MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'compensation'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:03:25 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182319&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FA5G531mWaWs%2F Earlier this week, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues declared that US-funded researchers knew they violated ethical standards when they deliberately infected Guatemalan prison inmates and mental patients with syphillis in the 1940s. The US apologized last year and the panel was convened to investigate and a final report is due later this year. About 1,300 people were infected with venereal disease, more than half of them with syphilis, including inmates who were exposed to infected prostitutes brought into jails, and male and female patients in a mental hospital. Some subjects had bacteria poured on scrapes made on their genitals, arms or faces. And they were not informed they were participating in medical research in which they were given penicillin to determi... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182319 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:20:37 +0100 5182319 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158873&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fmore-executives-prospering-despite.html Cases that demonstrate the contrast between compensation given to the hired executives of health care organizations and their or their organizations' performance continue to appear.  Last week we discussed how freely million dollar plus compensation is given to executives of nominally non-profit hospitals, and discussed how well some executives were paid just prior to charges of financial mismanagement, arrests or guilty pleas that drove them from their jobs.I have also found a series of cases of executives whose pay seemed disproportionate in the context of their institutions' financial difficulties.  Here they are, discussed in alphabetical order.Greenwich Hospital, ConnecticutAccording to GreenwichTime.com, here is the context:Greenwich Hospital went under the k... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158873 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:26:00 +0100 5158873 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158874&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwhat-goes-up-non-profit-hospital-ceo.html We have frequently discussed the disconnect between incentives, particularly total compensation, given to the leaders of health care organizations and their roles, or lack thereof, in improving the health care of their patients or the public. One measure of that disconnect is how leaders' pay continues to defy gravity while the economy continues to suffer, and health care dysfunction continues to fester.In particular, total compensation given to CEOs of ostensibly not-for-profit hospitals and hospital systems is increasingly passing the magic $1 million mark. A round up including two recent articles and others from the last four months that we have not discussed before revealed more "million dollar babies" amongst the ranks of these leaders.  (Note that most of the data... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158874 Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:37:00 +0100 5158874 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139647&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fbest-and-brightest-behaving-badly.html To err is human, and any group of humans can be expected to include those who stray.  However, the constant spin that surrounds most top leaders of health care organizations seems to suggest that these people are different.  In particular, the lavish compensation given leaders of health care organizations is often justified by claims that those in leadership positions are the best and the brightest.  Catching up after a vacation afforded me the opportunity to go through a large volume of news stories, leading to a collection of those from the last year that showed the contrast between such compensation and behavior that was far from the "best and the brightest. "North Memorial Health Care CEO Pleads Guilty to Engaging in ProstitutionAs reported by the Minneapo... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139647 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:02:00 +0100 5139647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130672&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwhat-pfizer-iii-enormous-pay-for-poor.html The recent in-depth investigation by Fortune reporters of 10 years of dysfunctional leadership at Pfizer, the "world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company," raises many issues about leadership and governance in health care (see our post here).  To continue what is likely to become a lengthy series, let us now discuss the discrepancy between the markedly dysfunctional leadership performance documented in the Fortune article and the pay given to the leaders involved."Hank" McKinnell et al - 2003-2006 Mr McKinell was forced to retire in 2006. The Fortune article described Mr McKinnell as a "desperate CEO" by 2002 because he could find no way to replenish the company's fading drug pipeline; who then became an absent CEO who "left a power vacuum" and then triggered internal polit... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130672 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:22:00 +0100 5130672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118573&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fnow-mainstream-notion-profit-seeking.html We have been writing - some might say wailing Cassandra-like - about health care dysfunction since I published about it in the European Journal of Internal Medicine in 2003.(1) However, while our dismal warnings were inspired by fears of  health care professionals who saw bad things happening in their local health care environments, the notion that things were really bad in health care really did not get a lot of traction. After all, we were in the second decade of a prolonged economic "great moderation," the good times were rolling, so who was really worried by a few whiners and complainers in health care?However, after the fall of Lehman Brothers ushered in the global financial collapse, or great recession, this complacency was disturbed, and it began to appear that our pr... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118573 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:17:00 +0100 5118573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096112&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwhat-pfizer-ii-lack-of-transparency.html The recent in-depth investigation by Fortune reporters of 10 years of dysfunctional leadership at Pfizer, the "world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company," raises many issues about leadership and governance in health care (see our post here).  To continue what is likely to become a lengthy series, let us discuss the most obvious one, is the discrepancy between what appeared in Fortune and what Pfizer chose to make public about its leadership.This discrepancy is most apparent when one compares official descriptions of executive performance with what the Fortune reporters found.  To illustrate, consider the official descriptions of the performance of former Pfizer CEOs Hank McKinnell and Jeffrey Kindler in the respective years in which they were forced out."Han... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096112 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:53:00 +0100 5096112 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077624&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fexecutives-get-rich-despite-ethical-and.html We recently posted about some shocking allegations suggesting that the for-profit corporations that now dominate hospice care may prey on vulnerable patients to increase their revenues, and may specifically recruit patients who are not terminally ill for hospice, and then neglect to attend to their treatable medical problems.  The post was based on a Bloomberg investigative report.The Bloomberg report focused on two large for-profit hospice providers, Vitas, a subsidiary of Chemed, and VistaCare, a subsidiary of Gentiva. We have repeatedly seen a pattern in numerous other health care organizations, non-profit as well as for-profit: despite questionable corporate behavior that appears to violate the values of health care professionals, executives receive rich compen... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077624 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:51:00 +0100 5077624 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050459&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fblood-money-at-border-red-cross-and.html Writing in our local Providence Journal, Felice Freyer reported on a story that becomes less bewildering when viewed in the context of how nominally not-for-profit health care organizations are now run.  The Border DisputeIt seems that two such non-profits are having a border dispute:Two local charities are fighting for your blood.The Rhode Island Blood Center, long the sole blood-collection agency in the state, is objecting to incursions by the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts, which recently started holding blood drives here.A war of words has resulted, with the blood center accusing the Red Cross of a 'campaign of misinformation,' and the Red Cross calling the blood center 'hypocritical.' The Hospital Association of Rhode Island entered the fray with a letter to blood do... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050459 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:58:00 +0100 5050459 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050461&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fhealth-care-for-very-rich-is-different.html Another glimpse of health care for the very rich comes by way of a BNet post by Jim Edwards about the beleaguered CEO of Forest Laboratories.The background is that:The CEO is fighting to retain his place atop the company against both investor Carl Icahn, who wants his own directors on Forest’s board, and the Department of Health & Human Services, which wants to exclude Solomon from the drug business as a punishment for the company settling a $313 million investigation by the Department of Justice over its illegal marketing of Levothroid and other drugs.We had posted about the government threat to disbar him from government business after his company here. Edwards noted that despite these setbacks, Solomon's total compensation actually increased:Forest Labs (FRX) reported that CEO How... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050461 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:16:00 +0100 5050461 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008077&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fbeing-non-profit-hospital-ceo-means.html When my arm was twisted heartily to see the movie "Love Story" a very long time ago, I could never understand why so many audience members sighed upon hearing that immortal line, "love means never having to say you're sorry."  I could not understand it then, and still cannot.However, it seems that for reasons that are not any more clear, being the CEO of a not-for-profit hospital or hospital system also means never having to say you are sorry, as shown in some recent stories from the media. Not Sorry for LeavingOriginally published in the Fargo (ND) InForum:The merger 1½ years ago of Sanford Health and MeritCare created a new entity that doubled in size and covers a service area of more than 130,000 square miles.But the unified health care giant needed only one top executive, and the... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008077 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:59:00 +0100 5008077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008311&cid=t_136551_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F05%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-july-5-2011%2F Another holiday’s come and gone. Whether you celebrated Canada Day or Independence Day, you may be basking in the glory of a glorious holiday or exhausted from another family gathering of trying to keep your sanity in toll. If I’ve learned anything over the years is that you could spend years working on yourself and then poof! just like that you’re back to where you started. Maybe it’s your people-pleasing ways that return when you’re in the company of old friends who knew you way back when. Or certain relatives who trigger painful childhood memories when you are in their presence. Perhaps, the extra day of freedom could remind you just how toxic your work environment is and how much you are in need of a new job. Whatever it is, I feel you. The only thing we c... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008311 Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:48:51 +0100 5008311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975790&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fmore-revelations-about-how-top-managers.html Last month, we discussed the contrast between executive compensation at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (SVMH), a small California public hospital system, and the treatment of employees in the trenches. While the hospital had laid off workers ostensibly because of the poor economic climate, the local newspaper revealed that its CEO was leaving with a multi-million dollar retirement package, and that some of his supposed severance pay had been given him before he was severed.This month, amidst growing labor unrest partially driven by the disparate treatment of the hired top manager and the more lowly employees who actually take care of patients, a new report revealed further contrasts between how hired executives and "regular" employees are treated.Let me give a blow by ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975790 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:02:00 +0100 4975790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975791&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fceo-compensation-nothing-to-see-here.html An article in the Washington Post showed how uncomfortable executives of big corporations, including health corporations, are about making their outsize compensation transparent.  Here’s one financial figure some big U.S. companies would rather keep secret: how much more their chief executive makes than the typical worker.Now a group backed by 81 major companies — including McDonald’s, Lowe’s, General Dynamics, American Airlines, IBM and General Mills — is lobbying against new rules that would force disclosure of that comparison.The lobbying effort began more than a year ago. It involved some of the biggest names in corporate America and meetings with members of both parties on the House Financial Services Committee and Senate banking committee.The companies and their R... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975791 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:11:00 +0100 4975791 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968492&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmedical-students-deterred-from-primary-care%2F2011.06.25 Primary care physicians are getting paid more, two surveys agree, while hospital employment is rising. Internists earned $205,379 in median compensation in 2010, an increase of 4.21% over the previous year, reported the Medical Group Management Association’s (MGMA’s) Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data. Family practitioners (without obstetrics) reported median compensation of $189,402. Pediatric/adolescent medicine physicians earned $192,148 in median compensation, an increase of 0.39% since 2009. Among specialists, anesthesiologists reported decreased compensation, as did gastroenterologists and radiologists. Psychiatrists, dermatologists, neurologists and general surgeons reported an increase in median compensation since 2009. Regional... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968492 Sat, 25 Jun 2011 14:00:00 +0100 4968492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968427&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fembedded-networks-of-influence-in.html At the 12th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), sponsored by Transparency International, one of the plenary sessions was devoted to the topic of "embedded networks of influence."  The session description included this description of the topic as:the major stumbling block in the fight against corruption, namely, the power of 'embedded networks' in advancing personal or group interests through state institutions. The extent of their power can create what is known as “state capture” meaning democratic governance failure. It will take a close look at the influential role of private sector, especially of the multinational private sector.A recent investigative report in the Chronicle of Higher Education illustrated a striking case of how one key individual has affected... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968427 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:11:00 +0100 4968427 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952748&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fmanagers-coup-how-hired-hands-got.html We have frequently discussed the perverse incentives provided to the leaders of health care organizations.  They almost never pay a penalty for presiding over organizational actions that are unethical, harmful to patients, or even criminal (e.g., see posts here and here for some very recent examples.)  However, they often collect outrageously huge compensation disproportionate to any reasonable measure of their organizations' performance.  (e.g., see posts here and here for relevant recent examples.)Now two news articles, based in turn on research studies, further illuminate how hired managers and executives have become so wealthy and unaccountable.The first news article was in the New York Times, and was in turn based on an accounting study.  In summary, a recent,... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952748 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:47:00 +0100 4952748 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911418&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fcoverts-anechoic-misadventures.html We have frequently discussed how health care leaders' compensation seems to reflect the opposite of the pay for performance they often tout.  One example we discussed recently turns out to be even more vivid than we first discovered.Last week we discussed the case of Mr Michael Cover, the CEO of the small, public Palomar Pomerado Health system in southern California, whose total compensation increased to over $1 mllion a year, while his hospital system was cited for severe, life-threatening medical errors.  The current and previous system board chairmen called his work "excellent, and " phenomenal," and asserted Mr Covert was "one of the nation's leading health administrators."It turns out that a local weekly newspaper, the Community Paper, investigated Mr Covert's... