Controversy is usually considered undesirable — in the same category as conflict, discord, and disagreement. However, when it takes the form of respectful dialogue rather than debate, controversy can transform opinion and even give rise to unexpected progress. One hopes, for the benefit of all concerned, that the current controversy surrounding pressure ulcers might bring about a similarly positive outcome.
In 2010 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) halted additional payments to hospitals for selected conditions that were acquired in the hospital (in other words, not present when the patient was admitted). One of these conditions was the pressure ulcer, bed sore and the decubitus ulcer which CMS asserted “could reasonably have been prevented through the application of evidence-based guidelines.” This regulation was known as the Inpatient Prospective Payment System Fiscal Year 2009 Final Rule (IPPS FY 2009 Final Rule).[1] In IPPS FY 2009 Final Rule, CMS hedges a bit with language.
I was sitting in a briefing recently, where I heard how US GDP would be measurably affected by the floods in Thailand –- specifically through the shutdown of production of key auto parts. [0] That reminded me of the supply-chain-propagated impact of events nine months earlier, following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Here’s the trade-related part of the assessment from my colleague Isao Kamata’s article in the La Follette Policy Report, “The Great East Japan Earthquake: A View on Its Implication for Japan’s Economy”: 
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Impacts of Disruption of Supply Chains
The Tohoku and northern Kanto regions severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake had been populated by many firms that produce materials (such as metals and chemicals) and parts of motor vehicles and electronics. The disaste
Social Security benefits, both age benefits and disability benefits, are and also are NOT considered “income” within the bankruptcy process in a couple of different ways.
Income is considered in the bankruptcy process both as a measure of a debtor’s eligibility for Chapter 7 (as opposed to Chapter 13) bankruptcy and as a measure of the debtor’s ability to repay creditors some portion of the debt owed to them on monthly average basis.
The first measure is calculated within the framework of the so-called “means test,” about which I have written extensively on this blog, which is both the test for Chapter 7 eligibility and also, in a Chapter 13 context, the barometer of whether the debtor may file a 3-year payment plan or a 5-year payment plan and what the minimum amount the debtor must pay to certain creditors in a Chapter 13 payment plan must be.
For purposes of this means test, Social Security benefits have been specifically stated in the US Bankruptcy Code to be NOT calculable as “income.” In other words, in the means test, all of your income from every source for the past 6 months is calculated to produce an average income number—except for Social Security. Thus, a debtor wh
Tags: Bankruptcy, Social Security
Celent’s Creative Disruption event last week was very well received. For those of you who couldn’t make it, I thought you might like to see the video that set the tone for the event. Special thanks to National Western Life’s CIO, Mike Hydanus, and Oregon Mutual’s CIO, Bryan Fowler, who shared their views on creative disruption on camera.
Creative Disruption
Tags: Creative Disruption, Video
Whether you’re a Facebook user, a privacy wonk, or both, you’re likely aware of the social network’s settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, announced this week.
Under terms of the settlement, Facebook must now get users’ permission before it changes the way their personal information is shared. The social network also agreed to submit to privacy audits every two years for the next 20 years. Read The New York Times’ coverage of the settlement for a more in-depth explanation of the agreement.
The settlement shows why it’s so important for companies to build privacy best practices into their business, preferably before the government orders them to do so. This concept—Privacy by Design—was first developed by Dr. Ann Cavoukian, information and privacy commissioner for Ontario, Canada. If Facebook had adopted these practices years ago, it could have avoided run-ins with U.S. and E.U. regulators.
Tags: Settlement, Settlement Means
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