Tuesday Links
California Workers Comp: Parts I and II. Decriminalizing drugs in the Czech Republic. Bad news for Alzheimer’s Treatment The solution to obesity: school playgrounds? An interview with a nurse practitioner. Homo economicus in Paris.
Month: August 2010
Econometric Methods for Fractional Response Variables
Oftentimes, people use the following rule of thumb: if the dependent variable is continuous, use OLS; if binary use a logit or probit. But what should you do if your dependent variable is fraction between 0 and 1. To use a logit or probit one would have to unnecessarily transform the dependent variable into binary…
Detailing the Provisions of the Health Reform Law
Stephen Zuckerman has a nice summary of the key provisions in the Health Reform law (i.e., PPACA). There are six broad changes: i) the creation of health insurance exchanges, ii) an excise tax on high-cost health plans, iii) creating the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), iv) Medicare policy changes v) additional emphasis on prevention and…
Friday Night Links
The politics of breast cancer. Are gulf shrimp safe? High journal rejection rates and the probability of erroneous results. The uninsured in Massachusetts. How to reduce malpractice lawsuits. Roboscout and the Four Factors of Basketball Success. ObamaCare threatens college health plans. Using the iPad for EMR.
Beers
As a Wisconsin-native, you may be surprised that this is my first post about Beers. I do like beer. My preference is for either dark beers (e.g., porters, stouts) or Belgian ales. Today, however, I am not going to endulge you in a discussion about beer. Instead, I want to talk about the Beers criteria. …
Moving Medicaid Policy Decisions to the Feds
Tyler Cowen thinks that one way to reduce the fiscal burden on States is to move Medicaid to the Feds. Wisconsin may be taking a first step in that direction. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, having to make $400 million in Medicaid cuts, left these cuts up to Federal Medicaid officials. Newsweek reports that “The fixes,…
Cavalcade of Risk is up
The latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk (#112) is up at The Notwithstanding Blog. This new entry into the blog-o-sphere is not only entertaining and informative, but also contains pictures. Using the latest exchange rate (1 picture=1000 words), this edition of the CoR is sure to have enough information to enlighten even the most…
How with health reform affect small, medium and large size businesses
How will health reform affect small, medium and large size businesses? Linda Blumberg answers this question in this RWJ policy brief. Blumberg summarizes the legislation as follows: “Small employers, those with fewer than 50 workers, will face no new requirements but will have new insurance options made available to them through the new health insurance…
Sigmoidoscopy: The colonoscopy’s cheaper, equally effective predecessor
Physicians claims that colonoscopies are the gold standard of preventive medicine. In 2008 the American Cancer Society deemed the colonoscopy as the preferred test and the health reform law (PPACA) will compel insurance companies to cover colonoscopies. But does the sigmoidoscopy–the colonoscopy’s predecessor–offer less expensive, less invasive, equally effective preventive care? “[The sigmoidoscopy] looks at…
Book Review: This Time is Different
What is the history of financial crises? Why to they occur? Are they common? In the book This Time is Different, authors Reinhard and Rogoff assiduously review the history of government defaults and crisis of the financial system. Their data on government default is truly astounding. They document instance of government default in multiple ways:…