In the interest of journailistic integrity, I don't believe that I should let the figures speak for themselves. What follows is a selection of quotes (many paraphrased) culled from the "dicussion" section of the previously cited article:
Certainly, administration is an integral element of good healthcare. The leaps and bounds in patient outcomes that society (western, at least) has witnessed over the past century are due mostly to the implementation of principles known since the turn of the twentieth century (not, as touted by industry, technological advances). Implementation may not be synonomous with administration, but the two are very much related.
The question is two part, how much administration is optimal, and what form should it take. Does the high administrative spending in the United States relative to that in Canada (or that in the US 30 years ago) improve care? No studies have directly addressed these questions, however analyses of investor owned HMOs and hospitals have found that for-profit facilities have neither higher-quality care nor lower costs than not-for-profit facilities.
There is certainly more to be said, but I'm about to go eat some Raisin' Cane's chicken, hands down the best fast food chicken on god's green earth. Actually, some of the best chicken you'll ever eat. Add some sweet tea, texas toast, crinkle cut fries, and slaw, and you've got yourself one heart satisfying meal.
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Some more healthcare facts
(From an article in The New England Journal of Medecine, August 21st 2003
Authors: Steffie Woolhander, M.D., M.P.H., Terry Campbell, M.H.A. and David
Himmelstein, M.D.)
Costs of Healthcare Administration in the US and Candada:
Numbers are Spending per capita in USD
Canadian figure follows the US in parentheses
Insurance Overhead 259 (47)
Employers' cost to manage
health benefits 57 (8)
Hospital Administration 315 (103)
Nursing home Administration 62 (29)
Administrative costs of practitioners 324 (107)
Home care administration 42 (13)
Total 1,059 (307)
Authors: Steffie Woolhander, M.D., M.P.H., Terry Campbell, M.H.A. and David
Himmelstein, M.D.)
Costs of Healthcare Administration in the US and Candada:
Numbers are Spending per capita in USD
Canadian figure follows the US in parentheses
Insurance Overhead 259 (47)
Employers' cost to manage
health benefits 57 (8)
Hospital Administration 315 (103)
Nursing home Administration 62 (29)
Administrative costs of practitioners 324 (107)
Home care administration 42 (13)
Total 1,059 (307)
A Question
I'm planning on purchasing a domain (name) and getting some hosting. Anyone have any suggestions on company?
Buenos Dias
Hello, Hello. It's Sunday morning here in Baton-Rouge. Kitty and I are making our second attempt at "Arsenic and Old Lace', a wonderful old comedy starring Cary Grant. Coffee is good.
Friday, August 22, 2003
Hello Hello
I have a full tummy and internet access; the pleasures of wealth in this day and age are wonderful.
It's no wonder that so many people in this state (Louisiana) are obese. I wouldn't be surprised if I've gained five pounds while eating here. Eating has really consumed most of my effort the past week. I've also indulged in some pure pleasure reading and some brain rot (television). If anyone has yet to read Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential", it's well worth a read. The boob tube has sucked me in again. I'm wholeheartedly a West Wing fan. Stay far far away if you do not want to loose yourself. More about the food later.
It's no wonder that so many people in this state (Louisiana) are obese. I wouldn't be surprised if I've gained five pounds while eating here. Eating has really consumed most of my effort the past week. I've also indulged in some pure pleasure reading and some brain rot (television). If anyone has yet to read Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential", it's well worth a read. The boob tube has sucked me in again. I'm wholeheartedly a West Wing fan. Stay far far away if you do not want to loose yourself. More about the food later.
Friday, August 15, 2003
Farewell
It's quarter to one here in Seattle and I'm preparing to head off to Louisiana. Before I forget, I think we should all extend a congratulatory good luck to Mr. Flynt and to Arnie (both candidates in the California Governatorial election). But, more seriously, lets pray for a candidate who may actually save the Californians from their own lunacy (it's really their voter ballot initiatives that are the problem, direct democracy is a horrid idea).
Always American
What's with Rumsfield, Wolfowitz, and Fieth (all Pentagon higher-ups). Some time ago they extended their unilateralism to include overuling not only other nations, but the State Department as well. More reading needs to be done on these issues, but I see conspiracy theories in the midst.
