Laura Brown Image The Hawaii state Legislature can make a big step toward reforming and making more effective Hawaii’ s public school system by addressing Hawaii’ s flawed charter school law. However, it will take cooperation and leadership of both parties in the state Legislature, the Board of Education and Department of Education School Superintendent Pat Hamamoto to steer the system, away from the Titanic-like path it is now on, toward school choice and student achievement. Hawaii’s minority party in the state Legislature said yesterday it is ready to do its part to help further the success of Hawaii’s charter schools. House Republicans plan to introduce legislation that raises the limit of new century charter schools from 23 to at least 30, establishes a charter school commission, and amends the law to mandate a small school subsidy. Senate Republicans have similar ideas. Senators say they want to double the authorized amount of charter schools and require the state Department of Education and state Board of Education keep separate charter school and regular public school legislative budget requests so they can be monitored to ensure proper funding. They also want to require a budget report from the auditor’s office within 30 days of the release of the second round of charter school funds. For teachers, they have plans to ensure equal benefits, tenure, probationary status, seniority and accrued retirement transfer from the public schools to the charter schools or vice versa. While the assistance to charter schools is welcomed by those working to forward school choice, they say many charter schools are in crisis because the state Legislature completely missed the boat in the late 1990s when creating the charter school law. The state Legislature weakened the charter movement substantially by including collective bargaining, capping the number of schools allowed and restricting the schools through mandates that charters could only be established through “conversions” of existing public schools. Other problems with the law included making the Board of Education accountable for the charter schools while leaving the Department of Education’s superintendent off the hook and omitting any measurable goals, objectives or benchmarks. Most damaging is the per pupil funding formula minus expenditures that left charter schools with essentially half the funding of regular public schools from the state, while relying on federal funding that was not dependable to make up the difference. Due to its weak charter school law, Hawaii reportedly lost out on $12 million dollars in federal funding, money desperately needed by the schools. To fix the glaring problems, the state Legislature and Board of Education must do some of what was proposed by Republican lawmakers and more. They must review existing charter school contracts and remove the cap on the number of charter schools as well as the requirement for collective bargaining. Lawmakers also must create chartering agencies; remove Board of Education members from the New Century Charter Review Panel; create well-defined procedures, rules and regulations; and legislate equal funding formulas for all students, meaning students in regular public schools will receive the same backing by taxpayers as their charter school peers. Schools also must be held accountable through an annual evaluation of charter schools for public and legislative review. However, more than fixing regulations, what is required to boost Hawaii’s charter schools and ensure the choice movement not only lasts, but flourishes, is so far lacking in Hawaii. That is a “can-do” attitude. ”Laura Brown is the education reporter for HawaiiReporter.com and can be reached via email at” mailto:LauraBrown@hawaii.rr.com
New Roads, New Approach
The Marquette Interchange is arguably the most important single component of Wisconsin’ s surface transportation infrastructure. Unfortunately, it is worn out and in urgent need of rebuilding. And because of the state’ s current budget-deficit situation, the total cost of rebuilding the Marquette — nearly $1.5 billion, using realistic numbers — is beyond the state’ s means. Further, there is very little prospect of obtaining significant “extra” federal aid for this very large project. And any significant reallocation of existing federal dollars from other Wisconsin projects toward the Marquette would meet certain opposition. This report [See link below] proposes an alternative way of rebuilding the Marquette. Instead of scraping together the necessary tax funds by starving other needed transportation projects of funding, or stretching out the project over a decade or more (during which downtown Milwaukee would suffer greatly), we propose tapping private capital via a public/private partnership (PPP). The Marquette is a large and complex bridge. Major bridges are usually funded via long-term revenue bonds, to be repaid from tolls charged to users. This is a typical application of the PPP approach in transportation. Public/private partnerships for large, complex infrastructure projects have been used for decades in Europe, and more recently in Australia and Latin America. During the 1990s they began to be used in the United States and Canada as well. PPP toll projects are in operation in California, Texas, and Virginia, as well as several Canadian provinces. Large urban toll projects in excess of $1 billion are in operation or under construction in Melbourne, Paris, and Toronto. These projects, in particular, make use of fully automated tolling systems to generate revenue to pay for the facilities. These automated tolling systems are designed from the outset without any toll booths. All tolls are collected electronically, at normal highway speeds, either via a dashboard-mounted transponder (for regular users) or via license-plate imaging (for occasional users). All the inconvenience, traffic congestion, safety, and environmental concerns of traditional tolling would not occur on the Marquette. For the Marquette, we have estimated the cost of a state-of-the-art automated tolling system (similar to that on Toronto’ s Highway 407) at $28 million. That is less than two percent of the total cost of this nearly $1.5 billion project. Also, the operating and maintenance costs of such a system are estimated to be a small fraction of the cost of operating conventional toll collection with toll booths. Further, this type of tolling system gives everyone access to the facility, whether they open an account and obtain a transponder or not. Our preliminary analysis suggests that the entire reconstruction project could be funded via a toll revenue bond issue. A baseline toll revenue stream of $165 million per