In this paper we estimate the welfare associated with the Medicare HMO program, now known as Medicare+Choice. We find that the Medicare HMO program contributed over $5.8 billion (1998 dollars) to consumer and producer surplus from 1993 to 1998. We estimate that the HMO program generates positive net societal welfare as long as the cost of treating HMO enrollees in the Medicare fee-for-service (...

A major animal welfare issue facing the livestock industry is the care, handling, and transport of nonambulatory cattle. Consumers, researchers, practitioners , and animal protection organizations have questioned the quality of care provided to and management of nonambulatory cattle and raised questions about possible food safety concerns. Veterinarians and producers continue to be challenged w...

introduction: in 1995, the world health organization (who) estimated that there were 37.1 million blind people worldwide. it has subsequently been reported that 110 million people have severely impaired vision, hence are at great risk of becoming blind. watkins predicted an annual increase of about two million blind worldwide. this study was designed to investigate the causes of blindness and l...

this is a report of the first proved case of congenital toxoplasmosis in iran in an infant who died with hypothermia and lethargia 29 days after birth. both parents showed serological evidence of toxoplasmosis and, the finding in the mother indicated recent infection. the baby, during her short life, showed prominent neurological disorders and hepatosplenomegaly. toxoplasms were demonstrated in...

OBJECTIVE Dentists may experience frustration in their practice with people living on welfare, often perceiving them in a negative light. The difficulties encountered are detrimental to the patient-professional relationship and contribute to compromising access to care for this underprivileged population. In order to fully understand patient-professional interactions, we must consider the macro...

FROM THE beginning of the voluntary hospital system of New South Wales in 1827, government support by way of subsidy was a significant feature both of hospital income and of government expenditure.' From 1863 government expenditure on hospitals was greater than its expenditure on all other subsidized charities. The large amounts dispersed by way of matched and special grants and per capita paym...

FOCUS REVIEW Japan's health care system should be the envy of the world. Japan consistently places near the top of the World Health Organization's overall health rankings, and does so while spending the smallest proportion of its GDP on health care than any member of the G7 (8% in 2004; Canada spent 9.9%), making it perhaps the world's best health care bargain. This accomplishment can be traced...

This study presented national data on financing policies and practices for health and mental health care among children in child welfare settings, including those who are not placed out of the home. Our three objectives were to: examine variation in the provision of health insurance with a specific focus on placement status; describe mechanisms for assuring timing of coverage; and compare Medic...

Human resources are the most valuable capital of an organization, and managers are trying to provide motivation and productivity along with preserving the workforce. One way to motivate and increase productivity is to provide welfare services to employees. Using Adams' theory of equality, the current research attempts to design a desirable model for providing welfare services in the organizatio...