Always American
What's with Rumsfield, Wolfowitz, and Fieth (all Pentagon higher-ups). Some time ago they extended their unilateralism to include overuling not only other nations, but the State Department as well. More reading needs to be done on these issues, but I see conspiracy theories in the midst.
Thursday, August 14, 2003
Who's your Daddy
You've painted the nursery, reserved the hospital room, and even accepted some hand-me-down baby clothes from your mother. The big day comes and everyone's gushing, "oh, he's got his mother's eyes, and her smile as well!", but all you can think is, "where'd that nose come from??"
Fret no longer. Head straight to "www.geneticassays.com/paternity.htm" and for just over two hundred bucks, you can figure out who the daddy really is.
Options, options, options.
1. Notarized (court admissible) package starts at $495.00 USD
2."Peace of mind package" (At home Paternity Test Kit) starts at $245.00 USD
Want to fight it out in court, depositions and expert witness testimony start at $195.00 USD/hour (plus expenses).
Fret no longer. Head straight to "www.geneticassays.com/paternity.htm" and for just over two hundred bucks, you can figure out who the daddy really is.
Options, options, options.
1. Notarized (court admissible) package starts at $495.00 USD
2."Peace of mind package" (At home Paternity Test Kit) starts at $245.00 USD
Want to fight it out in court, depositions and expert witness testimony start at $195.00 USD/hour (plus expenses).
Ardent Aesthetic Ablutions
For those of you who've taken to making quips about the thesaurus that allegedly rests at my side, this once you have been vindicated. Almost, it was actually a dictionary combined with the lyrical prowess of my everpresent beautiful cohort, Kitty.
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Good Morning. The sun is streaming in here in my seattle apartment. I'm eating chocolate chip cookies and butter tarts and reading about my homeland. My reading today is a bit unorthodox, or perhaps unexpected is a better word. I'm on page 26 (of 3??) of "Building on Values: The Future of Health Care in Canada" by Roy Romanow (former Premier of Saskatchewan).
My interest in this subject is fueled by my recent realization that I need to get myself some health insurance. Fret not, I do have some. But should my medical expenses exceed $25,000 USD (maximum lifetime coverage of the policy that I have through my school), I'm up the creek. That adequate health insurance is rather expensive was not an entirely unexpected discovery last night as I searched the web for the holy grail: adequate, affordable, and user-friendly health insurance. In a country where 40 million people (approximately 16% of the population) have no health insurance, I didn't really expect the situation to be any different.
This all left me rather forlorn, wishing I was back in my homeland where healthcare is a right, but also wondering about the current state affairs so far as the healthcare system is concerned. Somewhere in the back of my memory Mr. Romanow's name lingered as "the author of some report" about the whole thing. Jump to this morning, I typed in "www.canada.ca" and a few clicks later (about 4) I'd downloaded the report in its entirety.
I've yet to read much of any real import, but I would like to share some of the introductory thoughts and put them out:
"Medicare is a worthy national acheivement, a defining aspect of our citizenship and an expression of social cohesion."
How attached do all of you feel to medicare, to what extent do you include it as part of your canadian identity?
"The reality is that Canadians embrace medicare as a public good, a national symbol, and a defining aspect of their citizenship"
A few facts (dare I say) about healthcare:
- health spending in Canada is on par with most western countries and is substantially lower than in the United States
- we devote a smaller portion of our GDP to healthcare today than we did ten years ago
Any thoughts sent to any of my email addresses will be dutifully posted. If anyone would like posting priveleges, please let me know.
----
Techno Tid-bit, August 13th 2003
It seems that our glorious technology industry has gotten us tangibly close to holographic data storage. Many working prototypes already exist, and some are slated for market release as early as next year. The whole thing dates back to 1963 "when Pieter van Heerden, a researcher at Polaroid, first proposed using the method to store data in three dimensions." In theory, it is an excellent idea; the principle challenge over the past four decades has been to develop (or find) "the right recording material--a photosensitive substance that is both stable and cheap enough to use commercially."
Why all the fuss? Holographic storage has three attributes that make it very appealing:
1. Capacity, adding another dimension makes for a lot more space. (imagine 1 terabyte on media the size of a CD)
2. Speed, light (the method of storage and retrieval) is very fast
3. Searchability - more efficient...if anyone is curious as to how, or would like to provide a succint and illuminating explanation, let me know (there is one in the Economist, the source for this Techno Tid-bit).