year will support bonds in excess of the $1.5 billion project cost. This revenue number is based on rush-hour bridge tolls of $2 for cars and $10 for trucks, comparable to tolls on major bridges nationwide. Off-peak rates on weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays were assumed to be 30 percent less. Wisconsinites are reported to contribute more than 40 percent of Illinois’ out-of-state toll revenues. Our proposal attempts to turn the tables by collecting $17 to $21 million each year from out-of-state users of the Marquette. Ample legal authority exists at the federal level to carry out this project in the manner we have proposed. Federal surface transportation law provides for public/private partnerships, for using tolls to rebuild Interstate facilities, and for charging peak and off-peak toll rates. Indeed, the Federal Highway Administration encourages all three of these techniques. Wisconsin enacted a PPP law for transportation projects several years ago, but some fine-tuning would be needed to clarify the legal status of charging and enforcing electronic tolls and of using the design-build procurement method for such projects. We recognize and empathize with the concerns expressed by highway user groups (auto clubs and trucking associations) about ?double taxation? — i.e., paying both tolls and fuel taxes for the same highway facility. Our proposal therefore includes rebates of fuel tax liability incurred for the miles driven on the rebuilt Marquette. The proposed automated tolling system enables this to be done on an individual user basis in a reliable and cost-effective manner. A public/private partnership is a viable approach for rebuilding and modernizing this vital component of Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure. It would permit the entire project to be completed in a four-year period, minimizing the period of disruption in downtown Milwaukee. And most important, it would free up close to $1.5 billion in federal and state transportation funds for other vitally needed transportation projects in the state, including the modernization of the Milwaukee-area freeway system. We hope Wisconsin’ s business and government leaders will embrace this new approach to meeting an urgent public need. ”Reason Director of Transportation Studies Bob Poole and Kevin Soucie show how outside-the-box thinking and entrepreneurial action can help Wisconsin (and other states) expand personal automobility by rebuilding decaying roads. See the Adobe Acrobat version of the January 2003 Policy Study No. 304 at:” https://www.rppi.org/ps304.pdf ”Originally published by Reason Foundation, which is a public policy think tank promoting choice, competition and a dynamic market economy as the foundation for human dignity and progress. For more information, contact Geoffrey Segal, Director of Privatization and Government Reform Policy at:” mailto:geoffrey.segal@reason.org ”Visit the Reason Web site at:” https://www.rppi.org ”or go to the Reason Public Policy Institute’s Privatization Center at:” https://www.privatization.org ”for information on government reform, privatization, contracting out and public/private partnerships.”
Court to Hear Nike Free Speech Case
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court Friday agreed to decide whether Nike Inc., the world’s leading maker of sporting apparel and equipment, can be held liable for allegedly misleading statements about work conditions in its overseas factories. A California man sued the company under state law for disseminating statements, not ads, trying to refute the allegation that Nike is an “immoral company, generating great profits on the backs of Third-World labor.” Nike wants the Supreme Court to determine whether a company engaged in a public debate — “writing letters to newspaper editors and publishing communications addressed to the public on issues of great political, social and economic issues” — can be held liable for not telling the truth. In effect, does such a public relations push constitute “commercial speech,” and can California law constitutionally hold the publishers of commercial speech liable for misleading statements? In the latest figures cited by court records, Nike reported annual revenues of $9.2 billion in 1997, as well as an advertising and marketing budge of $1 billion. Most Nike products are manufactured in China, Vietnam and Indonesia by women under 24. Beginning in 1996, the CBS News program “48 Hours” and a number of publications ran stories alleging near sweatshop conditions in Nike’s overseas factories. In Nike’s words, the allegations included “physical, verbal and sexual abuse,” as well as exposure “to toxic chemicals, noise, heat and dust without adequate safety equipment,” all for less than the local minimum wage. After taking a public relations beating, Nike launched a campaign to counter the reports. The company issued statements saying that the allegations were false, and included the statements in news releases, letters to newspapers and other media. California has laws to curb false advertising. A private citizen, Marc Kasky, filed suit under their provisions against Nike and several company executives, alleging that the public relations campaign included false statements. Kasky had little success in the lower state courts in pursuing his case, but eventually the California Supreme Court agreed that he should be allowed to file it. “The issue here is whether (Nike’s) false statements are commercial or non-commercial speech,” the California Supreme Court said in its ruling last May. “Non-commercial speech” would have greater constitutional protection. “Because the messages in question were directed by a commercial speaker to a commercial audience, and because they made representations of fact about the speaker’s own business operations for the purpose of promoting sales of its products,” the court said, “we conclude that these messages are commercial speech for purposes of applying state laws barring false and misleading commercial messages.” Nike then asked the U.S. Supreme Court for review, saying the California law violated the free speech guarantees of the First Amendment. The justices should hear argument in the case in April. (No. 02-575, Nike et al vs. Kasky) Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
Health Policy Matters: Texas-Sized Ideas
This president is thinking big. In his speech to the Economic Club of Chicago this week, President Bush surprised almost everyone with the size and boldness of his tax cut proposals. And when he delivers his State of the Union address on Jan. 28, all of the signals indicate that the president’s proposals for health reform also will be Texas-sized.
