWall Street Journalthat states that wages for construction and farm occupations in Arizona went up by 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in the 4 years after Arizona passed its immigration enforcement lawSB1070 in 2010. BothOren Cass andChristopher Caldwell use this data point.The only problem is those claims about wages are not true. Wages did not rise in Arizona after the passage of SB1070. This blo...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 19, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
Does your health monitor have device bias?
In recent years, there’s been a veritable explosion in the number and type of health monitoring devices available in smartphones and fitness apps.
Your smartphone is likely tracking the number of steps you take, how far and fast you walk, and how many flights of stairs you climb each day. Some phones log sleep, heart rate, how much energy you’re burning, and even “gait health” (how often are both feet on the ground? how even are your steps?). And, of course, nonphone wearables and fitness gadgets are available, such as devices to measure your heart rhythm, blood pressure, or oxygen levels. The accuracy of these dev...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 19, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Children's Health Health care disparities Health trends Healthy Aging Heart Health Source Type: blogs
ObamaCare: Democrats Promise Throwing $36 Billion at Health Insurance Companies Will Work This Time
Michael F. CannonHouse Democrats are proposing a temporary but massive $34 billion increase in subsidies for ObamaCare plans. The proposal would offer its largest subsidies to high‐income earners. It would offer more subsidies on behalf of men than women. It would cover few previously uninsured individuals, and at a very high cost. Perhaps worst of all, in the name of “affordability,” it would push health care prices and health insurance premiums even higher.ObamaCare currently issues premium subsidies for Exchange plans on behalf of enrollees who earn between 100 –400 percent of thefederal poverty level. In ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 17, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Michael F. Cannon Source Type: blogs
Will Biden Repeat Trump ’s Automotive Mistakes?
Scott LincicomeThe New York Times yesterday provided anin-depth look at the Biden White House ' s plans to " transform the economy " through " dramatic interventions to revive U.S. manufacturing " - heavy on economic nationalism, industrial planning, and manufacturing jobs. If that approach sounds familiar, it should: it ' s essentially the same gameplan that Biden ' s predecessor used, with the only major difference being Biden ' s emphasis on " green " industries like wind turbines, as compared to Trump ' s love of steel and other heavy industry.Both presidents, however, seem to share a soft spot for the automotive indus...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 12, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Scott Lincicome Source Type: blogs
Why IVF does not cause you to put on weight !
One of the most prevalent myths about IVF is that it causes women to put on weight .This is a myth which needs to be busted .Putting on weight is a mathematical equation , and occurs when caloric intake is more than caloric expenditure . After all, the additional weight can ’t come from thin air !Now, IVF treatment doesn't increase your calorie intake , or reduce your caloric expenditure and therefore it ’s clear that it can’t make you put on weight .However, what often happens is that women tend to put themselves on bed rest during their IVF treatment . This is because they think that this will help to in...
Source: Dr.Malpani's Blog - February 1, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: blogs
8 Ways Robots Can Enhance Healthcare
Science fiction movies are filled with depictions of medical robots as integral parts of the healthcare system. From Anakin Skywalker’s surgery by autonomous robots to Big Hero 6’s healthcare robot Baymax, these mechanical staffers stayed only within the realm of sci-fi movies and one’s imagination for a long time; but not for much longer. Indeed, as we exemplify in this article, they are steadily making their way into healthcare institutions. The healthcare industry is betting on those potentials as well, with the global medical robot expenditures expected to rise by about 20% by 2025 to reach $24.6 billion.
H...
Source: The Medical Futurist - January 27, 2021 Category: Information Technology Authors: berci.mesko Tags: Covid-19 Healthcare Design Medical Education Robotics future Hospital Innovation Surgery technology gc4 drones drone delivery robots InTouch Health Veebot Pepper Big Hero 6 UVD Robots Xenex social robots Zipline A Source Type: blogs
