Steve Ballmer ’s New Public Sector 10‑K Report Illustrates Weaknesses in Government Financial Disclosure
Marc JoffeEach April, USAFacts, a not ‐for‐profit information provider founded by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, issuesa report on the condition of US federal, state, and local governments. Ballmer ’s release takes the form of a 10 ‑K Report, like those publicly listed corporations produce annually. This year’s public sector 10‑K, which relies on data from 2020 and excludes sizable government liabilities, raises questions about the federal data USAFacts relies upon.The USAFacts balance sheet shows that the public sector had $24.9 trillion in assets and $44.6 trillion in liabilities as ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - April 19, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Marc Joffe Source Type: blogs
Federal Spending Up 40 Percent Since 2019
Chris EdwardsFederal spending jumped from $4.45 trillion in 2019 to $6.21 trillion in 2023, according to theCongressional Budget Office. That is a 40 percent increase in four years. The pandemic supercharged the federal budget, and spending and deficits are expected to continue rising unless policymakers pursue major reforms.What is all the new spending since 2019? The answer is surprising, as shown in the two tables below. The main drivers of the recent increases have not been the largest three programs —Social Security, Medicare, and defense—but rather rapid growth in numerous other programs.Table 1 shows CBO spe...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 23, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Chris Edwards Source Type: blogs
Featured Health IT Job: Director, Information Technology and Security
We like to regularly feature a healthcare IT job that might be of interest to readers. Today, we’re featuring the Director, Information Technology and Security position that was recently posted on Healthcare IT Central. This position was posted by TransForm Shared Service Organization and is located in Windsor, Canada.
Here’s a description of the position:
Director, Information Technology & Security
Position Summary
The Director Information Technology & Security understands the business of healthcare, the importance of quality patient care, the utilization of technology in a health care setting and th...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - March 22, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Health IT Jobs Tags: Career and Jobs Healthcare IT Canadian Health IT Jobs Director Jobs Healthcare IT Jobs Information Technology and Security Job Seekers TransForm Jobs Source Type: blogs
McCloud remedy part 2: proposed changes to NHS Pension Schemes Regulations 2023
Department of Health and Social Care - The Department of Health and Social Care is consulting on a draft Statutory Instrument making changes to NHS Pension Schemes Regulations necessary to implement the second part of the McCloud remedy. The remedy has two parts: to ensure equal treatment for all members within each of the main public service pension schemes by moving all members into the new schemes; and to remove the effect of transitional protection by offering eligible members a choice over the set of benefits. The closing date for comments is 6 June 2023.ConsultationConsultation response formDepartment of Health...
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - March 15, 2023 Category: UK Health Authors: The King ' s Fund Library Tags: Consultations Workforce and employment Source Type: blogs
NHS Pension Scheme: proposed amendments to scheme regulations - consultation response
Department of Health and Social Care -Starting in December 2022, the government consulted on proposals to amend NHS Pension Scheme regulations in line with the announcements made in Our plan for patients. Consultation respondents were broadly supportive of the measures proposed during the consultation process. This consultation response confirms that the government will proceed to implement the proposals.Consultation responseOur plan for patientsDepartment of Health and Social Care - publications (Source: Health Management Specialist Library)
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - March 8, 2023 Category: UK Health Authors: The King ' s Fund Library Tags: Workforce and employment Source Type: blogs
New Pennsylvania Governor Hopes to Trim Pension System Investment Costs
Marc JoffePennsylvania ’s new governor, Josh Shapiro, hopes to end state pension funds’ reliance on external managers who often charge high fees and place funds in opaque “alternative investment” vehicles. As thePhiladelphia Inquirer reported in late January, Shapiro told reporters: “We need to get rid of these risky investments. We need to move away from relying on Wall Street money managers.” If Shapiro is successful, Pennsylvania’sState Employees ’ Retirement System (SERS) andPublic School Employees ’ Retirement System (PSERS) may achieve better returns with less risk, which is good for both public emp...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 6, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Marc Joffe Source Type: blogs
The Debt Limit and the High Costs of Debt
Romina Boccia and Dominik LettNews headlines are filled withspeculations about the U.S. debt limit. Most prevalently, whether Treasury could be forced to prioritize interest payments to bondholders while delaying other government obligations when the debt limit binds, potentially as early as June. If Congress failed to raise the debt limit in time, prioritization of interest on the debt, before other government payments, is one likely outcome.A more ominous speculation is whether the U.S. government would default on its debt. Treasury has the ability to prioritize interest payments and should be able to cover debt obligati...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 1, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Romina Boccia, Dominik Lett Source Type: blogs
A Very Brazilian “Coup”