The budget numbers aren’t firm yet, but the president is expected to again offer refundable tax credits for the uninsured to obtain private health insurance. And the White House continues to send strong signals that Mr. Bush is determined to put his energies behind modernizing the decrepit Medicare program.
They insist it would be irresponsible to tack a prescription drug benefit on to a program that is facing trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities. They plan to offer more choices of private plans for Medicare beneficiaries with prescription drug benefits available to all and special subsidies for lower-income beneficiaries. …
The White House is motivated because officials believe the 2004 elections could well swing on health-care issues. And the president is emboldened because, for the first time, the leadership on Capitol Hill is passionately committed to health reform.
The Wall Street Journal editorialized this week that “Republicans tend to approach health care policy the way the rest of us do a root canal,” but that is thankfully changing.
Senator Bill Frist gave up his post at the National Republican Senatorial Committee to devote his time and energies to health issues, long before he or anyone else had the slightest notion that he would soon hold the Senate’s top job. Dr. Frist has been a leader on tax credits and in introducing legislation to streamline Medicare through private-sector competition.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, and other senior colleagues are even more experienced on health care and equally determined to make progress on free-market reform.
So expect big and bold proposals. It is, of course, absolutely accurate that the right way to institute a drug benefit is to make it part of an overall health plan, like virtually all plans in the private sector. But few members of Congress campaigned on the issue of Medicare modernization, and the first constituency that the president will have to convince to go along will be rank and file members of his own party.
How will all of this play out? We wish we had a crystal ball, but one thing is certain. President Bush already has recharted the debate from the dead end it hit last summer as the Senate voted on a series of mostly dreadful prescription drug bills.
The president told the Chicago economists, “The role of government is not to manage or control the economy from Washington, D.C., but to remove obstacles standing in the way?” That’s absolutely true about taxes, but it’s even more urgently important in the health sector.
There is so much private sector energy just ready to transform our health sector. The Galen Institute’s new Center for Consumer Driven Health Care, launched this week under the very able leadership of Greg Scandlen, will be working overtime to provide ideas and information to policymakers and the public about the importance of making progress on these issues. Join us on this exciting ride!
”’Grace-Marie Turner is founder and president of the Galen Institute in Alexandria, Va., which was started in 1995 to promote a more informed public debate over individual freedom, consumer choice, competition and diversity in the health sector. The Institute’s primary focus is sponsoring research and educational programs on the crucial intersection of health and tax policy. For more information, go to:”’ https://www.galen.org/ ”’To reach Grace Marie Turner, send email”’ mailto:galen@galen.org
Health Policy Matters: Texas-Sized Ideas
This president is thinking big. In his speech to the Economic Club of Chicago this week, President Bush surprised almost everyone with the size and boldness of his tax cut proposals. And when he delivers his State of the Union address on Jan. 28, all of the signals indicate that the president’s proposals for health reform also will be Texas-sized. The budget numbers aren’t firm yet, but the president is expected to again offer refundable tax credits for the uninsured to obtain private health insurance. And the White House continues to send strong signals that Mr. Bush is determined to put his energies behind modernizing the decrepit Medicare program. They insist it would be irresponsible to tack a prescription drug benefit on to a program that is facing trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities. They plan to offer more choices of private plans for Medicare beneficiaries with prescription drug benefits available to all and special subsidies for lower-income beneficiaries. … The White House is motivated because officials believe the 2004 elections could well swing on health-care issues. And the president is emboldened because, for the first time, the leadership on Capitol Hill is passionately committed to health reform. The Wall Street Journal editorialized this week that “Republicans tend to approach health care policy the way the rest of us do a root canal,” but that is thankfully changing. Senator Bill Frist gave up his post at the National Republican Senatorial Committee to devote his time and energies to health issues, long before he or anyone else had the slightest notion that he would soon hold the Senate’s top job. Dr. Frist has been a leader on tax credits and in introducing legislation to streamline Medicare through private-sector competition. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, and other senior colleagues are even more experienced on health care and equally determined to make progress on free-market reform. So expect big and bold proposals. It is, of course, absolutely accurate that the right way to institute a drug benefit is to make it part of an overall health plan, like virtually all plans in the private sector. But few members of Congress campaigned on the issue of Medicare modernization, and the first constituency that the president will have to convince to go along will be rank and file members of his own party. How will all of this play out? We wish we had a crystal ball, but one thing is certain. President Bush already has recharted the debate from the dead end it hit last summer as the Senate voted on a series of mostly dreadful prescription drug bills. The president told the Chicago economists, “The role of government is not to manage or control the economy from Washington, D.C., but to remove obstacles standing in the way?” That’s absolutely true about taxes, but it’s even more urgently important in the health sector. There is so much private sector energy just ready to transform our health sector. The Galen Institute’s new Center for Consumer Driven Health Care, launched this week under the very able leadership of Greg Scandlen, will be working overtime to provide ideas and information to policymakers and the public about the importance of making progress on these issues. Join us on this exciting ride! ”Grace-Marie Turner is founder and president of the Galen Institute in Alexandria, Va., which was started in 1995 to promote a more informed public debate over individual freedom, consumer choice, competition and diversity in the health sector. The Institute’s primary focus is sponsoring research and educational programs on the crucial intersection of health and tax policy. For more information, go to:” https://www.galen.org/ ”To reach Grace Marie Turner, send email” mailto:galen@galen.org
CrimeStoppers: Beware of House Repair Scams
CrimeStoppers and the Honolulu Police Department are investigating a house repair scam that occurred in the Kalihi area between Dec. 28 and 31, 2002.