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911418 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:36:00 +0100 4911418 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893342&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fshould-phenomenal-1-million-ceo-be.html A recent story with some local color once again illustrates the cognitive dissonance evoked by current patterns of compensation of health care leaders.Let me start chronologically. The Stratospheric Compensation of the CEO, and Its JustificationIn 2009, the compensation given to the CEO of the Palomar Pomerado Health, a public health system in the vicinity of San Diego, California, provided some headlines. As reported then by the San Diego Times-Union,Palomar Pomerado Health CEO Michael Covert has received a 26 percent — or $154,000 — pay raise.The increase, approved by the hospital district’s board of directors last month, is retroactive to July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, board Chairman Bruce Krider said.The increase brought Covert’s pay from $582,000 a year to $736,000 ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893342 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:40:00 +0100 4893342 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862467&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fmillion-dollar-plus-hospital-ceo.html Health care leaders' compensation has again been in the news. Below are highlights from stories about four medical centers, emphasizing the magnitude of executive compensation, how it is related, or not to hospital and executive performance, and whether and how the organizations' boards chose to justify it. The medical centers are in alphabetical order. University of Pittsburgh Medical CenterCompensationAccording to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:In tax documents released Friday, Jeffrey Romoff, president and CEO of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, received $4.01 million in salary, bonuses and benefits that year.Also,Other top earners at UPMC include neurosurgeons Ghassan Bejjani, $2.37 million in salary and benefits, and Richard Spiro, $2.23 million; cardiothoracic surgeon James ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862467 Wed, 25 May 2011 18:31:00 +0100 4862467 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841388&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fseverance-package-to-un-severed-ceo.html The latest jaw-dropping story about executive compensation in health care has been unfolding in California, but at least now I have a diagnosis for this syndrome.  A Generous Retirement Package, Paid Before RetirementIn April, the Los Angeles Times reported about the generous retirement package given to an outgoing public hospital district CEO in California:When he turned 65 two years ago, Samuel Downing received a $3-million retirement payment from a public hospital district in Salinas, Calif., where he serves as president and chief executive.But Downing continued working at his $668,000-a-year job for another two years, and after he retires this week, he will receive another payment of nearly $900,000. That comes on top of his regular pension of $150,000 a year.Note that not only wa... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841388 Thu, 19 May 2011 21:11:00 +0100 4841388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4821152&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F8_ncvLrxyio%2F Having finally capitulated to long-standing calls from investors to provide a dividend (see here), Amgen ceo Kevin Sharer is now under attack over his compensation. In the run up to the annual meeting next week, one shareholder advisory firm argues there is a ‘disconnect’ between his pay and performance, and is urging stockholders to reject an Amgen proposal to ratify his package. In a 22-page report, ISS Proxy Advisory Services recommends shareholders vote no “in light of the disconnect between the ceo’s 53 percent pay increase and the company’s above-median benchmarking, in contrast to lagging and mediocre shareholder returns.” ISS goes on to argue Sharer received 200 percent of the CEO peer median figure. And so, “further analysis is warranted.&... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4821152 Thu, 12 May 2011 14:43:45 +0100 4821152 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813292&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39261&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvactruth.com%2F2011%2F05%2F11%2Fbig-pharmas-sugar-daddy-the-u-s-congress%2F Tuesday, May 10, 2011, I had the distinct pleasure of viewing a live feed of the press conference held on the steps of the U.S. Vaccine Court in Washington, DC, where attorneys representing clients and families damaged by vaccines, particularly autism disorder spectrum disabilities, challenged the U.S. Congress to investigate what’s really going on with the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, the U.S. Vaccine Court set up under the statute creating that law, and its unfair compensation tactics. While reading a companion article, “Unanswered Questions From The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: A Review of Compensated Cases of Vaccine-Induced Brain Injury” by Mary Holland, Louis Conte, Robert Krakow and Lisa Colin, published in the Pace Environmental Law Review at http://dig... vactruth.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813292 Wed, 11 May 2011 14:52:21 +0100 4813292 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753972&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fb_qg-ukLNv0%2F The ongoing refusal by Johnson & Johnson to partipicate in the Medicines Patent Pool, which is an initiative designed to streamline patent licensing for producing generics of patented HIV meds and offering lower prices in poor countries, has now generated a scolding from Doctors Without Borders, the international humanitarian organization. In a statement, the group accuses the health care giant of turning its corporate back on HIV patients by undermining access to key AIDS drugs. J&J holds patents on rilpivirine, which is being developed as a first-line HIV treatment, as well as darunavir and etravirine, two meds that treat HIV patients who have become resistent to other drugs. The missive appears carefully timed. Later this week, J&J will hold it annual shareholder meeting,... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753972 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:28:30 +0100 4753972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4715016&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FYiEPmFQ6yMo%2F And so another work week will soon draw to a close. This means, of course, the time has come to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda includes spring cleaning, taking one of our short people to a soccer match and catching up on some sleep. What about you? Anything special planned? A walk in the park? Reaching out to an old friend? Maybe planning the rest of your life? Whatever you do, have a great time. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits. Catch you soon… EU Backs Boehringer Pradaxa Stroke Prevention Drug (Reuters) US Will Negotiate Medicare Drug Prices: Obama (Pharma Times) EU OKs Bydureon Diabetes Med From Lilly & Amylin (Reuters) Genzyme MS Drug Shows Promising Five-Year Results (Mass High Tech) Glaxo To Sell Plant And Eliminate 250 Jobs (Memphis Business Journal) Glaxo To Se... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4715016 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:33:47 +0100 4715016 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709168&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fjohnson-and-johnson-runs-afoul-of.html Johnson and Johnson, the once highly reputed international pharmaceutical and device company, cannot catch a break.  International Bribery ChargesAs reported by Bloomberg, the latest story is about bribery claims across multiple countries and two continents:Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), the world’s second-biggest seller of medical products, will pay $70 million after admitting that the company bribed doctors in Europe and paid kickbacks in Iraq to win contracts and sell drugs and artificial joints.Subsidiaries of J&J paid bribes to doctors and hospital administrators in Greece, Poland and Romania, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice said today in filings at U.S. District Court in Washington. The company also made illegal payments to Iraqi officials to... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709168 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:47:00 +0100 4709168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704953&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FvChY-ezO6Pc%2F Outraged by the track record displayed by Johnson & Johnson ceo Bill Weldon, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees pension fund is urging shareholders to vote against the executive compensation proposals for Johnson & Johnson - and Pfizer, too. Why? Simply put, neither J&J ceo Bill Weldon or Pfizer ceo Ian Read deserve the money they are getting. Reasons To Be Upset? According to AFSCME, despite underperforming its peers over 1- and 3-year total shareholder return timeframes - 5.14 percent in the past year versus 19.15 for rivals, Weldon is one of the highest paid ceo’s making far more than his peers. There is excessive pay and flat share performance during his tenure: over the past nine years, Weldon received nearly $194 million while J&#038... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704953 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 18:01:23 +0100 4704953 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693508&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FrnpVtSoFzBk%2F Once again, another working week will soon draw to a close. And this, of course, is our signal to begin daydreaming about weekend activities. Our modest agenda includes chauffering our short people around town, taking a nap or two and attending the latest installment in what we call the ‘Let’s See Them Before They Die’ concert series. And you? Anything special planned? Maybe a walk in the park? Curling up with a good e-book? Or you could finish your taxes, even if no one is in Washington to process your return. Whatever you do, have a great time. See you soon… Amgen CEO Got $21M Compensation In 2010 (Associated Press) Indian Company Ends Sale Of Lethal Injection Drug To The US (The Atlantic) FDA Will Be Severely Limited By Government Shutdown (CNN Money) Canadian P... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693508 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:43:35 +0100 4693508 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626770&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fdespite-poor-financial-results.html It is the season for share-holders' meetings of big US publicly held corporations, and as the proxy statements prepared for these meetings, prepare for more eye-popping, jaw-dropping examples of executive compensation.  Pfizer's 2010 CEO CompensationThe AP (via the Wall Street Journal) just noted the compensation given to Jeffrey Kindler, the outgoing (in 2010) CEO of Pfizer, Inc, the world's largest pharmaceutical company:Former Pfizer Inc. Chairman and CEO Jeffrey B. Kindler may have left the world's largest drugmaker abruptly last December, but he didn't leave empty-handed thanks to a compensation package valued almost $22 million.Kindler received a 60 percent increase last year over his 2009 compensation, according to an Associated Press analysis of a Pfizer regulatory filing Tues... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626770 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:14:00 +0100 4626770 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4627023&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FQC6EHv3GSyQ%2F Good morning, everyone. A spot of snow is falling on the Pharmalot corporate campus today. So much for spring. Nonetheless, we persevere thanks, in part, to a cup of stimulation - our flavor today is Southern Pecan. Meanwhile, we are gearing up for those meetings and deadlines, and trust you are doing the same. To help you along, here are some tidbits from around the world. Hope you have a productive day and catch you soon… Novartis Must Wait Longer For FDA Decision On COPD Drug (Reuters) Glaxo Scraps Plan To Market Prostate Cancer Med (Associated Press) Former Pfizer CEO And His Severance (Associated Press) Medicare Ordered To Pay For Off-Label Drugs (American Medical News) Bristol Pays CEO Andreotti $11M In Compensation (Associated Press) Gilead HIV Drug Meets Main Trial Goal (Reut... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4627023 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:05:07 +0100 4627023 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626832&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fphysician-salaries-increase-in-academia-and-primary-care%2F2011.03.23 Academic faculty physicians in primary and specialty care reported slight pay increases, according to the Medical Group Management Association. The organization’s Academic Practice Compensation and Production Survey for Faculty and Management: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data, annual compensation for internal medicine primary care faculty physicians increased by 6.84% since 2009, and increased 4.46% between 2008 and 2009. Median compensation for all primary care faculty physicians was $163,704, an increase of 3.47% since 2009, and median compensation for specialty care faculty was $241,959, an increase of 2.7% since 2009. Department chairs and chiefs received the greatest compensation, $292,243 for primary care faculty and $482,293 for specialty care faculty. Primary care professors re... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626832 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:00:00 +0100 4626832 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622205&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fmillions-to-health-insurance-ceos-but.html The revelations about the huge golden parachute given the outgoing CEO of ostensibly non-profit Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield induced some public discussion about the disconnect between executive compensation and the mission of health care organization (see most recent post here).  Several other recent stories should generate more discussion on these issues.  First, new proxy statements revealed the compensation of executives of two large for-profit health care insurers/ managed care companies.  In alphabetical order,CignaAs reported by the AP, via ABC news, the CEO got a big raise:Cigna Corp. CEO David M. Cordani's total compensation more than doubled in 2010, his first year as leader of the nation's fourth-largest health insurer, and a period in which the company's ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622205 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:32:00 +0100 4622205 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622504&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FGD7EsfMNbB4%2F In this age of skyrocketing compensation for chief executives and dwindling prospects for drugmakers, there is increasing investor angst that boardrooms are either out of touch, unimaginative or simply indifferent to the protestations that pay packages do not match shareholder interests. The issue has engulfed Johnson & Johnson’s Bill Weldon and, in years past, Dan Vasella at Novartis, for instance. So what to do? Well, pharma boards could start by shifting away from an emphasis on financial measurements - such as EPS, or earnings per share, and EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization - to calculate and compare performance, and start focusing on pipeline innovation, according to The Hay Group, a consulting firm that measured ceo pay and incentiv... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622504 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:40:01 +0100 4622504 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4605790&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fhealth-care-executives-compensation.html This article made it seem that the substantial compensation received by these executives was related to the system's financial performance:[Senior Vice President of marketing and communication Jim] Tobalski said Novant will release its fiscal 2010 financial report in April. The system likely will report a better overall performance because of the stock market's surge in 2010.However, as reported eight days later again by the Winston-Salem (NC) Journal, there are other ways to look at these executives' compensation. First, their bonuses can be compared to those given less exalted employees:Novant Health Inc. has paid two separate bonuses, including a one-time 'thank you' offering, to its Forsyth Medical Center employees recently, but that has not dampened the complaints of some employees th... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4605790 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:35:00 +0100 4605790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4605828&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-two-reasons-why-physicians-dont-engage-in-social-media%2F2011.03.17 I recently wrote a paper on social media with some of my colleagues at Kaiser Permanente: Ted Eytan, MD @tedeytan, Rahul Parikh, MD @docrkp, Vince Golla @vincegolla, and Sara Stein, MD @sarasteinmd. In the article, “Social Media and the Health System,” we argue that the benefits of engaging patients and colleagues in social media outweigh potential risks. The two most common reasons that physicians resist participating on blogs, Twitter and Facebook are: 1. Fear of liability. 2. Lack of compensation for the time invested. If we would like more physicians to be part of the conversation, then we’ll need to find ways to overcome these barriers. What has your experience been like interacting with physicians on social media? Is there a place for physicians on sites such as Twitter a... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4605828 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:00:42 +0100 4605828 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600495&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fdespite-recalls-legal-settlements.html For our latest story about the tremendous disconnect between the pay and performance of leaders of health care organizations, we turn to Reuters.  Astronomical PayDespite having a very bad 2010, Johnson and Johnson continued to reward its CEO royally:After a year in which Johnson & Johnson's product quality control was deemed such a shambles that the U.S. government will oversee some plants, the board had praise for Chief Executive William Weldon and awarded him almost $29 million in overall compensation.The once golden reputation of the diversified healthcare giant was severely tarnished by seemingly endless recalls of widely used consumer products as well as recalls of medical devices and products from other units in 2010.U.S. consumer product sales fell by more than 19 percent ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600495 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:00:00 +0100 4600495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600794&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FbOAeC2w3-i8%2F There are two ways to look at the 2010 compensation package given Johnson & Johnson ceo Bill Weldon. On one hand, the J&J board cut his overall take home by 7 percent, to $28.7 million from $30.8 million, since his performance bonus was slashed - by 45 percent to $1.9 8 million - thanks to all those product recalls and subsequent fallout among some consumers, investors and industry watchers. In other words, he suffered. On the other hand, Bill received a 3 percent merit raise, as noted previously (see here). Whatever your view, the payout reflected a rather dismal year - by most standards - for the venerable health care giant. In addition to congressional hearings; a manufacturing plant that is still closed for retooling; an erosion of consumer trust; $900 million in lost sales; ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600794 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:54:20 +0100 4600794 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600798&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FNPe3p37WgVo%2F Hello, everyone, and nice to see you again. A spot of rain is falling on the Pharmalot corporate campus, but our spirits remain sunny. Of course, a cup or two of stimulation can help - our flavor this morning is Rain Forest Nut. Meanwhile, there are meetings and deadlines that await. So here are some interesting items to help you along. Have a great day and do stay in touch… Pfizer To Move Antibacterials Research To Shanghai (The Day) Abbott CEO Compensation Fell 2.5 Percent Last Year (Dow Jones) DEA Seizes Execution Drug In Georgia (Associated Press) Japan Nuclear Catastrophe Spurs Debate Over Radiation Pills (Bloomberg News) Those $4 Rx Programs Can Save US Billions (Reuters) Cephalon Sues US Over Fentora Generic Approval (Bloomberg News) Aegerion Receives Orphan Status For Lipid D... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600798 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:53:04 +0100 4600798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592326&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fsome-dare-call-it-corruption.html We have discussed many cases of health care organizations' leaders reaping rewards disproportionate to any concept of their performance, and especially to any concept of the effect of their conduct on patients' or the public's health.  Most of these cases have been pretty anechoic, but for some reason, the case of the huge golden parachute given to the outgoing CEO of Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield despite a tenure  marked by financial losses and no particularly brilliant advances in patients' care or outcomes, (see this post) continues to generate responses.  One editorial suggested that should the non-profit health insurance company continue to pay so lavishly, it should lose its tax exemption.  Another noted that the company should start put... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592326 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:50:00 +0100 4592326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4575025&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fmassachusetts-blue-cross-blue-shield.html We have frequently discussed the kind of compensation now frequently given to leaders of health care organizations.  Although often even the most disproportionately outrageous compensation only attracts transient interest, a recent regional story in this genre has really gotten legs.How Big the Golden Parachute?The story was about the severance package given to one Cleve L Killingsworth, the former CEO of not-for-profit health care insurance company Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield.  While first reported as being worth $8.6 million,(1) the estimate of his total severance was soon raised to $11 million.(2)This is a Way to Control Costs?Immediately, that amount was contrasted with the supposed emphasis of the company on controlling costs, and its recent poor performance: K... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4575025 Fri, 11 Mar 2011 22:37:00 +0100 4575025 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560596&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FBmQMqz6sngk%2F Maybe there was a perverse logic at work when Genzyme screwed up its manufacturing so badly? The serious gaffes led to a $175 million consent decree with the FDA and closed a key plant; left patients with little or no supplies; angered investors, including Carl Icahn, who waged a proxy fight; and prompted a board probe into insider stock sales (back story here, here, here and here). But the mess also drove down Genzyme stock to the point where Sanofi-Aventis found that making a bid was too tempting to ignore. And so now the big drugmaker is paying $20 billion - or $74 a share plus contingent value rights - to acquire the beleaguered biotech which, of course, does offer Sanofi entree into biologics and other therapeutic areas. Meanwhile, Genzyme ceo Henri Termeer is going to float away hol... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560596 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:31:36 +0100 4560596 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4545255&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fj7-yb8Q-oVg%2F Rise and shine, everyone, another shiny day is on the way. What lies in store? Meetings and deadlines, no doubt, and we relate. To cope, we are brewing our mandatory cup of stimulation and invite you to join us. Meanwhile, we will pause to hustle one of the short people off to the local schoolhouse. So here are a few tidbits. Also, please note that we posted some items last night, but placed them above our morning greeting in the event some people did not see them. Have a great day and stay in touch… Traditional Drug Discovery Model Is Ripe For Reform (Nature) McKesson Fights $212M Pricing Fine Levied By Arizona (Courthouse News) Lilly To Outsource Bioanalytical Work (Pharma Times) Eisai To Cut 900 Jobs Over Five Years (Bloomberg News) Panel Told No Guarantees Against Unethical Resea... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4545255 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:00:30 +0100 4545255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540741&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fx62YBPV-DcA%2F You can be forgiven for losing count. The latest stain on the once-venerable health care giant is a recall of 585,000 surgical sutures in the UK due to a risk the products are not sterile. Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit actually issued a notice to healthcare providers in December, but the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued an alert earlier today. The sutures are marketed under various brand names - Ethilon, Ethibond, Mersilene and Mersilk - and are used to close surgical incisions and wounds. Some of the products in the 140 lots that were recalled may not have been sealed properly, posing a risk that they could become infected, according to the notice, which you can read here. J&J tells the Associated Press that the problem was caused by... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540741 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:02:20 +0100 4540741 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4522285&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FqAmwBCrGDk4%2F Here’s a lesson for a board of directors: never let a few setbacks deter you from giving your chief executive a raise, however modest. Consider Johnson & Johnson ceo Bill Weldon. Despite a breathtaking number of recalls spanning nearly every corner of the health care behemoth - over-the-counter meds, contact lenses, syringes, hip replacement devices - he received a 3 percent pay hike. His new base salary is $1.92 million, up from $1.86 million, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Some may argue that a 3 percent raise is not much. In real dollars, this amounts to roughly $60,000 (which can be used for many things, of course). And his 2010 bonus was cut 45 percent to $1.97 million, down from $3.6 million(the bonus, by the way, is 85 percent cash a... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4522285 Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:01:36 +0100 4522285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4522110&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39261&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvactruth.com%2F2011%2F02%2F25%2Fnational-vaccine-injury-compensation-program-and-vaccine-damage-awards%2F Excerpted from Vaccines & Vaccinations: The Need for Congressional Investigation, Co-editors: Catherine J Frompovich and Laraine C Abbey-Katzev. Entire free pdf available by email request to: cfj@catherinejfrompovich.com National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program & Vaccine Damage Awards The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HRSA division (Health Resources and Services Administration) held a public meeting of the FDA’s Advisory Committee on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV) in Rockville, Maryland, September 2-3, 2010, at which several charts were distributed. The chart below “NVICP Statistics Report as of Thursday, September 02, 2010” indicates just how pervasive and costly vaccine damage actually IS in dollars and cents. Petitioners’ Award Amounts for fiscal years 1989... vactruth.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4522110 Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:06:50 +0100 4522110 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4512616&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FH-3P5Te9uPI%2F Once again, the pay package given Novartis chairman Dan Vasella is causing a ruckus. At the annual meeting yesterday in Basel, Switzerland, only 61 percent of shareholders backed the compensation plan, the first time remuneration was put to a vote. This is not considered a very good showing, however, and in fact, Dan and Novartis ceo Joe Jimenez were criticized for their salaries and because a chunk of their pay is not tied to long-term performance, The Wall Street Journal writes. So what did Dan receive? According to the Novartis annual report, he earned about $8.5 million last year, including cash and stock. Separately, Dan also received a one-time retirement benefit worth $12.8 million. But Ethos, a shareholder activist organization, calculates he earned around $27 million. And Rudolf ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4512616 Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:20:40 +0100 4512616 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489608&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fafter-manufacturing-problems-genzyme.html In late 2009, I posted about problems at a Genzyme plant that manufactured some fabulously expensive drugs, e.g. Cerezyme whose cost to patients approximated $160,000 a year. We thought then that for a drug costing that much, the company ought to have figured out a conservative process to provide pure and unadulterated product. In a later post I asked why a company that could afford to make its CEO very rich could not afford to adequately maintain its manufacturing facilities. In May, 2010, I posted about a legal settlement of charges related to its manufacturing problems requiring Genzyme to pay a $175 million fine and function under US government supervision.  And in August, 2010, I posted about how this series of management missteps could lead to the company's C... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489608 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:16:00 +0100 4489608 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4477669&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fyou-cant-say-that-non-disparagement.html Here is another example of why health care organizations' leaders are different from you and me, and why that may not be a good thing for health care.  A few days ago, the San Jose (California) Mercury News reported on the upcoming departure of a local hospital CEO:El Camino Hospital's handsomely-paid president and CEO Kenneth Graham is out of a job, the hospital announced Thursday afternoon.Graham's contract will end June 30 'without cause, at the request of the hospital's Board of Directors,' according to a statement released to the media.Until then, Graham will continue to fulfill his duties as the hospital's top administrator, according to the statement. Graham has been president and CEO of the hospital for 4½ years.The brief statement did not explain why Graham has been ousted, ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4477669 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:21:00 +0100 4477669 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4464459&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fwhy-werent-existing-laws-about-hospital.html Public radio station KUOW reported on the generous compensation given hospital CEOs in Washington:KUOW has learned that 15 hospital executives in Washington made $1 million or more in 2009. That elite group includes 14 nonprofit executives and one head of a government hospital. CEOs at Multicare, Providence, Virginia Mason and Valley Medical each made more than $2 million.Those numbers can be found in the hospitals' latest tax filings and other public records. The pattern was more lopsided in the two prior years. Nobody working at a public hospital cracked the top 10 list of the state's highest hospital paychecks in 2007 or 2008.But then the story takes an interesting twist:Most of Washington's largest hospitals are nonprofit organizations. The state gives the nonprofits a break on th... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4464459 Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:19:00 +0100 4464459 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4459920&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fpassport-to-fraud-amerihealth-mercy.html Back in November, 2010, we discussed the relatively opulent pay and perks given to and conflicts of interest affecting leaders of Passport Health Plan, a non-profit, state (Kentucky) supported Medicaid managed care organization/ health insurer.  This seemed to be another case of health care organizational insiders putting their personal gain ahead of their mission, which was particularly unseemly because their mission was serving the poor.  Now Passport Health is in the news again, and not in a favorable way, as per the Louisville (Kentucky) Courier-Journal:Passport Health Plan’s main contractor has agreed to pay more than $2 million in damages to the Kentucky Medicaid program to settle a fraud investigation, Attorney General Jack Conway announced Wednesday.The settlement with ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4459920 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:45:00 +0100 4459920 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419082&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fmore-on-hospital-executives.html Local US news media brought some more striking examples of how health care organizational leaders, even leaders of non-profit hospitals seem paid out of proportion to any reasonable standards.Carolinas HealthCare System: Corporate-Style Compensation for a Public Hospital CEOCarolinas HealthCare System describes itself as "the largest health care system in the Carolinas and the third largest public system in the nation" in its membership blurb for the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.  That association describes its members thus, Since the establishment of the first public hospital in the United States in the early 1700s, safety net hospitals and health systems have been an essential part of our nation’s health care delivery system.In the 21st century, safe... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419082 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:36:00 +0100 4419082 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405727&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fmaking-their-numbers-examples-of.html Last week, we discussed how the large incentives for pharmaceutical executives to meet short term financial targets (that is, "making their numbers") may be an important cause of their firms' decreasing capacity to fulfill their most basic mission, manufacturing pure, unadulterated medicines.  In the news recently were two examples of how other health care leaders are incentivized to meet short-term financial targets.University of CaliforniaThe first, and bigger example appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. First, note that the University of California system is currently in dire shape:Finances are so dire at the University of California that it might have to turn away qualified students,....Also,UC President Mark Yudof told the regents that UC will need to close a $1 billion budge... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405727 Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:03:00 +0100 4405727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4330969&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fexecutive-compensation-at-non-profit.html We have often discussed executive compensation at US hospitals and academic medical centers, which seems to run from generous to outrageous.  The usual explanation by organizational spokespeople, and occasionally boards of trustees is that this is the sort of compensation needed to attract the best and the brightest, a variation of the "pay for performance" meme that resounds throughout business schools and executive suites.  However, almost never does anyone at any hospital or AMC acknowledge that their leaders are not the best and brightest, although outside of Lake Woebegone, all cannot be above average.Here are two recent stories about hospital executives whose compensation contrasted with their performance.Danbury HospitalWe previously posted about how the former c... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4330969 Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:49:00 +0100 4330969 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4313968&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fblast-from-anechoic-past-former-uci.html Soon after we started Health Care Renewal, we ran a series of posts about the University of California-Irvine (UCI) medical school and medical center, featuring stories of mismanagement of major programs, especially those involving organ transplantation (liver, kidney, and bone marrow) while the top executives who presided over the mess received generous compensation, sometimes in strikingly irregular ways, and while at least one whistle-blower alleged he lost his job for complaining about safety issues.  Some of the stories went back another 10 years, to 1995.  One particularly striking story involved the UCI infertility program.  Three physicians were accused of stealing ova from some women to implant in others.  One physician was convicted, and two fled the coun... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4313968 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:22:00 +0100 4313968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4309562&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fsome-call-it-tyranny-top-leaders-of.html The state of California, and its flagship university system, the University of California, have been under extreme financial pressure lately.  The 36 Executives' DemandsHowever, that apparently has not decreased the University's hired managers' and executives' sense of entitlement.  They are threatening to sue if their pensions are not increased.  As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle,Three dozen of the University of California's highest-paid executives are threatening to sue unless UC agrees to spend tens of millions of dollars to dramatically increase retirement benefits for employees earning more than $245,000.'We believe it is the University's legal, moral and ethical obligation' to increase the benefits, the executives wrote the Board of Regents in a Dec. 9 letter ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4309562 Mon, 03 Jan 2011 20:58:00 +0100 4309562 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294580&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fhackensack-university-medical-center.html Last year was an embarassing one for Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), a large academic medical center affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.  In April, former state senator Joseph Coniglio was convicted of fraud (against the public) and extortion for a scheme that involved him being paid $5000 a month for undefined consulting work for HUMC while he promoted the hospital's interests in the state legislature (see post here).  A subsequent investigative report revealed widespread self-dealing on the part of the HUMC board (see post here).  