Thursday, November 5, 2009

Obamacare Won't Pay for Death by Hospital

NEWS ITEM: AHRQ says hospital deaths waste $20 billion a year!

REACTION: Obamacare removes payments for hospital stays that result in death, thereby saving $200 billion over ten years.

Fact or Fiction?

So far, just a glint in Zeke Emanuel's eyes, but it could be enacted by fiat (health czar, you know) once Obamacare is passed. NOTE: Obamacare already reduces payments for readmissions to hospitals within 30 days, so this isn't that big a stretch.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The New Misery Index: Five Factors for Pain

Back in the woebegotten Carter era of the 1970s, someone came up with the "misery index"--you add the unemployment rate to the inflation rate to determine its value. Obviously, the higher the number meant the higher the people's misery.

But how about the new millennium? Do unemployment and inflation account for our current misery and economic woes? Unemployment is certainly still a factor, but inflation is just about non-existent. In fact, we were experiencing deflation up until recently.

Fortunately, someone came up with a new misery index made up of five indices: food stamps (number of people receiving them), bankruptcies, foreclosures, long-term unemployment, and credit card defaults.

>SEE THE RESULTS FOR YOURSELF!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

NMB Relaxes Unionization Standards

In an apparent effort to help organizers establish a union at Delta Air Lines, the National Mediation Board (NMB) has voted (along party lines) to change the secret ballot standard for unionization.

Airlines (and FedEx, which is currently subject to another political hatchet job to be forcefully unionized) are regulated by the Railway Labor Act rather than the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NMB has traditionally interpreted unionization voting standards as requiring a majority of affected workers to vote affirmatively, meaning that those who don't bother to vote are counted as "noes."

No more, the NMB action yesterday (Nov. 2, 2009) means that organizers now need just a majority of votes cast even if the number of those voting doesn't even add up to a majority of affected workers.

Cute trick. The only thing now standing between Delta's unionization by minority vote is a 60-day public commentary period following the NMB vote.

If you want conspiracy theory, here it is: On the Friday before Monday's NMB vote, the International Association of Machinists (IAM) withdrew its application for a unionization vote at Delta.

Delta says the IAM withdrew its ballot request to delay the vote until the new rule comes into effect.

You think?