On Saturday, Dec. 28, a male approached an 85-year-old Caucasian woman who was working in her front lawn. The male suspect, his wife, and two sons offered to paint her house and fix her roof for $7,000. The suspects did some painting and placed a substance on the roof. The job was not completed and the suspect stated that he would return in 100 days to finish the work.
It was later discovered that no preparation work was done on the house prior to painting, inferior paint is believed to have been used, and the black substance used on the roof is still being investigated. This appears to be the newest in an old series of scams in which people offer to do house repairs for a “reasonable” fee and do inferior work without ever completing the job.
”Suspect Description”
“Harry” Male, possibly middle European descent,
Late 30’s, 5’9″,
150 lbs,
Black hair,
Brown eyes,
Olive complexion,
Foreign accent
”Safety Tip”
The public should remember that “reasonable cost” can mean inferior quality and workmanship, and victims may be forced to go to civil court to resolve their complaints.
Honolulu CrimeStoppers Inc., will pay a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information which results in the arrest of a wanted person or the solving of case(s) reported to CrimeStoppers Honolulu Inc. All calls are confidential. Do not approach any suspect. All suspects and wanted fugitives should be considered armed and dangerous. All calls are confidential and anonymous. Persons who participate in the crime, or are victims of the crime are ineligible to receive CrimeStoppers rewards. Be a CrimeStopper and call the hot line at 955-8300 or *Crime on your cellular telephone.
Access the CrimeStoppers Web site at https://www.crimestoppers-honolulu.org or the Student CrimeStoppers Web site at https://www.studentcrimestoppers.org
Grassroot Perspective – Jan. 14, 2003-The DDT Ban Turns 30; The Sorry Plight of Canada's Socialized Health-Care System; Affordable Health Care
“Dick Rowland Image”
”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”
– Natural Resources and Environment
The DDT Ban Turns 30
By Todd Seavey
Thirty years ago, on June 14, 1972, the Environmental Protection
Agency’s first administrator, William Ruckelshaus, rebuffed the advice of his scientific advisors and announced a ban on virtually all domestic uses of the pesticide DDT. This was done despite the fact that DDT had earlier been hailed as a “miracle” chemical that repelled and killed mosquitoes that carry malaria, a disease that can be fatal to humans. Now, thirty years later, it is vividly apparent that DDT was not hazardous to human health and that the banning of its domestic use led its diminished production in the United States — and less availability of DDT for the developing world.
American Council on Science and Health, 1995 Broadway, Second Floor, New York, NY 10023, 212/362-7044, fax 212/362-4919
https://www.acsh.org/publications/reports/ddt2002.html
– The Sorry Plight of Canada’s Socialized Health-Care System
In Canada, health care is a state monopoly — socialized medicine called “universal care” — that has developed a deservedly bad reputation, observers say.
A new study from the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute documents the system’s failure:
*1. Despite spending more money per capita than any other country with a similar system, Canadian health care ranks on a par with that of Turkey, Hungary and Poland.
*2. Canada ranks 18th in access to MRIs, 17th in access to CT scanners, eighth in access to radiation machines and 13th in access to lithotripters, which are used for treating kidney stones.
*3. Canadians do somewhat better in terms of health-treatment outcomes — but that is due in part to their option to come to the U.S. for services that would be unavailable or dangerously delayed at home.
*4. All of the countries that beat Canada in outcomes have parallel systems of private health insurance and care delivery operating alongside the government system.
