Between travel and work I haven’t had much time to do much recreational reading or writing. But to clear out the inbox right quick, I give you: Chop Suey:
- Over in Europe, Business Insurance mentions that the increased capital requirements for insurers proposed under Solvency II standards could have the side effect of reducing capacity for catastrophe, excess, and long-tailed casualty lines of insurance.
- In New Orleans, the Times-Picayune reports that a federal judge found the Army Corps of Engineers grossly negligent in its work on the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, contributing the the Great Flood of New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. Three households and a business were awarded $700,000 in damages, and the door was opened a bit wider for the damage claims of an additional 100,000 claimants. Total damages sought, if I recall correctly, were $3,014,170,389,176,410 (or $3 quadrillion, “with a ‘q’”).
- CBS relayed word from the Treasury that the national debt has finally crossed the $12 trillion mark ($12,031,299,186,290.07 as of 3pm EST, on 17 November). That figure ($38,974.34 per American) is big, even if it’s only a tiny fraction of the damage claims against the Corps of Engineers.
- Also on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog reminded us of yet another game in health care financing which was not addressed in the House health care bill – balance billing. The short version is that heath plans generally base reimbursement on “usual and customary” rates, which are less than the list prices many medical providers charge. Unless the insurer has an agreement with the medical provider to forgive the difference, patients are on the hook for the balance. I’ll refrain from rambling here about unreasonably low UCR’s, ludicrously high list prices, and how both might aggravate the problem of medical cost inflation.
- The Volokh Conspiracy saw an interesting article exploring the idea that a federal law making health care mandatory might be unconstitutional not because of a violation of the Bill of Rights, or the non-enumeration of that authority, but because the possible mechanism of imposing fines could be a breach of Article I, section 9 of the Constitution. (The 16th Amendment, which revised Congress’ authority to tax, only extended to legalizing the direct taxation of income.) I don’t think opponents to health care reform should rely on that argument either, but it is an intriguing line of thought.
- The big political news story of the week was, of course, the introduction of the Senate’s health reform bill. The key differences between the Senate and the House bill seem to be its funding source (tax on Cadillac plans, 5% surcharge on elective cosmetic surgery, and an increase on the Medicare payroll tax for high-income employees), a different treatment of abortion (rather than a prohibition of non-emergency abortion in subsidized plans, a firewalling of subsidy funds away from the procedure), and the opt-out provision for individual states opposed to the public option. The health insurance trade association has naturally pointed out the impact of the Cadillac plan tax on individual and small group health premiums.
- Back in my old hometown, the Memphis City Schools is one of three school systems to have received a rather large grant from the Gates foundation to improve teacher training and pay. The Commercial Appeal article mentions that pay would be merit/skill-based, with the best teachers potentially earning 6-figure salaries, and that teachers could be dismissed for subpar performance. The article, however, is silent on how they got the teachers’ union to go along with the plan.
- Fox News (please forgive the source) featured an article discussing efforts underway in the United Nations to push for a global treaty obliging signers to pass laws prohibiting blasphemy. The United States, where most folks regardless of political persuasion still hold the freedom of speech almost sacrosanct, is opposing the effort and wouldn’t sign such a treaty anyway. The Fox News article gives a few examples (admittedly Middle East-focused) of how such a law could be abused. I share the concerns about censorship, and wish that the world could be civilized enough that good taste would keep blasphemy in check. Besides, some organizations have adequately demonstrated that intellectual property laws can be an effective tool when satisfaction through the courts is required.
- Der Spiegel was one of a few mainstream media outlets noting that global temperatures haven’t behaved according to Al Gore’s hockey stick. I wonder if we’re within a few years of my fears of global warming activists’ hype doing more harm than good being realized. (Recall that I’m in favor of long-term planning for climate change – natural or man-made – and for reducing the harm inflicted by civilization on the environment, but I think activists are probably caught up in hype and a bit of junk science, and a backlash is coming if/when the predictions of doom fail to manifest as quickly as warned.)
- And finally, back here in Connecticut, CT New Junkie reports that the state has signed a contract with a Subway restaurant franchiser and others to renovate the 23 service areas on the Connecticut Turnpike, and the Merritt and Cross Parkways. Given that other states are closing rest areas due to funding issues, raising the question of whether rest areas are even needed any more…well, perhaps a better question is whether it’s appropriate to maintain the virtual prohibition of services at interstate rest areas in most of the country.