Daniel RaisbeckIf $10 billion or so were removed from the national debt each time a media outlet said that Sunday ’s riot in Brasilia “echoes” the January 6,2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, we would be well on the way toward achieving sound public finances. As I argue over atReason, however, if you take into account the local tradition of political mob violence, the attack against Brazilian government buildings by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro is more reminiscent of the country ’s general strike in May 2017 than of the bizarre fracas in Washington two years ago.At the time, Brazilian unio...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 11, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Daniel Raisbeck Source Type: blogs
Congress Made it Easier to Treat Addiction but Harder to Treat Pain
Jeffrey A. SingerLate on the afternoon of December 23, the U.S. House of Representativespassed the approximately 1.7 trillion ‐dollar omnibus spending package, which now awaits President Biden’s signature. As is usually the case with such legislative monstrosities, the bill contains a few positive features and many negative ones. One positive part is that it repeals the so ‐called “X‑waiver” (an X is added to the DEA narcotics prescribing license), which the Drug Enforcement Administration has long required health care practitioners to apply for to prescribe the Schedule III opioid buprenorphine...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 23, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
Self ‐Coup in Peru: Why Castillo’s Attempt Failed So Rapidly
Daniel RaisbeckPeru ’s constitution came under threat the moment Pedro Castillo officially won Peru’s contentious presidential election in June of 2021. A formerly obscure teachers union leader who came to media prominence as the candidate for a Marxist ‐Leninist party (Free Peru), Castillo had no intention of playing by the established rules of the Peruvian republic. Though certainly erratic — the country now has its seventh president in six years — Peru’s institutions had still managed to withstand a series of impeachment trials and other clashes between the executive and Congress. A&nb...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 7, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: Daniel Raisbeck Source Type: blogs
NHS Pension Scheme: proposed amendments to scheme regulations
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - This consultation sets out proposals to amend NHS Pension Scheme regulations to remove barriers for staff retiring and returning to work and to facilitate partial retirement for those who wish to do so. This consultation closes on 30 January 2023.Consultation (Source: Health Management Specialist Library)
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - December 6, 2022 Category: UK Health Authors: The King ' s Fund Library Tags: Workforce and employment Source Type: blogs
Featured Health IT Job: Director, Digital Health Strategist
We like to regularly feature a healthcare IT job that might be of interest to readers. Today, we’re featuring the Director, Digital Health Strategist position that was recently posted on Healthcare IT Central. This position was posted by TransForm Shared Service Organization and is an international hybrid position in the Ontario West Region of Canada.
Here’s a description of the position:
Location: Ontario West Region (Hybrid: Both remote and onsite work)
Posting Period: November 3, 2022 to November 25, 2022 Closed at 4:00 pm
Employment Type: Permanent, Full-Time
Benefits: Pension, Health & Dental, Paid Si...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - November 23, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Health IT Jobs Tags: Career and Jobs Healthcare IT Canadian Health IT Jobs Digital Health Strategist Director Jobs Healthcare IT Jobs Job Seekers TransForm Jobs Source Type: blogs
Chester, PA Bankruptcy Raises Disclosure, Pension, and OPEB Issues
Marc JoffeOn November 10, the city of Chester, Pennsylvania filed a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy petition. Although it has operated under state supervision since 1995, the Philadelphia suburb has not been able to address its large employee retirement liabilities.In recent years, municipal bankruptcy filings have been rare. Onlythree cities invoked Chapter 9 between 2014 and 2021: Hillview, KY in 2015, Perla, AR in 2019, and Fairfield, AL in 2020. Although the large allocations of federal funds to local governments under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) may have been expected to ward off bankruptcies for a few years, C...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - November 17, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: Marc Joffe Source Type: blogs
Keeping Track of the 2022 Ballot Measures
Walter OlsonLast week I posted aboutelection ‐related ballot measures in next week ’s vote, and in this post I’ll turn to measures on other subjects.More states are considering cannabis ‐related measures this year than ever more. All five (Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota) move in the direction of legalization, but with differences in tax and regulatory handling. Chris Edwards has lately looked at thetax implications and Jeff Miron at some ofthe substance ( “More than a century of experience demonstrates that prohibition is a treatment far worse than the ‘disease...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - November 1, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: Walter Olson Source Type: blogs
The Macro View – Health, Economics, and Politics and the Big Picture. What I Am Watching Here And Abroad.
October 27, 2022 Edition-----In the UK we have a political farce running with only a day or so to run when you read this, with a new PM (Rishi Sunak) in place..In the US the mid-term elections are coming in a week or so, thus some concern as to where the US is going!In China Xi has his third 5 year term so we all wonder how that will turn out!In OZ we have has a Budget with floods, inflation, data leaks, the threat of recession, Medicare concerns and other issues just rolling on! At least the Budget does not seem to have broken anything!Overall an ‘omnishambles’ as they say!-----Major Issues.-----https://www.afr.com/wo...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - October 27, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