In another survey, 6 in 10 Canadians told the Canadian Medical
Association they expect the quality of care to worsen over the next five years.
Canada is often held up as a model of universal health care the
U.S. should emulate by lobbies such as Families USA and politicians who seem set on socializing health care. For example, the Senate refused to add a drug benefit to Medicare because Democrats insisted it be provided through the Health Care Financing Administration — which some observers call the worst bureaucracy in the world.
At the same time, liberals oppose reforms that would aid those without insurance, such as relief from costly insurance mandates, or equalizing the tax treatment of employer-provided and patient-purchased policies.
See www.ncpa.org Daily Digest 9/3/02
”Roots (Food for Thought)”
– Affordable Health Care
Oregon Health Choice Program kicks off with SimpleCare Cascade launched the Oregon Health Choice Program in January. This three-year educational initiative will advance ideas and policy alternatives that: reduce public and private health care costs; protect the patient-physician relationship; and improve consumer choice in Oregon’s health-care sectors. Cascade debuted the Oregon Health Choice Program on Feb. 28 and March 1 with a full schedule of media interviews, private meetings and public forums featuring Dr. David C. MacDonald, co-founder of the American Association of Patients and Providers (AAPP). One AAPP program gaining local, national and international attention is SimpleCare.
Speaking before audiences of physicians, medical school students,
insurance agents, and other members of the medical community in Salem and Portland, Dr. MacDonald explained that SimpleCare was originally founded to help the uninsured afford medical care.
“Why is it the uninsured are coming in and paying retail prices for
health care when they incur no insurance-related costs?” he asked. “Why don’t we at least give them the same deal we give to insurance
companies?” With those questions, SimpleCare was born.
SimpleCare’s operating principle is that physicians charge less when patients pay for routine medical care at the time of service. Fee for service allows physicians to cut their billing and insurance-related administrative costs, often by 30 to 50 percent. With less paperwork, doctors have more time to spend with patients, which makes for greater job satisfaction and better patient care.
“For people unable to pay even the lower cost of care at the time of
delivery, the AAPP is working to offer a low-interest medical credit
card so they can make payments over time,” MacDonald said. Further, in the spirit of Hippocrates, the AAPP has developed the Cares for America program, which asks SimpleCare providers to accept some patients each month who cannot pay for their health care services. Those patients are asked to volunteer time with a non-profit within 90 days as a way to pay their bill.
“Insurance still has its role to play,” said MacDonald. Though SimpleCare was created with the uninsured in mind, he recommends that individuals and businesses use SimpleCare coupled with inexpensive, high deductible insurance policies. “Pay cash for routine care, insure for unforeseen, catastrophic events-just like you do with your home or car,” MacDonald advised.
SimpleCare can work well for businesses that offer flexible spending accounts, Section 105s, and Medical Savings Accounts, which are basically Individual Retirement Accounts for health care. The latter would allow wealth to accrue, and could ultimately become a self-funding source for one’s health and long-term care insurance.
“We chose to launch the Oregon Health Choice Program with SimpleCare because it is a working solution that is being adopted by many Oregon doctors,” said Cascade vice president Kurt T. Weber, who is coordinating the Institute’s health policy work. “Moreover, SimpleCare offers an excellent model for improving health care and lowering costs by returning insurance to its rightful role: protection against major unforeseen events.”
Weber notes that on the immediate horizon Cascade is organizing a Portland seminar to highlight solutions that businesses, organizations, and individuals can implement immediately to have better health care while controlling or lowering costs. Options to be covered include flexible spending accounts, Section 105s, Medical Savings Accounts, and other innovative tools.
See www.simplecare.com or read Cascade Commentary, “SimpleCare helps cut health care costs,” at
www.cascadepolicy.org
”Evergreen (Today’s Quote)”
It must be obvious that liberty necessarily means freedom to choose foolishly as well as wisely; freedom to choose evil as well as good; freedom to enjoy the rewards of good judgment, and freedom to
suffer the penalties of bad judgment. – Ben Moreell
”’See Web site”’ https://www.grassrootinstitute.org ”’for further information. Join its efforts at “Nurturing the rights and responsibilities of the individual in a civil society. …” or email or call Grassroot of Hawaii Institute President Richard O. Rowland at mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com or (808) 487-4959.”’
Grassroot Perspective – Jan. 14, 2003-The DDT Ban Turns 30; The Sorry Plight of Canada’s Socialized Health-Care System; Affordable Health Care
“Dick Rowland Image”
”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”
– Natural Resources and Environment
The DDT Ban Turns 30
By Todd Seavey
Thirty years ago, on June 14, 1972, the Environmental Protection
Agency’s first administrator, William Ruckelshaus, rebuffed the advice of his scientific advisors and announced a ban on virtually all domestic uses of the pesticide DDT. This was done despite the fact that DDT had earlier been hailed as a “miracle” chemical that repelled and killed mosquitoes that carry malaria, a disease that can be fatal to humans. Now, thirty years later, it is vividly apparent that DDT was not hazardous to human health and that the banning of its domestic use led its diminished production in the United States — and less availability of DDT for the developing world.