----
Always American
The Pentagon recently proposed that an online futures market be created to enable punters to place bets on the odds of forthcoming terrorist activity. The idea was that the market would bring all the hidden expertise to the fore and aid the nation in preventing the next 9/11. Democratic Senators didn't cotton to the idea and the plan has since been nixed.
In related news (conceptually at least), as of last year Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have been offering traders the opportunity to place bets on the vicissitudes of the unemployment rate. Who said the rich don't get richer and the poor poorer. Where's my trickle (down effect).
In thoroughly unrelated news, a quarter of those aged 25 and up in Arkansas do not have a high-school diploma. Despite this, the Arkansas state legislature has decided to restrict even further the reading material available by passing into a law a bill that forces bookstores and libraries to seperate "adult material" from "more tasteful stuff". According to state code, material that has "any description, exhibition, presentation, or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse" is considered "harmful to children". Earlier this year, in a school library in Cedarville (Arkansas), Harry Potter books were placed in a cabinet under lock and key to shield Christian sensibilities from the scary witchcraft. Though this action was later ruled unconstitutional (by a fedral judge),it does not bode well; we here at Always American believe that if Arkansas wants to step up in the field of literacy, it had better start training some new players.
(Source: The Economist, most quotes from the Economist)
------
So who wants to go into politics? Your author (I've been reading too much of the Economist) feels that the left-wing, in Canada and the United States is in need of revival. Revival could be said to be a euphemism for leadership, but that might be a tad unfair. I ask not even for a left "left-wing", simply, I would like something other than neo-conservatism, or its thinly veiled progeny, compassionate conservatism. I want politics with heart, politicians with integrity, and a populace with a sense of responsibility. Perhaps I'd better step up myself.
Economic Eddies
Citigroup and J.P. Morgan have reached an agreement with American regulators. The fines are, relative to their overall profits, small, however there is no established methodology for how to go about such things. More importantly, the two have been forced to concede two important legal points. "The first is that, even though every element of a transaction they structure could be legal, the whole could be misleading enough to violate the law. The second, is that banks are responsible for how their clients use the fancy financial structures they create."
(Source: The Economist, all quotes from the Economist)
Well, that about brings me to the end, both of this week's Economist, and of me free time today. I may check in again later to write about "Film Theory". Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.
My interest in this subject is fueled by my recent realization that I need to get myself some health insurance. Fret not, I do have some. But should my medical expenses exceed $25,000 USD (maximum lifetime coverage of the policy that I have through my school), I'm up the creek. That adequate health insurance is rather expensive was not an entirely unexpected discovery last night as I searched the web for the holy grail: adequate, affordable, and user-friendly health insurance. In a country where 40 million people (approximately 16% of the population) have no health insurance, I didn't really expect the situation to be any different.
This all left me rather forlorn, wishing I was back in my homeland where healthcare is a right, but also wondering about the current state affairs so far as the healthcare system is concerned. Somewhere in the back of my memory Mr. Romanow's name lingered as "the author of some report" about the whole thing. Jump to this morning, I typed in "www.canada.ca" and a few clicks later (about 4) I'd downloaded the report in its entirety.
I've yet to read much of any real import, but I would like to share some of the introductory thoughts and put them out:
"Medicare is a worthy national acheivement, a defining aspect of our citizenship and an expression of social cohesion."
How attached do all of you feel to medicare, to what extent do you include it as part of your canadian identity?
"The reality is that Canadians embrace medicare as a public good, a national symbol, and a defining aspect of their citizenship"
A few facts (dare I say) about healthcare:
- health spending in Canada is on par with most western countries and is substantially lower than in the United States
- we devote a smaller portion of our GDP to healthcare today than we did ten years ago
Any thoughts sent to any of my email addresses will be dutifully posted. If anyone would like posting priveleges, please let me know.
----
Techno Tid-bit, August 13th 2003
It seems that our glorious technology industry has gotten us tangibly close to holographic data storage. Many working prototypes already exist, and some are slated for market release as early as next year. The whole thing dates back to 1963 "when Pieter van Heerden, a researcher at Polaroid, first proposed using the method to store data in three dimensions." In theory, it is an excellent idea; the principle challenge over the past four decades has been to develop (or find) "the right recording material--a photosensitive substance that is both stable and cheap enough to use commercially."
