Archive for September 25th, 2009

Medicare Advantage saves money … so cut it to save money. Huh?

September 25, 2009

Ken’s Take: Apparently, when it comes to healthcare reform,  squeezing corporate profits is more important than saving money …

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From WSJ, A preview of coming political health-care attractions, Sept 22, 2009

The Baucus Bill slashes $123 billion over the next decade from Dems-hated Medicare Advantage program – meaning that many (all?) seniors may lose this coverage.

Why do the Dems hate it?

Because profiteering insurers are “overpaid.”

Seniors like it is because private insurers focus on quality and preventive care and try to manage benefits, as opposed to simply paying bills.

In fact, one-fourth of beneficiaries have chosen it over traditional fee-for-service Medicare.

A new study finds that seniors on Advantage … spent 30% fewer days in hospitals over fee-for-service patients.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204488304574427200839672342.html#mod=article-outset-box

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Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | 1 Comment »

If Sports Ruled the World …

September 25, 2009

Ken’s Take: Nuts.  Being a sports freak, I wish I had conjured this analogy.

In posts, I’ve mused that the willy-nilly changes in laws — and their contextual application — are injecting “political risk” into business — corporate and personal. 

Bankruptcy laws are ignored (e.g. the UAW cutting the line in front of secured creditors), contracts are ignored (e.g. exec comp pacts), tax laws are changed retroactively, closed legal cases are re-opened when political winds shift.

The question my biz friends are asking: “how can my company commit major investments — human and financial capital — if we’re not sure what the rules will be.”

That’s one of the reasons that the economic recovery will be jobless.  Adding payroll just isn’t worth the risk of game-changing shifts in the rules and their interpretation. 

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Excerpted from WSJ, If Sports Ruled the World, Sept 17, 2009

in the primal world of sports we are all strict constructionists, even as we agree that a discreet judge would have given Serena’s foot fault a pass.

While we all know what the rules are in sports, no one knows anymore what the rules are in real life.

The Austrian novelist Peter Handke reduced the fine line separating freedom from foul to a novel’s title: “The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick.”

This is why we watch sports. Not just to see the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, but because it is the one world left with clear rules abided by all.

(Some esthetes would chime in that this is why they listen to classical music where structure rules.)

Compared to sports (and classical music), real life has become constant chaos.

While we all know what the rules are in the sports, no one knows anymore what the rules are in real life.

Not in politics, law, the bureaucracies, commerce, finance or Federal Reserve policy.

Boston lawyer Harvey Silverglate argues in a forthcoming book, “Three Felonies a Day,” that federal law has become such a morass that people in business routinely violate statutes without a clue. Modern law lacks what sports provides lucidity.

The utopia most people want: a rules-based life, with wiggle room.

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Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204518504574416774102132370.html?mod=djemEditorialPage

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Posted in Risk, Sports & Athletics, Sports - Games - Recreation | 1 Comment »