American Council on Science and Health, 1995 Broadway, Second Floor, New York, NY 10023, 212/362-7044, fax 212/362-4919
https://www.acsh.org/publications/reports/ddt2002.html
– The Sorry Plight of Canada’s Socialized Health-Care System
In Canada, health care is a state monopoly — socialized medicine called “universal care” — that has developed a deservedly bad reputation, observers say.
A new study from the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute documents the system’s failure:
*1. Despite spending more money per capita than any other country with a similar system, Canadian health care ranks on a par with that of Turkey, Hungary and Poland.
*2. Canada ranks 18th in access to MRIs, 17th in access to CT scanners, eighth in access to radiation machines and 13th in access to lithotripters, which are used for treating kidney stones.
*3. Canadians do somewhat better in terms of health-treatment outcomes — but that is due in part to their option to come to the U.S. for services that would be unavailable or dangerously delayed at home.
*4. All of the countries that beat Canada in outcomes have parallel systems of private health insurance and care delivery operating alongside the government system.
In another survey, 6 in 10 Canadians told the Canadian Medical
Association they expect the quality of care to worsen over the next five years.
Canada is often held up as a model of universal health care the
U.S. should emulate by lobbies such as Families USA and politicians who seem set on socializing health care. For example, the Senate refused to add a drug benefit to Medicare because Democrats insisted it be provided through the Health Care Financing Administration — which some observers call the worst bureaucracy in the world.
At the same time, liberals oppose reforms that would aid those without insurance, such as relief from costly insurance mandates, or equalizing the tax treatment of employer-provided and patient-purchased policies.
See www.ncpa.org Daily Digest 9/3/02
”Roots (Food for Thought)”
– Affordable Health Care
Oregon Health Choice Program kicks off with SimpleCare Cascade launched the Oregon Health Choice Program in January. This three-year educational initiative will advance ideas and policy alternatives that: reduce public and private health care costs; protect the patient-physician relationship; and improve consumer choice in Oregon’s health-care sectors. Cascade debuted the Oregon Health Choice Program on Feb. 28 and March 1 with a full schedule of media interviews, private meetings and public forums featuring Dr. David C. MacDonald, co-founder of the American Association of Patients and Providers (AAPP). One AAPP program gaining local, national and international attention is SimpleCare.
Speaking before audiences of physicians, medical school students,
insurance agents, and other members of the medical community in Salem and Portland, Dr. MacDonald explained that SimpleCare was originally founded to help the uninsured afford medical care.
“Why is it the uninsured are coming in and paying retail prices for
health care when they incur no insurance-related costs?” he asked. “Why don’t we at least give them the same deal we give to insurance
companies?” With those questions, SimpleCare was born.
SimpleCare’s operating principle is that physicians charge less when patients pay for routine medical care at the time of service. Fee for service allows physicians to cut their billing and insurance-related administrative costs, often by 30 to 50 percent. With less paperwork, doctors have more time to spend with patients, which makes for greater job satisfaction and better patient care.
“For people unable to pay even the lower cost of care at the time of
delivery, the AAPP is working to offer a low-interest medical credit
card so they can make payments over time,” MacDonald said. Further, in the spirit of Hippocrates, the AAPP has developed the Cares for America program, which asks SimpleCare providers to accept some patients each month who cannot pay for their health care services. Those patients are asked to volunteer time with a non-profit within 90 days as a way to pay their bill.
“Insurance still has its role to play,” said MacDonald. Though SimpleCare was created with the uninsured in mind, he recommends that individuals and businesses use SimpleCare coupled with inexpensive, high deductible insurance policies. “Pay cash for routine care, insure for unforeseen, catastrophic events-just like you do with your home or car,” MacDonald advised.
SimpleCare can work well for businesses that offer flexible spending accounts, Section 105s, and Medical Savings Accounts, which are basically Individual Retirement Accounts for health care. The latter would allow wealth to accrue, and could ultimately become a self-funding source for one’s health and long-term care insurance.
“We chose to launch the Oregon Health Choice Program with SimpleCare because it is a working solution that is being adopted by many Oregon doctors,” said Cascade vice president Kurt T. Weber, who is coordinating the Institute’s health policy work. “Moreover, SimpleCare offers an excellent model for improving health care and lowering costs by returning insurance to its rightful role: protection against major unforeseen events.”
Weber notes that on the immediate horizon Cascade is organizing a Portland seminar to highlight solutions that businesses, organizations, and individuals can implement immediately to have better health care while controlling or lowering costs. Options to be covered include flexible spending accounts, Section 105s, Medical Savings Accounts, and other innovative tools.