Soon after, the HUMC CEO, John Ferguson, announced his retirement, per the Newark Star-Ledger.Scandal Leads to Apparent ReformsSo when I read an article from last week on NorthJersey.com entit... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294580 Mon, 27 Dec 2010 22:47:00 +0100 4294580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265737&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmediation-for-medical-malpractice-why-doctors-should-embrace-it%2F2010.12.17 Mediation has been cited as a way to lower the cost of litigation and compensate injured patients without going through the ordeal of a trial. In a post from the WSJ Health Blog, the problem is that few doctors are participating. That’s a problem. A study from a law journal looked at 31 cases that went to mediation and found that, of those cases, 16 were settled at mediation, 5 settled afterward and 10 weren’t settled. While defense attorneys were less likely to agree to mediation than plaintiff attorneys, lawyers who did participate reported satisfaction with the process, as did “plaintiffs, hospital representatives and insurers,” the study finds. The authors write that in no cases did physicians participate in the mediation. Many times, patients resort to suing their physicians ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265737 Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:00:16 +0100 4265737 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214084&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoCcwYEDwmzI%2F By Chris EdwardsThe Obama administration is supporting a two-year freeze on federal pay. I haven’t seen the details yet, but this appears to be a good start at getting excessive government pay under control. I’ve been calling for a pay freeze since an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2006. Since then, average federal pay has continued to soar far above average private pay, which has finally prompted policymakers to take note.  The Obama proposal would apparently save $28 billion over five years. Hopefully, that will be the first of many budget savings that the administration and Republicans in Congress can work on together in coming months. I’ve described other ways to tackle the government’s overspending problem here. The next step to reform federal worker ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214084 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:21:06 +0100 4214084 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4205926&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fprominent-health-care-policy-advice.html It is two days after the US Thanksgiving holiday, and one thing I am thankful for is the continued hilarity generated by health care corporate CEOs who pretend to be health care experts.  Of course this all really is not so funny, because the bogus expertise appears not in MAD Magazine, but in the most respected media outlets with the most influence over health care policy. This week's example comes from the Wall Street Journal's vaunted CEO Council.  A summary of its health care panel appeared early this week in that newspaper.The panel included Angela Braly President and CEO, Wellpoint Inc., William A. Hawkins Chairman and CEO, Medtronic Inc., and Klaus Kleinfeld Chairman and CEO, Alcoa.  Angela Braly, a lawyer with no obvious record of direct experienc... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4205926 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 19:30:00 +0100 4205926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203141&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Faco-arrogant-clinical-or-aggressive.html In the 1970s, it was managed care organizations.  In the 1990s, it was vertically integrated health care systems.  In the 2010s, the fashionable concept for improving health care, apparently beloved by left-wing policy wonks and right-wing health care executives is the "accountable care organization." (ACO).  Development of the ACO is funded by the recently passed US health care reform legislation.  The official definition of ACO from the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is:  An Accountable Care Organization, also called an 'ACO' for short, is an organization of health care providers that agrees to be accountable for the quality, cost, and overall care of Medicare beneficiaries who are enrolled in the traditional fee-for-service program w... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203141 Fri, 26 Nov 2010 17:51:00 +0100 4203141 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175675&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fj_EsjnqhVrU%2F By Tad DeHavenThe U.S. Postal service has announced a net loss of $8.5 billion for fiscal 2010. Since 2006, the USPS has lost $20 billion, and the organization is close to maxing out its $15 billion line of credit with the U.S. Treasury. Although the USPS has achieved some cost savings, they haven’t been enough to overcome a large drop in revenue due to the recession and the greater use of electronic alternatives by the public. The USPS is required to make substantial annual payments to pre-fund retiree health care benefits. Last year, Congress allowed the USPS to postpone $4 billion of its fiscal 2009 into the future. However, Congress did not provide similar relief on this year’s required payment of $5.5 billion. Critics of the retiree health care pre-funding requirement argue that n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175675 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:04:02 +0100 4175675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175680&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FT2DFI4g2qIE%2F By Walter OlsonAt Compensation Cafe, Stephanie Thomas explores some of the “nonsensical implications” of a misnamed bill that’s a high Obama administration priority in the lame duck session: Let’s assume that John and Jane have identical characteristics (education, work experience, etc.) except for gender. ABC Company makes offers of employment to John and Jane on the same day, for the same position, for the same starting salary: $45,000. Jane accepts the offer, but John negotiates the salary, and ends up with $50,000. Under the current equal pay laws, there’s no problem; John is earning more because he negotiated and Jane did not. Makes sense, right? Under the Paycheck Fairness Act, ABC Company would be guilty of gender discrimination. Here’s another ex... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175680 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:45:18 +0100 4175680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4167923&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fliving-high-life-on-money-to-treat-poor.html Here is another story that has developed over the last week about questionable goings on at a not-for-profit health care organization.  The organization in question this time was the not-for-profit, but state government supported Medicaid managed care organization/ health insurer for the Louisville, Kentucky region.  The details came from a Louisville (Kentucky) Courier-Journal article about a state auditor's report on the Passport Health Plan:The organization providing Medicaid services in Jefferson and surrounding counties has spent lavishly on such things as travel, meals, salaries, bonuses and lobbying in recent years, the state auditor’s office said in a report released Tuesday.The scathing report, which Gov. Steve Beshear described as 'disheartening,' said two Passpo... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4167923 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 21:49:00 +0100 4167923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4167924&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fabout-to-be-bought-out-non-profit.html A report from FloridaToday (in Brevard County) about the sale of a not-for-profit Florida hospital system to a for-profit corporation raises some interesting questions. The background is that the non-profit Wuesthoff Health System was bought by for-profit Health Management Associates (HMA):HMA, a for-profit hospital management company in Naples, bought the not-for-profit Wuesthoff Oct. 1 for $145 million. Wuesthoff lawyer William Kopit has said it was forced to sell because the hospital system lacked the capital to compete.The question is about the conditions of the sale:A foundation formed to manage the proceeds of the sale and continue providing indigent health care has refused to disclose the executive packages to the state, claiming it constitutes a trade-secret exemption under Florida... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4167924 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:22:00 +0100 4167924 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4162915&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkGT5etwDAu8%2F By David BoazDrawing on new census data, Newsweek finds that seven of the 10 richest counties in America, including the top three, are in the Washington area. Newsweek‘s former sister publication, the Washington Post, summarizes the data. Only three counties in the United States have a median household income over $100,000, and they’re all Washington suburbs. As we’ve reported here before, these trends began even before the Obama administration started concentrating job creation on the federal sector. In the middle of the Bush bubble, the Washington Post reported: The three most prosperous large counties in the United States are in the Washington suburbs, according to census figures released yesterday, which show that the region has the second-highest income and the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4162915 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:53:02 +0100 4162915 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097934&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhospitalist-food-service-too%2F2010.10.23 What is a hospitalist and what kind of care does a hospitalist provide? It’s funny to read what people are writing these days about my professional role in patient care. It now appears hospitalists don’t manage medical issues anymore, but rather go through seven years of medical training to discuss the efficiency of the cafeteria food with their patients. I read one article where the reader (obviously not a hospitalist) suggests that a hospitalist is a medical doctor who can do all the things normal doctors can, but instead of seeing patients all day, he makes rounds through the hospital, talking to patients to find out what can make their hospital stay better. And what kind of issues does the hospitalist deal with on their rounds? Why, the efficiency of the cafeteria food, of ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097934 Sat, 23 Oct 2010 22:00:00 +0100 4097934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4060577&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FctNSK_WVbrw%2F By Roger PilonThe Supreme Court hears oral argument today in an important pre-emption case, Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, which asks whether the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1986 pre-empts state law “design defect” suits brought against vaccine manufacturers. I’ve discussed this complex case more fully in an op-ed at the Daily Caller, but in a nutshell, Congress passed the Act to address the risks inherent in vaccinations through a federal no-fault ”Vaccine Court” rather than through the vagaries of state tort law. It did so because the inability to make vaccines entirely safe, plus uncertainty surrounding causation, coupled with the penchant of state juries to discount those issues in favor of sympathetic plaintiffs, had rendered most manufacturers unwilling... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4060577 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:47:37 +0100 4060577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031185&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fpay-for-what-redux-surrealistic-pay-for.html Pay-for-performance has been a persistently fashionable mantra for health care business leaders and policy advocates, particularly as applied to physicians to control costs and perhaps even improve quality.  We have been highly critical of current methods proposed to measure performance and tie pay to it (e.g., here), and other bloggers, notably Dr Robert Centor at DB's Medical Rants, have vigorously pursued this issue (e.g., here).It is beyond ironic that meanwhile, the pay of health care organizations' leaders seems less and less related to their performance.  For example, in a recent series on local executive pay in the Boston Globe there were these examples:HologicHologic Inc. gave its chief executive, John W. Cumming, a $1.5 million “retention payment’’ ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031185 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:51:00 +0100 4031185 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4013112&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fmore-tales-of-hospital-executive.html I have collected another series of stories from the wild and wacky world of health care executive compensation.  These are from three different hospitals/ hospital systems, ordered from smallest to largest.Jefferson HealthcareThis story, from Jefferson County, Washington state, came from the Peninsula Daily News:When Mike Glenn takes over the Jefferson Healthcare CEO office Oct. 4, he will be receiving $225,000 annually to run the 25-bed publicly funded hospital.And he will become the highest-paid public official in Jefferson County.Jefferson Healthcare's budget is $65 million, and it employs 360 full-time workers and about 550 part-timers.Note that the amount above is apparently salary, not total compensation, which could well be higher.Lakeland Regional Medical CenterThis story, fro... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4013112 Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:24:00 +0100 4013112 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3987013&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fmore-than-1-million-to-run-public.html After a well-publicized story that managers of small town in California were paid in the high six-figures, reporters in California have gotten interested in the pay of public officials.Thus the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on the compensation received by CEOs of local public health agencies, called public health care districts, two of which run hospitals. One in particular received generous compensation:The top official at Palomar Pomerado Health, a public agency serving health-care needs in Poway and Escondido, receives in excess of $1 million in compensation per year.Michael Covert, who has run the North County hospital district since 2003, receives a base salary of $736,000 a year. Retirement, bonuses and other benefits push Covert’s total pay past $1.1 million.One other public he... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3987013 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:55:00 +0100 3987013 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3965366&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fsmall-hospital-system-loses-61-million.html As we have quoted many times, sunlight is the best disinfectant.  New US Internal Revenue Service requirements for reporting by not-for-profit organizations has resulted in more transparency about the finances of many health care organizations, and this transparency has shown that the culture of perverse incentives and management privilege has spread far and wide.How far and wide?  Consider this story in the (Harford County, Maryland) Aegis:Harford County’s Upper Chesapeake Health lost $70 million because of bad bets in the derivatives markets two years ago, but still paid its chief executive more than $900,000 in annual salary and bonuses.According to figures from their latest tax returns and from the state agency that regulates hospital rates, Upper Chesapeake Medical Center ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3965366 Mon, 13 Sep 2010 20:47:00 +0100 3965366 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3957912&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fletting-doctors-care-for-their-patients%2F2010.09.10 “Ouch! That really hurts! You win, please stop torquing my arm behind my back. “Uncle! I said, Uncle!!” Yes, the threshold has been reached. We docs no longer need a tennis court or a Mercedes, our kids are fine in public schools, and we will happily buy our own damn pens. But, please, just give us some modicum of autonomy. Throw us a measly scrap and let us take care of our patients as we see best. Like Dr. Saul Greenfield so beautifully said today in the Wall Street Journal. The paragraph that stood out the most for me is as follows: Physician autonomy is a major defense against those who comfortably sit in remote offices and make calculations based on concerns other than an individual patient’s welfare. Uniformity of practice is a nonsensical goal that fails to a... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3957912 Fri, 10 Sep 2010 22:00:00 +0100 3957912 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3957869&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fgolden-parachute-for-captain-outrageous.html A year ago, I posted about leadership and governance problems at Northeast Health Systems, a small hospital system located in neighboring Massachusetts.  The colorful story included leaders who solicited money from the community but concealed what they were doing from the same community, an adolescent pregnancy pact after the hospital system refused to provide confidential birth control information at the high school clinic it ran, a hospital vice-president accused of art theft, various cuts, some concealed, of medical services, accusations of conflicts of interest affecting the board of trustees, and no-confidence votes by nurses and physicians. Finally, Stephen Laverty, the CEO held responsible for much of the mess, resigned and things quieted down a bit.  H... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3957869 Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:35:00 +0100 3957869 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3946400&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Flogical-fallacies-in-defense-of-million.html We recently posted about the latest example of generously paid health care leaders, million dollar plus hospital CEOs in the Baltimore area (here).  Such stories are appearing more often in the media, and increasingly generating skeptical, anguished, or angry responses.  Defending Millionaire Hospital CEOsSo it should be no surprise that the defenders of rich hospital CEOs are starting to rally.  The Baltimore Sun published two letters defending the million dollar plus compensation received by many local hospital CEOs.  But what arguments they made.First, let us examine in detail  the arguments made by Carmela Coyle, "president and CEO of the Maryland Hospital Association."  She opened with this description of hospitals as organizations:Famed management expert... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3946400 Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:23:00 +0100 3946400 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3920937&cid=t_136551_113_f&fid=38130&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tempdev.net%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D1019 We recently completed a template suite for NextGen EHR that generates the Worker’s Compensation forms required for California. The template is offered as one of our plug and play template packages. The California Workers Compensation template suite generates both the 5021 Doctor’s First Report of Injury Form and the PR-2 Primary Treating Physician’s Progress Report. The templates pre-populate with data from the standard clinical encounter templates, eliminating the need for duplicate documentation. Pre-populated data can then be included, excluded, or updated at will on the template, before the forms are generated. Injury and payer information carry forward until a new injury is documented. For more information, please contact us. The California Workers Compensation template su... Implementing EMRs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3920937 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:47:40 +0100 3920937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3920789&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fmore-hospital-ceos-join-millionaires.html As we predicted, more stringent requirements by the US Internal Revenue Service for financial reporting by not-for-profit organizations, including hospitals and hospital systems, have produced an enlarging parade of revelations of obese pay packages for hospital leaders.  The latest report came out courtesy the Baltimore Sun:Baltimore-area hospital CEOs and presidents boast seven-figure salaries, club and gym memberships, and paid financial planning and tax services as part of compensation packages from their nonprofit employers.According to a survey of Baltimore-area hospitals, the highest-ranking executives were often the recipients of financial payouts and perquisites that many private-sector companies have abandoned in the face of intense public debate about excessive CEO pay. The... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3920789 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:09:00 +0100 3920789 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3914933&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fcan-1-billion-group-of-babies-provide.html The issue of executive compensation in health care seems to be attracting more media attention.A St Louis Post-Dispatch editorial noted how executive compensation for for-profit health insurance CEOs has grown. It started with a quote from Steven Hemsley, the CEO of UnitedHealth:Today the American people are questioning whether or not we receive fair value for the $2.6 trillion we, as a society, are expecting to spend this year on our health care system. The vast majority, including those of us at UnitedHealth Group, believe the answer is, 'No.'Here is a summary of the compensation information:Modern Healthcare, a leading health industry trade journal, published its annual executive compensation survey this week. Topping the list is Stephen Hemsley, quoted above, who gave a speech to the D... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3914933 Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:49:00 +0100 3914933 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3902881&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhmzzqK4BIqc%2F For a long time now I’ve been writing about how student aid fuels explosive college costs, while Chris Edwards and Tad DeHaven have been highlighting the ever-cushier compensation of federal workers. Well, I’m pleased to have finally discovered a direct linkage between these topics: A new U.S. Office of Personnel  Management report on student loan repayment programs for federal workers. According to the report, in calendar year 2009 “36 Federal agencies provided 8,454 employees with a total of more than $61.8 million in student loan repayment benefits.” Now, 8,454 employees is a small chunk of the entire, roughly 2-million-person federal workforce. Still, $61.8 million isn’t anything to sniff at, and loan forgiveness is one more perk that needs to be con... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3902881 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:25:06 +0100 3902881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3889048&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fhow-oligopolists-rationalize-their.html Advocates of laissez faire commercialized health care often trumpet the advantages of competitive markets as a rationale for deregulation.  While there are theoretic, and possibly empiric reasons to think that competitive markets are the optimal way to distribute goods and services, we recently discussed aspects of health care that make it extremely hard for health care markets to be ideally competitive.  Meanwhile, two news articles gave some case-based evidence about how current health care markets are hardly competitive.   Sutter HealthA Bloomberg article focused on Sutter Health in northern and central California. Sutter Health commands a substantial part of a very large market:Sutter Health Co., the nonprofit that owns Sutter Davis, has market power that commands p... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3889048 Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:17:00 +0100 3889048 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3872508&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fst-vincents-goes-bankrupt-executives.html St. Vincent's Hospital in the Greenwich Village section of New York City was a landmark institution which filed for bankruptcy in April, 2010, and then closed its doors.  BackgroundA New York Times article written earlier this year described an institution "threatened with extinction" because it stuck to its mission of "compassionate care" in a health care environment that values "fancy equipment and celebrity doctors."  Thus, "officials blamed a high rate of poor and uninsured patients as well as cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and the hospital's inability to negotiate favorable contracts with health insurance companies...."  Painting Another PictureHowever, a story this week in the grittier New York Post painted a different picture:St. Vincent's Hospital was looted by execs ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3872508 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:49:00 +0100 3872508 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3865228&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fgolden-parachute-for-making.html In late 2009, we posted about problems at a Genzyme plant that manufactured some fabulously expensive drugs, e.g. Cerezyme whose cost to patients approximated $160,000 a year. We thought then that for a drug costing that much, the company ought to have figured out a conservative process to provide pure and unadulterated product. In a later post we also why a company that could afford to make its CEO very rich could not afford to adequately maintain its manufacturing facilities.  In May, 2010, we posted about a legal settlement of charges related to its manufacturing problems requiring Genzyme to pay a $175 million fine and function under US government supervision.Recent news articles suggest that the fix of the company's inabilities to manufacture pure, unadulterated drug remained rem... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3865228 Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:48:00 +0100 3865228 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3858142&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcCf6h1Zwm2w%2F By Tad DeHavenThe Bureau of Economic Analysis latest release of industry compensation levels shows that the average federal worker ranks up at the top along with employees in the finance and energy industries. That’s not exactly popular company these days. The BEA presents compensation data for 72 industries that span the U.S. economy. Figure 1 shows the 20 industries with the highest levels of average compensation, which includes wages and benefits. It also shows the average for all U.S. private industries and the average for the industry with the lowest compensation. (The names of the industries have been simplified in some cases). Federal civilian workers have the sixth highest average compensation of the 72 industries: As yesterday’s post showed, federal employee compensation has ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3858142 Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:25:42 +0100 3858142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854512&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfyZ0zcA79Hk%2F By Tad DeHavenThe Bureau of Economic Analysis has released its annual data on compensation levels by industry. The data show that the pay advantage enjoyed by federal civilian workers over private-sector workers continues to expand. This state of affairs is a thumb in the eye of the private sector, which continues to struggle with high unemployment. Many private sector employees have been forced to take pay and benefit cuts while continuing to fund generous federal employee compensation with their taxes. Figure 1 looks at average wages. In 2009, the average wage for 1.95 million federal civilian workers was $81,258, which compared to an average $50,462 for the nation’s 101 million private sector workers (measured in full-time equivalents). The figure shows that the federal pay advantage ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854512 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:29:20 +0100 3854512 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3848841&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2F2-legal-settlements-1-corporate.html Omnicare's Trail of Legal SettlementsLast year, we discussed a $98 million settlement made by Omnicare, US based corporation that manages pharmacy-benefits, of allegations that it received kickbacks from generic drug manufacturers for buying and recommending their drugs.  Omnicare had previously submitted to a corporate integrity agreement in 2006, and paid $102 million to settle allegations it defrauded Medicaid.  At the time, we noted that this was yet another of the many cases in which the organization alleged to be involved in wrong-doing paid a fine, but no one who authorized, directed, or implemented the bad behavior was subject to any negative consequences.So last week, Cincinnati.com ran a story on the retirement of the CEO who presided over Omnicare during the time of th... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3848841 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:47:00 +0100 3848841 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3831319&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fdespite-scandal-former-unitedhealth-ceo.html A little while ago, the Wall Street Journal reported on the highest paid US corporate CEOs of the past decade.  One name stood out for those interested in  health care: Dr William W McGuire, the former CEO of giant health care insurance company/ managed care organization UnitedHealth Group.  Dr McGuire was number 9 on the list, with a total realized compensation of $469,300,000.  We started discussing the disconnect between Dr McGuire's corpulent pay and his company's failure to uphold its stated ideals back in 2005, when he was reported to have received more than $124 million to lead a company which championed "affordable" health care.  Later, it turned out that much of Dr McGuire's compensation came in the form of back-dated stock-options, and the resul... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3831319 Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:55:00 +0100 3831319 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3805786&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fwhere-no-hospital-ceos-are-below.html In Lake Woebegon, all children are above average.  Now it seems that hospital CEOs have moved there.  Ventura County, Where No CEO is Below AverageThe Ventura County (California) Star reported on the uniformly high remuneration of the CEOs of local, mostly small, not-for-profit hospitals and hospital systems.T. Michael Murray reaped $330,545 in 2008 as chief executive officer of St. John’s hospitals in Oxnard and Camarillo. He drew an additional $187,071 in bonuses with $73,113 more in benefits and other compensation.His total package, according to IRS records, reached $590,729.And he may have been underpaid, according to a statewide survey of 118 nonprofit hospitals. The report by the Payers & Providers healthcare business publication suggests the base salary for CEOs aver... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3805786 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:38:00 +0100 3805786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3795056&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FDS5RG-Wd3Fw%2F In yet another bid to slash costs, GlaxoSmithKline is turning compensation for sales reps upside down. The drugmaker will no longer pay bonuses based on achieving sales targets and, instead, will pay them extra based “primarily on the service they deliver to customers.” How will this be measured? Bonuses will be determined, in part, by customer feedback, and by whether reps adhere to “values of transparency, integrity, respect and patient-focus.” “Physicians have been telling us they want to see fewer sales professionals, and those they do see need to provide greater value in helping improve patient health,” says Deirdre Connelly, who heads Glaxo’s North America Pharma biz, in a statement. “We’ve spent a good deal of time listening to o... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3795056 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:23:10 +0100 3795056 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767033&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fnot-your-average-joes-health-plan.html A Denver Post article offered a brief glimpse into the health benefits of corporate leaders, on the unusual occasion of a former CEO now in legal fight for the health benefits in the style to which he had become accustomed:Poor Joe. He's not getting the health-care benefits he was promised.His former employer merged with another company, and then another, and then another. And, you know how it goes after a slew of mergers. Suddenly the new, conglomerated monster just doesn't care about retirees any more.Joe isn't going to sit back and take it like an average Joe. He's suing his former employer in U.S. District Court in Manhattan for breach of contract, breach of faith, breach of fiduciary duty and even promissory estoppel.The Joe in question was really:Lord & Taylor's CEO.Joseph E. Bro... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767033 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:37:00 +0100 3767033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733065&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FctQ1CIgIfjY%2F By Jeffrey A. MironThe European parliament has just approved a measure that would limit bonus payments and other aspects of compensation for bankers. National finance ministers are expected to approve the measure next week, and it will take effect Jan. 1. The goal of the legislation is to limit banker incentives to take risk, since this was allegedly a major cause of the recent financial crisis. The key question about compensation limits is why shareholders and creditors have not imposed these on bank executives already. If the possibility of large bonuses indeed generates excessive risk-taking, then bank stakeholders have ample incentive to adopt such limits without government coercion. The answer is that bank risk-taking was not necessarily excessive from the perspective of the bank s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733065 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:48:34 +0100 3733065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733087&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdespite-medicare-primary-care-doctors-were-paid-more-in-2009%2F2010.07.07 The Senate has further tweaked its doc fix legislation to restore the extension to six months (from June 1 through Nov. 30) and the pay raise to 2.2 percent, reports a Senate Finance Committee Republican advisor. In Northern Michigan, the doc fix can’t come soon enough, as yet more physicians contemplate not accepting any more Medicare patients. The legislation continues to see revisions in the Senate, following the U.S. House refusal to consider the doc fix as a stand-alone bill. (TwitDoc, WWTV/WWUP-TV News) But primary care physicians saw a 2.8 percent median compensation increase in 2009, according to a Medical Group Management Association survey. MGMA attributed the rise to employers’ and payers’ increased commitment to primary care, but noted threats to Medicare payments s... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733087 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:00:00 +0100 3733087 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714128&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fhow-can-101-million-year-ceo-help.html In 2005, we entitled a post, "How Can a $124.8 Million a Year CEO Make Health Care More Affordable?"  At that time, we contrasted the enormous compensation given to the then CEO of UnitedHealth, Dr William McGuire, with the stated mission of his corporation.  Since then, we have traced the travails of UnitedHealth and its leadership.  Dr McGuire was eventually accused of receiving backdated stock options (which at one time raised his personal fortune to over $1 billion), and was pushed into retirement.  UnitedHealth was accused of a variety of management and ethical lapses.  The rather sorry story as of April, 2010 was summarized here.The more things change, the more they stay the same.  The Minneapolis Star-Tribune just reported:Stephen Hemsley, a serious and... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714128 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:20:00 +0100 3714128 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3710519&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fwellpoint-dont-know-much-about-computer.html Big US based health care insurance companies have not been covering themselves in glory in the last week.Aetna's Math ErrorsFirst, there was the case of Aetna's mathematical prowess, e.g., as reported by the Los Angeles Times:A second insurance company in California has killed plans for double-digit rate hikes for individual policyholders because of errors in its filing that would have inflated premiums, state regulators said Thursday.Connecticut-based Aetna Inc. had sought an average 19% increase in rates for its 65,000 individual customers, but pulled back after multiple math errors in its paperwork were found by its own staff and by an independent consultant working for the state.Aetna's decision follows a similar move by Anthem Blue Cross, which canceled a rate increase of as much as 3... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3710519 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:49:00 +0100 3710519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3648673&cid=t_136551_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F10%2Fthe-secret-to-creating-the-best-physician-comp-ever%2F Recently, we went through an intense round of salary negotiation with one of our docs. Previous employee physician negotiations had gone smooth. But this time, it was much more challenging. Our approach was to offer well-balanced work and life proposition that not only maximized the physician’s salary, but also created a financially strong, healthy organization. The compensation structure was transparent, rewarded hard work, encouraged initiative, and motivating for the physician. According to the physician, our plan actually did the opposite. Back to the drawing board Being wet-behind-the-ears about physician compensations, there was a need to learn more about this topic in an effort to find a comp structure that met both party’s expectations. I knew this was a common issue in medical... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3648673 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:00:27 +0100 3648673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644726&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fkind-of-blackmail-not-for-profit-health.html Here is another case in the annals of over-paid executives of not-for-profit health care organizations, this time from the Burlington (VT) Free-Press,Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont overpaid its former chief executive officer by $3 million over an eight-year period and has been ordered to pay the money back to its subscribers by 2012 in the form of reduced premiums, a top state regulator said Wednesday.The action by the state Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration Department follows last year’s disclosure that William Milnes, the nonprofit firm’s former CEO, received a $7.2 million payout when he stepped down in 2008.Furthermore, note that [Commissioner of the Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration Department Paulette] Thabault said h... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644726 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:49:00 +0100 3644726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3592210&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwill-large-employers-dump-healthcare-coverage%2F2010.05.24 Fortune magazine has made some news recently about the impact of healthcare reform on large employers: Internal documents recently reviewed by Fortune, originally requested by Congress, show what the bill’s critics predicted, and what its champions dreaded: many large companies are examining a course that was heretofore unthinkable, dumping the healthcare coverage they provide to their workers in exchange for paying penalty fees to the government. The only trouble? There’s no way these employers are seriously thinking about doing this. I can understand why the employers would do the math. According to healthcare reform law, penalties for failing to provide health coverage are a small fraction of the cost of that coverage. But as with most everything else in healthcare, there’s muc... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3592210 Mon, 24 May 2010 12:00:30 +0100 3592210 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3588840&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fat-upmc-dealings-with-board-members.html Last year we noted that the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) required more detailed reporting starting in 2009 by US not-for-profit organizations.  Many US health insurance companies/ managed care organizations, most hospitals, nearly all medical associations, nearly all disease advocacy organizations, all health care charities, and nearly all medical schools are not-for-profit organizations.  We suggested then that this reporting might lead to more transparency about the leadership and governance of these organizations.  Some of these new 990 forms are now being publicly disclosed, with some interesting findings.  The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review just reported some interesting findings about financial ties between the University of Pittsburg... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3588840 Fri, 21 May 2010 21:12:00 +0100 3588840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585560&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2F78-million-golden-parachute-for-not-for.html These sorts of hits just keep on coming.  This story comes from the Baltimore Sun. The Golden ParachuteFirst, let us just review the financial details,Former University of Maryland Medical System CEO Edmond F. Notebaert, who resigned two years ago during a tumultuous time that included infighting and a board shakeup, is again the subject of controversy over his $7.8 million pay package.The package included $2.4 million in severance, about $639,000 in salary for seven months, deferred bonuses and contributions to a retirement plan that instantly vested when he left. By the way, Mr Notebeart did not actually go into retirement after he received this largess,A spokeswoman for Temple University, where Notebaert now heads the health system, said he was not available for comment.The Justifi... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585560 Thu, 20 May 2010 21:18:00 +0100 3585560 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581571&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fpaying-ceos-of-health-care-not-for.html Million dollar plus executives of not-for-profit health care insurance companies seem to be becoming a dime a dozen.  Late in April, Buffalo Business First reported the pay of executives of some western New York health insurance companies:The top local executives at the region’s three major nonprofit health plans received nearly $23 million in salaries and bonuses last year.More than 70 people received total compensation of $160,000 or more. That’s the level at which insurers are required to report in annual reports to the state Department of Insurance.When you include executives who work for those three health plans but are located outside Western New York, the total compensation for top-paid execs totaled $46.4 million last year.Among the local executives in the Western New York... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581571 Wed, 19 May 2010 21:32:00 +0100 3581571 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3552431&cid=t_136551_125_f&fid=34820&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dentalblogs.com%2Farchives%2Fadministrator%2Fyour-dental-team-wants-money-respect%2F “Dental Assisting Digest” compiled the top ten things dental assistants want their dentists to know. At the top of the list? You guessed it. Compensation. Assistants want to be paid well for their work. But how can you pay out when money isn’t coming in, at least not like it used to? Let’s see what the experts have to say about it… Linda Miles, formerly of Linda Miles & Associates and creator of Speaking and Consulting Network, says that 70% of dental practices have reduced hours, laid off employees, cut benefits, or put a freeze on raises. In “Times are tough – no raises this year,” Linda tells us that salary increases for dental professionals may not happen this year because of our lagging economy. She says that merit raises are a much better option than cost of livin... dental blog for dentists about dentistry blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3552431 Tue, 11 May 2010 14:24:51 +0100 3552431 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3546833&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2F19-million-means-never-having-to-say.html Johnson and Johnson, the giant diversified health care company, recently shut down a factory that manufactured non-prescription childrens' medication, and recalled its products.  The findings from a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection of the plant were striking.  As described by Reuters,The company recalled 40 widely used children's pain and allergy medications, saying some may have a higher concentration of their active ingredients, while others may be contaminated. J&J has had four recalls in the past year of over-the-counter medicines.In an FDA report issued on Tuesday, inspectors said they found thick dust, grime and contaminated ingredients at the J&J plant that produces Children's Tylenol and dozens of other products recalled last week.This infuriated t... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3546833 Sat, 08 May 2010 19:05:00 +0100 3546833 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3504897&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEV-gfxTNYqA%2F By David BoazConcern about the pay, benefits, and performance of government employees seems to be growing. Chris Edwards’s articles on how government pay is outpacing private-sector pay have generated media attention, cartoons, and angry rebuttals from the head of the federal Office of Personnel Management. Steven Greenhut has a new book, Plunder! How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation, and is writing lots of newspaper articles on the high costs of government unions, also the topic of a recent Cato Policy Analysis. New Jersey unions are not finding much sympathy as they try to hold on to their raises, benefits, pensions, and work rules in the face of Gov. Chris Christie’s attempt to cut the budget. Liberal journalist... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3504897 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:08:35 +0100 3504897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3479638&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fwhat-me-worry-redux-another-leader.html We have posted lately (here and here) about how leaders of health care organizations seem to be getting even richer despite questions about their organizations' ethics or performance.  Here we go again.  The news about UnitedHealth over the years has provided plenty of examples of organizational behavior that did not fit the company's stated lofty goals, per its "Social Responsibility" page:UnitedHealth Group's mission is to help people live healthier lives.Social responsibility begins with us–and how we do business. Every day, our 75,000 employees strive to find smart ways to promote healthier lives in our communities. On its "Mission and Values" page:Our mission is to help people live healthier lives.* We seek to enhance the performance of the health system and improve the ov... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3479638 Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:49:00 +0100 3479638 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3463857&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F6ULydgCBvF0%2F But it’s still not a bad deal. Dick Clark, who engineered the acquisition of Schering-Plough, got $11.9 million in total compensation last year, a 31 percent drop according to calculations by the Associated Press that were based on the proxy filing the drugmaker made with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week. Clark, who is 64 and nearing mandatory retirement, had a base salary of $1.8 million, up less than 1 percent from 2008, and a $2.85 million performance bonus, which was up a hefty 27 percent. His perks, meanwhile, fell 24 percent to $56,003, including $10,959 for home and personal security, $25,448 in unspecified commuting costs, $8,571 for personal use of corporate aircraft and $11,025 in company matches to his retirement plan (by comparison, Hassan received $169,45... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3463857 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:19:21 +0100 3463857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3463544&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fpfizer-settles-one-lawsuit-loses.html It's deja vu all over again for Pfizer Inc, the world's largest pharmaceutical company.Settlement of Suit Alleging Neurontin Risks ConcealedPfizer has kept busy in court defending against charges that a company it acquired promoted Neurontin (gabapentin) for uses not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and not well supported by the evidence.  Most recently, it was convicted by a jury in California of being a racketeering influenced and corrupt organization (RICO) because of a long-term "racketeering conspiracy" involving Neurontin marketing (see post here). Now additionally, according to the Wall Street Journal, Pfizer Inc. said it reached a settlement agreement in a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by a woman who claimed her husband's use of the antiseizure drug Neur... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3463544 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:45:00 +0100 3463544 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3448806&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fwhat-me-worry-leaders-prosper-despite.html There were two examples in the recent news about how the leaders of health care organizations seem to prosper no matter what questions are raised about their organizations' ethics or performance.WellPointIt seemed that anger over a rate increase by a subsidiary of the huge insurance company/ managed care organization WellPoint was one reason for the revival of efforts in the US to enact some sort of health care reform legislation.  In our comment on this controversy, we noted that questions about the ethics of WellPoint's actions have appeared again and again.  Wellpoint...settled a RICO (racketeer influenced corrupt organization) law-suit in California over its alleged systematic attempts to withhold payments from physicians (see post here).subsidiary New York Empire Blue Cross ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3448806 Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:19:00 +0100 3448806 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429130&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fmore-doubts-about-private-equity-taking.html Last week, we posted about how buy-outs of not-for-profit hospital systems by private equity firms seemed to be a new fashion in health care.  Since then, new doubts have been raised about whether this is a good idea.Detroit Medical Center, Vanguard Health, and the Blackstone GroupLetters to the Detroit Free Press raised concerns,As a nonprofit corporation, DMC's mission is to provide quality health care to the community. Management is accountable to Detroit area citizens and health care consumers, not to profit-motivated investors.As a private, for-profit corporation, its mission will be to provide profit for its shareholders. Management will be accountable to shareholders and will be rewarded in relation to the rate of return on their investments.Also, the Free Press reported that a... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429130 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:14:00 +0100 3429130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429131&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fnew-investigations-of-boston-scientific.html It appears that device-maker Boston Scientific has a new set of troubles.  The Boston Globe just reported:Stepped-up government scrutiny of Boston Scientific Corp. stems from heightened concern over medical safety and disappointment that the company made new missteps after resolving previous problems with the Food and Drug Administration, analysts said yesterday.The Natick medical-device maker, which has been working to settle patent suits and federal investigations dating back years, recently was notified of fresh investigations begun by the Department of Justice and the Securities Exchange Commission into problems that forced it to recall implantable heart defibrillators this month.Boston Scientific said March 15 that it had halted shipments and recalled unsold units of seven brands... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429131 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:39:00 +0100 3429131 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3366225&cid=t_136551_105_f&fid=38964&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdrwes.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fdo-patient-satisfaction-surveys.html Chris Jennings and Congressman Paul Ryan confer before their 14 March 2010 session at the ACC10 meetingThis morning, Kevin Pho, MD has published on op-ed on a commonly-used tool to determine "quality medicine" from the patient's perspective: patient satisfaction surveys. Like pay-for-performance, this seems like a great idea. One might even logically conclude that doctor's pay should be tied to both pay-for performance measures and patient satisfaction.But Kevin and Edwin Leap, MD (whose article is referenced in Kevin's piece) point out their concerns with this approach:Quality health care sometimes means saying "no" to patients, denying them habit-forming pain medications that can feed an underlying, destructive drug addiction, or refusing to order unneeded CT scans that can facilitate ha... Dr. Wes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3366225 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:38:00 +0100 3366225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3350568&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FWd4iws7642I%2F A pleasant morning here on the Pharmalot corporate campus. After a recent spell of snow, spring appears to have finally bloomed. And that makes it a bit easier to cope with those mid-week deadlines and meetings, yes? So grab a cup of something stimulating and dig in for another day. Here are a few interesting items to help you on your way. Cheers, everyone… Abbott Bests Biogen With Bid For Facet Biotech (Bloomberg) Bristol-Myers’ CEO 2009 Pay Was Down 22 Percent (Associated Press) Sandoz Names Don DeGolyer To Heads US Ops (Chain Drug Review) Novartis Takes Option On Transgene Cancer Vaccine (Reuters) Lilly, Amylin Diabetes Drug Await FDA OK (The Wall Street Journal) Teva Pharmaceuticals Names Phillip Frost As Chairman (Associated Press) Coffee pix thx to chichcacha flickr creat... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3350568 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:24:03 +0100 3350568 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3327294&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FGv0wI7j76mQ%2F Now that the Wyeth acquisition is complete and layoffs are under way, the raises can be given out. And so the Pfizer board has decided to give Jeff Kindler a 12.5 percent salary hike, to $1.8 million, as part of a $14.9 million pay package, which includes $5.5 million in stock awards, $2.6 million in options, a $3.5 million cash bonus, a pension boost and other perks, such as air travel, usage of a car and home security (at $1,217, this would appear to be for an alarm, so why can’t he pay that himself? He’d still get credit on homeowner’s insurance). In all, his compensation is actually down 4 percent, to $14.9 million, but that’s due to a drop in stock awards, Dow Jones notes. Among the reasons cited for Kindler’s raise: achieving financial goals; promoting a... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3327294 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:20:31 +0100 3327294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3283492&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Funiversity-of-california-ceo-you-can.html The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported how students at the University of California have been providing a satirical approach to the problems of the university's leadership:It's been a seriously dramatic year at the University of California, where hundreds of students seized buildings, demonstrated and shut down regents meetings last fall to protest rising tuition and the perceived privatization of the public school.It's also been a satirically dramatic year, thanks to the UC Movement for Efficient Privatization, a fledgling group of mostly grad students in business attire that uses humor tinged with sarcasm to lampoon UC officials.Their own name is an example. Many UC students believe leaps in tuition and reduced state funding are turning the public university into a private institu... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3283492 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:22:00 +0100 3283492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3254419&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Feverything-is-up-to-date-in-kansas-city.html They say everything is up to date in Kansas City, so maybe it should not be a surprise that it is the source of a new and colorful tale of how leaders of health care organizations are different from you and me.  