Why all the fuss? Holographic storage has three attributes that make it very appealing:
1. Capacity, adding another dimension makes for a lot more space. (imagine 1 terabyte on media the size of a CD)
2. Speed, light (the method of storage and retrieval) is very fast
3. Searchability - more efficient...if anyone is curious as to how, or would like to provide a succint and illuminating explanation, let me know (there is one in the Economist, the source for this Techno Tid-bit).
----
Always American
The Pentagon recently proposed that an online futures market be created to enable punters to place bets on the odds of forthcoming terrorist activity. The idea was that the market would bring all the hidden expertise to the fore and aid the nation in preventing the next 9/11. Democratic Senators didn't cotton to the idea and the plan has since been nixed.
In related news (conceptually at least), as of last year Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have been offering traders the opportunity to place bets on the vicissitudes of the unemployment rate. Who said the rich don't get richer and the poor poorer. Where's my trickle (down effect).
In thoroughly unrelated news, a quarter of those aged 25 and up in Arkansas do not have a high-school diploma. Despite this, the Arkansas state legislature has decided to restrict even further the reading material available by passing into a law a bill that forces bookstores and libraries to seperate "adult material" from "more tasteful stuff". According to state code, material that has "any description, exhibition, presentation, or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse" is considered "harmful to children". Earlier this year, in a school library in Cedarville (Arkansas), Harry Potter books were placed in a cabinet under lock and key to shield Christian sensibilities from the scary witchcraft. Though this action was later ruled unconstitutional (by a fedral judge),it does not bode well; we here at Always American believe that if Arkansas wants to step up in the field of literacy, it had better start training some new players.
(Source: The Economist, most quotes from the Economist)
------
So who wants to go into politics? Your author (I've been reading too much of the Economist) feels that the left-wing, in Canada and the United States is in need of revival. Revival could be said to be a euphemism for leadership, but that might be a tad unfair. I ask not even for a left "left-wing", simply, I would like something other than neo-conservatism, or its thinly veiled progeny, compassionate conservatism. I want politics with heart, politicians with integrity, and a populace with a sense of responsibility. Perhaps I'd better step up myself.
Economic Eddies
Citigroup and J.P. Morgan have reached an agreement with American regulators. The fines are, relative to their overall profits, small, however there is no established methodology for how to go about such things. More importantly, the two have been forced to concede two important legal points. "The first is that, even though every element of a transaction they structure could be legal, the whole could be misleading enough to violate the law. The second, is that banks are responsible for how their clients use the fancy financial structures they create."
(Source: The Economist, all quotes from the Economist)
Well, that about brings me to the end, both of this week's Economist, and of me free time today. I may check in again later to write about "Film Theory". Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.
It's been a long time since the last post. Let me assuage your concerns and say that, yes indeed, a lot has happened.
Events in Brief
I spent some number of days in Vancouver pressure washing (thank you Ben), sanding, and painting my mother's garage and deck. Try and imagine me seated in a white plastic deck chair, pressure washer in my left hand, beer in my right, sun glasses donned, and a great big smile on my face. I also had a few long bouts with the ivy on my mother's front porch. Happy, happy, joy,........joy?
This almost week was followed by a visit to Swan River Manitoba for my grandmother's funeral. No need for a summary here.
Of the last two weeks, the most important event (by far) was Kitty's birthday. Let's all wish her a Happy Birthday (yay!).
There was supposed to be daily entries while I was enjoying the great north (Swan River is rather a bit to the north of the border), however my power supply conked out on day one. Kudos to Apple for sending me a brand new one two days after my return.
This next part is the entry that did get (partially) written:
August 4th, 12:08 am
Long, long day. I feel as though all my ligaments, tendons, and muscles have been slowly stretched. Got up at six to catch a plane to Regina at nine, only an hour earlier than I got up yesterday. That was to finish off the painting of my mother’s garage. Today was to make the trip to Swan River (Manitoba) for my Grandmother’s funeral.
The plane ride gave me a nice opportunity for reading. I made some further progress into “Film Theory”; I’m now on chapter four. I didn’t transcribe any quotes, nor did I record my thoughts while reading, so I’m afraid the account will be slightly less than enthralling, but here she is.
In a chapter called “The Establishment of Physical Existence”, Kracauer focuses on the elements of film that make it cinematic. For Kracauer, cinema is art, and a film is not necessarily cinema. I’ll save his outline of this distinction for later (when I have properly understood it), but I will start by sharing some tidbits of it.