See www.simplecare.com or read Cascade Commentary, “SimpleCare helps cut health care costs,” at
www.cascadepolicy.org
”Evergreen (Today’s Quote)”
It must be obvious that liberty necessarily means freedom to choose foolishly as well as wisely; freedom to choose evil as well as good; freedom to enjoy the rewards of good judgment, and freedom to
suffer the penalties of bad judgment. – Ben Moreell
”’See Web site”’ https://www.grassrootinstitute.org ”’for further information. Join its efforts at “Nurturing the rights and responsibilities of the individual in a civil society. …” or email or call Grassroot of Hawaii Institute President Richard O. Rowland at mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com or (808) 487-4959.”’
Grassroot Perspective – Jan. 14, 2003-The DDT Ban Turns 30; The Sorry Plight of Canada's Socialized Health-Care System; Affordable Health Care
Dick Rowland Image ‘Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)’ – Natural Resources and Environment The DDT Ban Turns 30 By Todd Seavey Thirty years ago, on June 14, 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency’s first administrator, William Ruckelshaus, rebuffed the advice of his scientific advisors and announced a ban on virtually all domestic uses of the pesticide DDT. This was done despite the fact that DDT had earlier been hailed as a “miracle” chemical that repelled and killed mosquitoes that carry malaria, a disease that can be fatal to humans. Now, thirty years later, it is vividly apparent that DDT was not hazardous to human health and that the banning of its domestic use led its diminished production in the United States — and less availability of DDT for the developing world. American Council on Science and Health, 1995 Broadway, Second Floor, New York, NY 10023, 212/362-7044, fax 212/362-4919 https://www.acsh.org/publications/reports/ddt2002.html – The Sorry Plight of Canada’s Socialized Health-Care System In Canada, health care is a state monopoly — socialized medicine called “universal care” — that has developed a deservedly bad reputation, observers say. A new study from the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute documents the system’s failure: *1. Despite spending more money per capita than any other country with a similar system, Canadian health care ranks on a par with that of Turkey, Hungary and Poland. *2. Canada ranks 18th in access to MRIs, 17th in access to CT scanners, eighth in access to radiation machines and 13th in access to lithotripters, which are used for treating kidney stones. *3. Canadians do somewhat better in terms of health-treatment outcomes — but that is due in part to their option to come to the U.S. for services that would be unavailable or dangerously delayed at home. *4. All of the countries that beat Canada in outcomes have parallel systems of private health insurance and care delivery operating alongside the government system. In another survey, 6 in 10 Canadians told the Canadian Medical Association they expect the quality of care to worsen over the next five years. Canada is often held up as a model of universal health care the U.S. should emulate by lobbies such as Families USA and politicians who seem set on socializing health care. For example, the Senate refused to add a drug benefit to Medicare because Democrats insisted it be provided through the Health Care Financing Administration — which some observers call the worst bureaucracy in the world. At the same time, liberals oppose reforms that would aid those without insurance, such as relief from costly insurance mandates, or equalizing the tax treatment of employer-provided and patient-purchased policies. See www.ncpa.org Daily Digest 9/3/02 ‘Roots (Food for Thought)’ – Affordable Health Care Oregon Health Choice Program kicks off with SimpleCare Cascade launched the Oregon Health Choice Program in January. This three-year educational initiative will advance ideas and policy alternatives that: reduce public and private health care costs; protect the patient-physician relationship; and improve consumer choice in Oregon’s health-care sectors. Cascade debuted the Oregon Health Choice Program on Feb. 28 and March 1 with a full schedule of media interviews, private meetings and public forums featuring Dr. David C. MacDonald, co-founder of the American Association of Patients and Providers (AAPP). One AAPP program gaining local, national and international attention is SimpleCare. Speaking before audiences of physicians, medical school students, insurance agents, and other members of the medical community in Salem and Portland, Dr. MacDonald explained that SimpleCare was originally founded to help the uninsured afford medical care. “Why is it the uninsured are coming in and paying retail prices for health care when they incur no insurance-related costs?” he asked. “Why don’t we at least give them the same deal we give to insurance companies?” With those questions, SimpleCare was born. SimpleCare’s operating principle is that physicians charge less when patients pay for routine medical care at the time of service. Fee for service allows physicians to cut their billing and insurance-related administrative costs, often by 30 to 50 percent. With less paperwork, doctors have more time to spend with patients, which makes for greater job satisfaction and better patient care. “For people unable to pay even the lower cost of care at the time of delivery, the AAPP is working to offer a low-interest medical credit card so they can make payments over time,” MacDonald said. Further, in the spirit of Hippocrates, the AAPP has developed the Cares for America program, which asks SimpleCare providers to accept some patients each month who cannot pay for their health care services. Those patients are asked to volunteer time