The Kansas City Star reported about the professional life of the recently fired CEO of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences:Hiring the CEOThere’s an often-told story about how Karen Pletz, the fired president of the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, got her job in the first place.On a flight from Phoenix to Kansas City in 1995, a stranger sat next to her: Jack Weaver, then chairman of the university’s board of trustees.Pletz, with a law degree and a career in banking, so impressed Weaver that he proposed she join the board. When the tru... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3254419 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:43:00 +0100 3254419 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239816&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F7G2Na5ih3kI%2F Former Novartis ceo Dan Vasella’s 2009 bonus will be close to three times the amount he would be due based on relative earnings growth among large cap peers, according to a report compiled by UK proxy voting agency Manifest and Swiss consultancy Obermatt, Reuters writes. The estimated payout will total about $5.96 million. And that would be around $3.8 millionabove the maximum level calculated by Obermatt, which bases its bonus recommendation on the number of peers a company outperforms - the more peers are beaten, the higher the bonus. Novartis couldn’t confirm the estimated bonus level for 2009. “Dr. Vasella’s base as well as total compensation is in line with that of CEOs from other large healthcare companies,” a Novartis spokeswoman tells Reuters. Vasella ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239816 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:02:49 +0100 3239816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3235796&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fhospital-executive-pay-in-land-where.html In the US, it seems to be the season for news reports on the pay of hospital executives.  Here are reports from three states in the southeast, in alphabetical order.FloridaThe St Petersburg (FL) Times reported on the total compensation of local hospital executives:While many workers in the Tampa Bay area have had their wages frozen or reduced in the past few years, life has been kinder to chief executives at nonprofit hospitals in the Tampa Bay area.A bright light in a dim economy, most local tax-exempt hospitals have continued to post surpluses, despite losses on investments and the growing number of uninsured. And the executives at the helms of these organizations have been duly rewarded by their community-based boards, according to the federal tax filings required of such organizat... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3235796 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:48:00 +0100 3235796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231829&cid=t_136551_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F02%2Frtw-and-acc-in-new-zealand-rtw-matters-analysis%2F This just in from RTW Matters – Dr Mary Wyatt analyses the New Zealand RTW Monitor results and makes her predictions about whether, in the light of financial pressures and declining RTW rates, NZ  is in for a RTW thaw or a snap freeze.  It’s available only for subscribers, but here’s a brief summary… (oh and subscription isn’t much in financial terms but packs a punch in information terms!) RTW rates are declining in both New Zealand and Australia ACC indicates that this is because of ‘a number of factors, including the ageing population, the increasing complexity of claims, and claims management inefficiencies. The resulting impact has meant that clients are staying on the Scheme longer and costing more.’ As an aside, I wonder how it can be ... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231829 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:46:22 +0100 3231829 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3223242&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fctioi9RSNu4%2F By Andrew J. Coulson“Math class is tough!”  –Teen Talk Barbie Political scientist Jay Greene bravely decided to read the new NEA paper that is billed as showing that “Teachers Take ‘Pay Cut’ as Inflation Outpaces Salaries.  Average teachers’ salaries declined over the past decade.” But a funny thing happened when he reviewed the study: it didn’t support the NEA’s own claim. Here’s Jay: The only problem is that this is not what the data in the NEA report actually show.  In Table C-14 “Percentage Change in Average Salaries of Public School Teachers 1998-99 to 2008-09 (Constant $)” we see that salaries increased by 3.4% nationwide over the last decade after adjusting for inflation…. I can’t find a single tabl... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3223242 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:37:05 +0100 3223242 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220490&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fmore-california-medical-centers-plagued.html Earlier this week, we noted that while executives at one University of California medical center were getting large bonuses supposedly for "improved patient health," the hospital was being cited for serious health care quality deficiencies.  Now, more stories have appeared that raise questions about the rationale for the generous bonuses handed out to multiple top hospital executives at University of California hospitals.  University of California - San DiegoFirst, in alphabetical order by city, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on penalties for poor quality care announced by the California Department of Public Health: UCSD Medical Center in San Diego was fined $50,000.... The state said the hospital staff failed to follow its surgical policies and procedures, which resulted i... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220490 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:16:00 +0100 3220490 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3208313&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fuci-medical-center-fails-inspection-uci.html Back in the early days of Health Care Renewal, we had many occasions to write about problems with the leadership of the University of California - Irvine (UCI) medical school.  Starting in late 2005, we posted  about various management problems at the institution, involving its liver transplant service, cardiology division, and bone marrow transplant service, (see posts here and here) which lead the new chancellor of the campus to "acknowledge a failure of leadership and accountability" (see post here.) Slightly more recently, we noted the almost 20 year history of questionable financial relationships that involved one of UCI's "biggest stars" in clinical researach and several pharmaceutical companies (see post here).  Then, in 2007, we wrote about some strange contract... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3208313 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:11:00 +0100 3208313 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3163736&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fnon-profit-health-care-organization.html ConclusionsLeaders of not-for-profit organizations, starting with their boards of trustees, are supposed to subscribe to the duty of  obedience, "to be faithful to the organization's mission,"  and the duty of loyalty, " give undivided allegiance when making decisions affecting the organization." Presumably, that can be extended to the requirement that the top hired executives of not-for-profit put the mission ahead of their own personal gain.  Thus, boards of trustees who feel that they can only retain hired CEOs by pay so high that they will not be tempted by offers from for-profit corporations have failed in their duty by hiring CEOs who put their personal financial interests ahead of the mission.  I believe that the compensation given to CareSource and Premier ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3163736 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:42:00 +0100 3163736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3145951&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYzgHWs1zuds%2F By Chris Moody Nat Hentoff reports on racism in Cuba. Federal judge dismisses charges against Blackwater guards over the killing of 17 in Baghdad. David Isenberg: “The fact that the Blackwater contractors are not getting a trial will only serve to further increase suspicion of and hostility towards security contractors. It is going to be even more difficult for them to gain the trust of local populations or government officials in the countries they work in.” New report shows state and local government workers have higher average compensation levels than private workers. Podcast: “Televising and Subsidizing the Big Game” featuring Neal McCluskey. “Everybody should watch the National College Football Championship because whether you’re interested or... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3145951 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:51:56 +0100 3145951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3145957&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZwijLskzamc%2F By Chris EdwardsToday, Cato released a report on employee compensation in state and local governments. As states struggle to balance their budgets in coming months, they should look to find savings in employee compensation, which represents half of all state and local spending. The particular issue of excessive state pensions is being probed by newspapers across the nation. Over at Reason, Nick Gillespie discusses the problem in his home state of Ohio. That state’s newspapers teamed up to pen a series of articles on government pensions, which are representative of the growing pension problems in many states. There has been a parallel series of articles across the nation on “pay-to-play” state pension scandals. These scandals involve Wall Street firms bribing pub... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3145957 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:15:39 +0100 3145957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089237&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2F98-million-dollar-man.html We seem to have a new candidate for the award for best-paid CEO of a not-for-profit academic medical center, as reported in the New York Post,Wall Streeters aren't the only ones raking in big bonuses during tough economic times.Hospital presidents and CEOs also collect fat bonuses and 'incentive payments,' even as health-care systems cry poverty, claiming they struggle to break even against government cutbacks, tightwad insurers and skyrocketing costs.While warning of layoffs and slashed patient services, many hospitals shower their top execs and department heads with bonuses and perks. They include housing allowances, chauffeurs, first-class air travel, tuition for their kids and country-club memberships.Under new IRS rules, the extras are disclosed for the first time in recently filed 20... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089237 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:29:00 +0100 3089237 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3079317&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwF4UeMV55DI%2F By Chris EdwardsThat’s the subject of a USA Today analysis, which reveals an outrageous increase in salaries at the top levels of the federal workforce. I’ve been complaining about excessive federal pay for some time based on one set of data, and now Dennis Cauchon provides strong support for my thesis using a different set of data. Cauchon finds that since the economy fell into recession, the number of federal workers earning more than $150,000 has more than doubled. The federal government has become extremely bloated and top heavy, even as families and businesses across the nation have had to tighten their belts. With 383,000 workers earning six-figure salaries, the government has become an elite island of overcompensated administrators immune from the competitive job realities of av... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3079317 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:50:55 +0100 3079317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3079323&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUKClRcE7WKw%2F By Chris EdwardsThe expansion in government and poor state of the economy got me thinking about how government growth is reflected in measured gross domestic product. So here is a wonky look at the treatment of government in the Bureau of Economic Analysis GDP data. Data notes: By “government,” I mean total federal, state, and local. For 2009, I’m using the average of second and third quarter data. All data from BEA Tables here. GDP measures total production. In 2009, government production was 20.7 percent of U.S. GDP.  Government production is roughly the sum of government value-added (the stuff it produces itself) and government purchases. The first item, government value-added, was 12.4 percent of GDP and mainly consists of employee compensation. For exampl... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3079323 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:37:11 +0100 3079323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075458&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fmore-air-into-health-care-bubble-30000.html Over four years ago, we posted about the stratospheric prices of new drugs that seemed disproportionate to manufacturing and development costs on one hand, and the value of the drugs for patients on the other.  For example, back then we noted that thalidomide, a very old drug that notoriously was found to cause birth defects when it was given to preganant women, but that then showed promise as an anti-cancer drug, was being marketed in the US for $29 per capsule (approximately $25,000 a year), while a generic form sold in Brazil for $0.07 per capsule.That was then, and this is now.  This week, the New York Times reported on a $30,000+  per month cancer drug.  A newly approved chemotherapy drug will cost about $30,000 a month, a sign that the prices of cancer m... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075458 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:56:00 +0100 3075458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3052125&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fl4ZoHP54eaE%2F Today, the Supreme Court heard argument in Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which is a Fifth Amendment Takings Clause challenge involving beachfront property (that I previously discussed here). Essentially, Florida’s ”beach renourishment” program created more beach but deprived property owners of the rights they previously had — exclusive access to the water, unobstructed view, full ownership of land up to the “mean high water mark,” etc. That is, the court turned beachfront property into “beachview” property.  After the property owners successfully challenged this action, the Florida Supreme Court – “SCOFLA” for those who remember the Bush v. Gore imbroglio – reve... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3052125 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:49:31 +0100 3052125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3052417&cid=t_136551_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F03%2Fback-to-the-basics-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-and-psychosocial-factors-in-low-back-pain%2F In New Zealand, the national accident insurer, Accident Compensation Corporation, has been reviewing its pain management service contracts. The latest message from both the Government and ACC is the need to reduce costs (not that I’ve ever heard anyone say ‘let’s go for broke, let’s spend all we can!’) and one way to do this is to look at how to reduce the risk of long-term disability associated with chronic pain. So, in their pursuit of ways to do this, ACC has consulted with providers and reviewed opinions about services provided to claimants under the various pain services contracts and come up with some pretty sensible options. Some of the findings from examining current services simply do not surprise me – amongst two of the most common services, pa... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3052417 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:34:49 +0100 3052417 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3026663&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQw7teQ5vDJ8%2F All too often policy debates regarding executive compensation appear driven more by populist politics than any real basis in fact.   In order to add some light to this debate, two professors at New York University’s Stern School of Business, Gian Luca Clementi and Thomas Cooley, recently released a working paper, offering their findings on trends in executive compensation, many of which I found surprising. First off, Professors Clementi and Cooley measure executive compensation more broadly than just salary, perks and bonuses.  They include annual change in value of own company stock and option holdings, as well as the value of own company stock sales and newly awarded securities.  This broader measure is intended to give a fuller picture of how closely an executive&#8217... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3026663 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:44:48 +0100 3026663 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3008065&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FU6-RXe1Qh5M%2F USA Today reports that retired military officers join the boards of directors of, or become employees of, defense contractors and take home big bags of money doing so.  Not surprising.  At the same time, the paper reports, lots of them are being paid by the Pentagon to be “senior mentors” of their former colleagues. Not being government employees, but rather independent contractors, these folks aren’t subject to government ethics rules.  To take one example, as chairman of BAE Systems, Gen. Anthony Zinni is clearing almost a million a year, in addition to his $129,000 per year government pension.  In addition to all that, the Pentagon pays him about $2,000 per day to “mentor” people at DOD. As the article points out, information is almost invaluable to the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3008065 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:53:08 +0100 3008065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3003725&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOMyfED4MxVw%2F The U.S. Postal Service reported that it lost $3.8 billion last fiscal year and that it expects to lose $7.8 billion this year. The loss occurred despite cost-cutting measures and legislation that allowed the USPS to forgo $4 billion in required payments to pre-fund retiree health benefits. From the Associated Press: The post office has been struggling to cope with a decline in mail volume caused by the shift to the Internet as well as the recession that resulted in a drop in advertising and other mail. Total mail volume was 177.1 billion pieces, compared to 202.7 billion pieces in 2008, a decline of almost 13 percent. For the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 the agency had income of $68.1 billion, $6.8 billion less than in 2008. Expenditures were down $5.9 billion to $71.8 billion. The rec... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3003725 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:11:41 +0100 3003725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939275&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpYOEzr0p1dU%2F How Washington’s plans may result in even higher executive pay. “In 1993, Congress intervened in corporate compensation and messed things up. Now it’s the White House’s turn.” The case for allowing insider trading: “Want to keep companies honest, make the markets work more efficiently and encourage investors to diversify? Let insiders buy and sell.” Cato v. Heritage on the Patriot Act, Round III: “In hindsight, did Congress and the president react too hastily in 2001 by passing the Patriot Act just weeks after the 9/11 attacks?” Instead of fixing the Patriot Act, President Obama is protecting it. Twenty years later: Why the Berlin Wall fell. Podcast: “Financial Privacy and Freedom” featuring Prince Michael of Liech... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939275 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:38:20 +0100 2939275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2934651&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbdO1uXt8MtA%2F The National Park Service announced Friday that it has removed its superintendent at Gettysburg National Military Park and reassigned him to work in a cultural resources office as an assistant to the associate director. His job duties have not yet been determined. John A. Latschar said Thursday that his demotion was in response to the public disclosure of Internet activity in which he viewed more than 3,400 “sexually-explicit” images over a two-year period on his government computer — a violation of department policy. The misconduct, which Latschar acknowledged in a sworn statement, was found during a year-long investigation by the Interior Department’s inspector general and was documented in an internal Aug. 7 report obtained by The Washington Post. The reassignme... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2934651 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:04:03 +0100 2934651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2923241&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWC6SQ9CskpI%2F The Obama administration’s announcement this week on cash compensation for those seven institutions receiving “extraordinary assistance” has generated the all-too-predictable responses. Either you think executives at the entities are bad and greedy and should be punished, or you believe this is just the first step in an all-out class war.  Sadly the real victim in all these efforts has been, and continues to be, the taxpayer. Now that the taxpayer is the most significant shareholder in these companies, the top priority for Washington, as representative of the taxpayer, should be to see these companies return to profitability.  Quite simply, if these companies are not profitable, that loss will fall on the taxpayer, as shareholder. And of course, without the ability to... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2923241 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:19:32 +0100 2923241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2916081&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FziYjmUwKyB8%2F According to reports, executives from bailed out companies Citigroup, Bank of America, GM, Chrysler, GMAC, Chrysler Financial and AIG are going to see major pay cuts this year, which will be enforced by the president’s “pay czar,” Kenneth R. Feinberg. WaPo: NEW YORK — The Obama administration plans to order companies that have received exceptionally large amounts of bailout money from the government to slash compensation for their highest-paid executives by about half on average, according to people familiar with the long-awaited decision. The administration will also curtail many corporate perks, including the use of corporate jets for personal travel, chauffeured drivers and country club fee reimbursement, people familiar with the matter have said. Individual per... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2916081 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:30:50 +0100 2916081 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2886742&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F2fURiNc_FuA%2F In a bid to maintain the Genentech culture, Roche plans to reward the biotech’s employees with more long-term stock options than the folks who work for the big drug maker. Severin Schwan, Roche’s ceo, says that reviewing Genentech pay is a top priority and wants to keep things “entrepreneurial” at Genentech, according to The Financial Times. They must remain “attractive and relevant to the specific environment in California,” he told the paper, while dismissing talk that this year’s acquisition of Genentech, in which Roche held a majority stake, would result in a significant reduction in tax charges. Schwan also maintains that all opposition to the previously hostile bid by Genentech’s board had dissipated. The move to offer more options to Gene... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2886742 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:26:33 +0100 2886742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2865647&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBhg8YnbIfRQ%2F President Obama’s real czar, “pay czar” Ken Feinberg, who has real power, brushes aside such claims even as he prepares to issue his Gosplan-style edicts on future and even past pay agreements: The Obama administration’s pay czar says negotiations over executive compensation with the seven companies that received the biggest federal bailouts have been “a consensual process’’ – not a matter of forcing decisions on them. “I’m hoping I won’t be required to simply make a determination over company objections,’’ veteran Washington attorney Kenneth Feinberg told the Chicago Bar Association in a speech. But note: he’s “hoping” he won’t have to impose his own view. He’s hoping the companies will accede to his power without com... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2865647 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:57:21 +0100 2865647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2820174&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F09%2Fsafety-net-medical-center-ceo-gets.html From theBostonChannel.com comes this story on executive compensation in a not-for-profit health care organization,Boston Medical Center – a financially troubled hospital – gave its outgoing CEO a one-time, nearly $3.5 million payment, in addition to her $1.3 million annual salary, Team 5 Investigates reported Friday.Elaine Ullian, 61, has led the city’s major 'safety net' hospital for the last 15 years. She recently announced she will retire when her contract expires in January.The hospital's financial situation is such that hospital leaders say it could face closure in the years ahead. It is currently suing the Executive Office of Health and Human Services over how it gets paid for treating poor and uninsured patients.Team 5 Investigates discovered, in a review of the hospital’s f... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2820174 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:16:00 +0100 2820174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2768630&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCoZW0TL-2QM%2F As could be expected, the effects of the financial crisis — and people’s reaction thereto — are starting to make their way to the least political branch of government, the judiciary.  The Supreme Court this term will be hearing several cases that could have serious repercussions on our economic recovery, one of which led us to file an amicus brief.  Here’s the situation: The Investment Company Act of 1940 places on investment advisers a fiduciary duty with respect to the compensation they receive for the services they provide their clients. In the case of Jones v. Harris Associates, shareholders in various mutual funds contend that their adviser fees were excessive and violated the ICA. The Seventh Circuit, the federal appellate court based in Chicago, affirmed the ju... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2768630 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:19:32 +0100 2768630 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2747914&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFOSgWZM_BO0%2F What do workers in finance, energy, and the federal government have in common? Very generous compensation packages, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. When I posted federal compensation data last week, I received a flood of comments that disputed my contention that federal workers are overpaid. A common retort was that “federal workers are not burger flippers.” That’s true, but workers in the computer systems design, computer manufacturing, and chemicals industries are not burger flippers either, yet those folks also earn less than federal workers, on average. The Bureau of Economic Analysis presents compensation data for 72 industries that span the U.S. economy (Table 6.2D). Figure 1 shows the 20 industries with the highest levels of average compensation, inclu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2747914 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:49:33 +0100 2747914 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2737700&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZptJwMYfVis%2F My post yesterday on federal worker pay generated a large and aggressive response from federal workers, both in my inbox and on websites such as Fedsmith.com. (See also Federal Times and Govexec). Here are four points raised in criticism: First, people accuse me of producing distorted data somehow. Actually, it’s essentially just raw Bureau of Economic Analysis data, but the data is usually overlooked by the media because I don’t think the BEA puts out a press release on it. Anyway, the average wage data is from BEA Table 6.6D. The average compensation data is simply total compensation (Table 6.2D) divided by the number of workers (Table 6.5D). Second, people argue that reporting overall averages for wages and compensation is somehow illegitimate. People email me co... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2737700 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:19:26 +0100 2737700 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2734019&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6Egsv8D10hY%2F The Bureau of Economic Analysis has released its annual data on compensation levels by industry (Tables 6.2D, 6.3D, and 6.6D here). The data show that the pay advantage enjoyed by federal civilian workers over private-sector workers continues to expand. The George W. Bush years were very lucrative for federal workers. In 2000, the average compensation (wages and benefits) of federal workers was 66 percent higher than the average compensation in the U.S. private sector. The new data show that average federal compensation is now more than double the average in the private sector. Figure 1 looks at average wages. In 2008, the average wage for 1.9 million federal civilian workers was $79,197, which compared to an average $49,935 for the nation’s 108 million private sector workers (measured i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2734019 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:57:52 +0100 2734019 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2715924&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzuIp2BgI0Is%2F Mark Calabria notes how the form of salary scheme at financial institutions played no apparent role in sparking the financial crisis.  But that hasn’t stopped the federal pay czar from boasting about his power, even to regulate compensation set before he took office. Reports the Martha’s Vineyard Times: Speaking to a packed house in West Tisbury Sunday night, Kenneth Feinberg rejected the title of “compensation czar,” but he also said said his broad and “binding” authority over executive compensation includes not only the ability to trim 2009 compensation for some top executives but to change pay plans for second tier executives as well. In addition, Mr. Feinberg said he has the authority to “claw back” money already paid to executives ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2715924 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:08:56 +0100 2715924 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570380&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1o0aH394hP4%2F Regulators at the SEC and politicians on Capitol Hill seem to have short memories when it comes to executive compensation.  When the SEC years ago decided to make the compensation of top executives public information, it had the all too predictable result of actually increasing average compensation levels.  Once a top CEO knew what other CEOs were making, he could argue for a pay hike based upon being “underpaid”.  Of course regulators were “shocked” by the resulting “race to the top.”  Similarly Congress was shocked when after deciding to heavily tax salaries over $1 million, that companies shifted away from direct cash pay and toward options and increased bonuses in the form of shares.  And soon Washington will also pretend to be shocked and outra... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570380 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:23:28 +0100 2570380 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441169&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDdyysKBdvUk%2F The Federal Diary column in the Washington Post is a curious piece of newspaper real estate. Most newspaper columns are aimed at the broad general public, but this column is aimed directly at the few hundred thousand government workers in the DC region. The result is that it takes a very government- and union-centric view of the world. The fact that the federal civilian workforce costs taxpayers an enormous $300 billion or so every year is beside the point for the column. In a briefing with reporters yesterday, the head of the Office of Personnel Management complained about a Lou Dobbs television bit that featured this data that I assembled from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The Federal Diary columnist called me yesterday about the data, and I explained to him the shortcomings of ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441169 Thu, 28 May 2009 20:46:14 +0100 2441169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2094800&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2009%2F01%2F10%2Fny-surgeon-to-ex-you-owe-me-for-my-kidney%2F So how much do you think your kidney’s worth? This NY surgeon, who donated his kidney back in 2001 to his now estranged wife, has decided that his is worth at least $1.5 million. That’s how much he now demanding in compensation from her. Sounds like he’d rather have the kidney back but of course, that’s not going to happen… Only in New York!!! Tags: compensation for kidney, divorce, ethics of kidney donation, kidney donation, NY surgeon demands kidneyShare This (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2094800 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:25:31 +0100 2094800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2089879&cid=t_136551_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fmans-wife-cheats-he-wants-his-kidney.html This may ibe the biggest case of ingratitude about which I ever heard: Dr. Richard Batista gave his wife Dawnell one of his kidneys--and then, he says, she cheated on him. Now, as part of the divorce he wants compensation for his lost kidney. From the story:"There's no deeper pain you can ever express than to be betrayed by the person you devoted your life to," he told reporters. "I saved her life but the pain is unbearable."The vascular surgeon's lawyer Dominic Barbara said his client wanted $1.5 million in compensation for the kidney as part of a bitter matrimonial break-up which has dragged on for three years. "As part of the litigation we are asking for the value of the kidney that he gave his wife," said Mr Barbara. "In theory we are asking for the return of the kidney. Of course, he ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2089879 Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:37:00 +0100 2089879 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035942&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F483174002%2F At the same time the drugmaker is in the midst of laying off 5,500 employees in order to save $1.5 billion by 2010 (back story), Schering-Plough has decided to reward general counsel Tom Sabatino with a big bag of cash. Specifically, Sabatino was just awarded a 7.4 percent pay hike that brings his salary to $857,100 from $798,000, and a special cash award of $500,000, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Why? The compensation committee recognized his “sustained strong performance as executive vice president of global law and public affairs and general counsel, and the increased responsibility he assumed for global administrative services in October of 2008.” This is the second time in recent months the drugmaker has made such a move, even as thousa... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035942 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:12:06 +0100 2035942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1871105&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F416720606%2F In an era where ceo compensation is hotly debated, one sport is keeping tabs on the overpaid, but not overworked. So proxy advisor Glass Lewis has come up with a list of the most eggregious examples that it calls ‘Pay Dirt,’ which focuses on “the best examples of boards and compensation committees that have failed in their fiduciary duty to link pay with performance.” The 42-page report slices and dices ceo pay and performance several ways, but we noticed that King Pharmaceuticals ceo Brian Markison shows up on the firm’s ranking of the S&P 500 Overpaid 25, a dubious distinction. To be specific, Brian ranked No. 23 with about $30.3 million in total compensation, while King stock fell about 36 percent and earnings per share growth plummeted nearly 37 perce... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1871105 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:46:25 +0100 1871105 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1863024&cid=t_136551_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F413691407%2F The Georgia Supreme Court has allowed an Atlanta couple’s lawsuit against Wyeth to proceed, upholding a first-of-its-kind ruling by an appellate court that had drawn fierce opposition from the vaccine industry, The Augusta Chronicle reports. The court’s unanimous decision Monday concluded that a 1986 federal law that has been used to block other suits against vaccine makers does not bar the suit from Marcelo and Carolyn Ferrari from going to trial, the paper writes. (Here’s the decision). The court upheld a ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals, which became the first appellate court in the nation to hold that the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act does not preempt state law. The Ferraris asked the Georgia Supreme Court to rule that Wyeth can be held lia... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1863024 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:38:34 +0100 1863024 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1593801&cid=t_136551_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F07%2F07%2Fdo-older-brains-try-and-compensate-for-their-age%2F While imaging brain studies can’t show us what we’re thinking, they can show us comparatively how two brains are performing from two different groups. Neuroscientists use such comparisons to form hypothesis about brain behavior. Using neuroimaging techniques to study aging — techniques such as MRI, fMRI and PET scans — is still a relatively new science: it’s only been around since the mid 1990s. One finding from this research is that older adults tend to engage in overactivation of certain areas of their brain. What this means that in order to perform the same cognitive tasks in the experiment, an older brain will light up in different regions and with greater intensity (suggesting greater “work” by the brain) than their younger counterparts. S... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1593801 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:55:07 +0100 1593801