Movement, movement, movement, who would have thought. His discussion of different types of movement is interesting. It begins with three types of movement that “can be considered cinematic subjects par excellence”: the chase, dancing, and nascent motion. A nice quote from Hitchcock appears at the beginning of the discussion of the chase, “ The chase seems to me the final expression of the motion picture medium.”
That entry ended after the Hitchcock quote, I will pick it up tomorrow after I've done some more reading and it's fresh in my head.
I must send kudos to the Economist for their cover story on Silvio Berlusconi (Italy's PM) this week and for their open letter to him. It's about time somebody in the mainstream press took him task for his democratic ways. Mr. Burlesquesconi seems about ready to get himself elected for life, he must be stopped.
Why I'm not Catholic, August 12th, 2003
The Vatican has recently taken a stand and proclaimed that any support of same-sex unions is "gravely immoral", and that, "there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law....Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of DEVIANT (emphasis added) behaviour...but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of hummanity." Additionaly, people extending cohabitation rights "need to be reminded that the approval or legalisation of EVIL (emphaisis added) is something far different from the toleration of evil." Also, gay couples who adopt children have been described as "doing violence". (Source: Guardian Weekly)
If only the Pope could stick to waving at pilgrims and visiting sick children.
Good night. I hope all is well.
Events in Brief
I spent some number of days in Vancouver pressure washing (thank you Ben), sanding, and painting my mother's garage and deck. Try and imagine me seated in a white plastic deck chair, pressure washer in my left hand, beer in my right, sun glasses donned, and a great big smile on my face. I also had a few long bouts with the ivy on my mother's front porch. Happy, happy, joy,........joy?
This almost week was followed by a visit to Swan River Manitoba for my grandmother's funeral. No need for a summary here.
Of the last two weeks, the most important event (by far) was Kitty's birthday. Let's all wish her a Happy Birthday (yay!).
There was supposed to be daily entries while I was enjoying the great north (Swan River is rather a bit to the north of the border), however my power supply conked out on day one. Kudos to Apple for sending me a brand new one two days after my return.
This next part is the entry that did get (partially) written:
August 4th, 12:08 am
Long, long day. I feel as though all my ligaments, tendons, and muscles have been slowly stretched. Got up at six to catch a plane to Regina at nine, only an hour earlier than I got up yesterday. That was to finish off the painting of my mother’s garage. Today was to make the trip to Swan River (Manitoba) for my Grandmother’s funeral.
The plane ride gave me a nice opportunity for reading. I made some further progress into “Film Theory”; I’m now on chapter four. I didn’t transcribe any quotes, nor did I record my thoughts while reading, so I’m afraid the account will be slightly less than enthralling, but here she is.
In a chapter called “The Establishment of Physical Existence”, Kracauer focuses on the elements of film that make it cinematic. For Kracauer, cinema is art, and a film is not necessarily cinema. I’ll save his outline of this distinction for later (when I have properly understood it), but I will start by sharing some tidbits of it.
Movement, movement, movement, who would have thought. His discussion of different types of movement is interesting. It begins with three types of movement that “can be considered cinematic subjects par excellence”: the chase, dancing, and nascent motion. A nice quote from Hitchcock appears at the beginning of the discussion of the chase, “ The chase seems to me the final expression of the motion picture medium.”
That entry ended after the Hitchcock quote, I will pick it up tomorrow after I've done some more reading and it's fresh in my head.
I must send kudos to the Economist for their cover story on Silvio Berlusconi (Italy's PM) this week and for their open letter to him. It's about time somebody in the mainstream press took him task for his democratic ways. Mr. Burlesquesconi seems about ready to get himself elected for life, he must be stopped.
Why I'm not Catholic, August 12th, 2003
The Vatican has recently taken a stand and proclaimed that any support of same-sex unions is "gravely immoral", and that, "there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law....Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of DEVIANT (emphasis added) behaviour...but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of hummanity." Additionaly, people extending cohabitation rights "need to be reminded that the approval or legalisation of EVIL (emphaisis added) is something far different from the toleration of evil." Also, gay couples who adopt children have been described as "doing violence". (Source: Guardian Weekly)
If only the Pope could stick to waving at pilgrims and visiting sick children.
Good night. I hope all is well.
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