with a non-profit within 90 days as a way to pay their bill. “Insurance still has its role to play,” said MacDonald. Though SimpleCare was created with the uninsured in mind, he recommends that individuals and businesses use SimpleCare coupled with inexpensive, high deductible insurance policies. “Pay cash for routine care, insure for unforeseen, catastrophic events-just like you do with your home or car,” MacDonald advised. SimpleCare can work well for businesses that offer flexible spending accounts, Section 105s, and Medical Savings Accounts, which are basically Individual Retirement Accounts for health care. The latter would allow wealth to accrue, and could ultimately become a self-funding source for one’s health and long-term care insurance. “We chose to launch the Oregon Health Choice Program with SimpleCare because it is a working solution that is being adopted by many Oregon doctors,” said Cascade vice president Kurt T. Weber, who is coordinating the Institute’s health policy work. “Moreover, SimpleCare offers an excellent model for improving health care and lowering costs by returning insurance to its rightful role: protection against major unforeseen events.” Weber notes that on the immediate horizon Cascade is organizing a Portland seminar to highlight solutions that businesses, organizations, and individuals can implement immediately to have better health care while controlling or lowering costs. Options to be covered include flexible spending accounts, Section 105s, Medical Savings Accounts, and other innovative tools. See www.simplecare.com or read Cascade Commentary, “SimpleCare helps cut health care costs,” at www.cascadepolicy.org ‘Evergreen (Today’s Quote)’ It must be obvious that liberty necessarily means freedom to choose foolishly as well as wisely; freedom to choose evil as well as good; freedom to enjoy the rewards of good judgment, and freedom to suffer the penalties of bad judgment. – Ben Moreell ”See Web site” https://www.grassrootinstitute.org ”for further information. Join its efforts at “Nurturing the rights and responsibilities of the individual in a civil society. …” or email or call Grassroot of Hawaii Institute President Richard O. Rowland at mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com or (808) 487-4959.”
'Hairy' Restaurant Experiences
Suzanne Gelb Image ‘Chivalry And Politeness — Are They a Thing of the Past?’ Q: Dear Dr. Gelb: What has our society come to? I was having lunch the other day in a restaurant that makes my favorite soup. I usually go in for a quick bowl of soup on my lunch break and I sit at the counter because it is faster. Along came this gentleman, if you can call him that, and sat on the stool beside me. He ordered soup also and we were both served about the same time. This gentleman had a long beard and a mustache hanging over his mouth. He took a couple of spoonfuls of his soup, and began to suck the rest of it out of his mustache. Needless to say, I pushed my soup aside and walked out. Was I rude in doing this? I was only trying to make a statement. Possibly Rude A: Dr. Gelb says . . . Dear Possibly Rude: I believe that the most appropriate course of action would be to pick up the bowl of soup, move down the counter to another place if possible, and ignore the vulgar behavior. You probably have noticed that in most public places very few people in today’s society show manners or respect for each other. Chivalry and politeness appear to be, unfortunately, a thing of the past. If I had my way, we would get it back. However, for this to occur, caregivers need to reinstate this type of discipline as they teach their young ones to show courtesy and respect to each other. ‘Faking It — To What Lengths Would I Go For a Free Meal?’ Q: Dear Dr. Gelb: I was having dinner at a very exclusive restaurant in a nice neighborhood and as I began to enjoy my dessert there was a hair in the pudding. I brought this to the attention of the waiter, he came to the table with a white cloth over his arm and I pointed to the hair in the pudding. Immediately he left and another gentleman who identified himself as the manager, came to my table and apologized and offered me and my guest a free meal. He also asked if there was anything else that he could bring me to make up for this embarrassment. I appreciated this gesture and of course accepted the generosity. My guilt is that my next restaurant I went to, I actually thought of planting a hair in one of the entrees to see if I could get another free meal, but my conscience wouldn’t allow it. Shameful Me Dear Shameful: You were right to bring to the restaurant’s attention the fact that the hair was in your pudding. Most establishments are very generous in compensating for errors of that nature, and believe me, the kitchen help usually hears about it because this is something that they do not want to occur. However, as careful as they can be accidents do happen. As far as your conscience goes I am pleased that you have one. Continue to obey it and live a healthy life. ”Suzanne J. Gelb, Ph.D., J.D. authors this daily column, Dr. Gelb Says, which answers questions about daily living and behavior issues. Dr. Gelb is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Honolulu. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Human Services. Dr. Gelb is also a published author of a book on Overcoming Addictions and a book on Relationships.” ”This column is intended for entertainment use only and is not intended for the purpose of psychological diagnosis, treatment or personalized advice. For more about the column’s purpose, see” “An Online Intro to Dr. Gelb Says” ”Email your questions to mailto:DrGelbSays@hawaiireporter.com More information on Dr. Gelb’s services and related resources available at” https://www.DrGelbSays.com