In January 2009 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts launched a new payment arrangement called the Alternative Quality Contract. The contract stipulates a modified global payment (fixed payments for the care of a patient during a specified time period) arrangement. The model differs from past models of fixed payments or capitation because it explicitly connects payments to achieving quality ...

We study the efficient allocation of a single object over a finite time horizon. Buyers arrive randomly over time, are long-lived and have independent private values. The valuation of a buyer may depend on the time of the allocation in an arbitrary way. We construct an incentive compatible mechanism in which (A) there is a single financial transaction (with the buyer), (B) ex-post participation...

BACKGROUND Asbestosis and silicosis are debilitating pulmonary conditions resulting from inhalation of asbestos fibers or silica dust. PURPOSE We provide a descriptive analysis of asbestosis and silicosis hospitalizations in North Carolina to assess trends over a 10-year period. METHODS Events were defined as inpatient hospital discharges during the period 2002-2011 with an International Cl...

In this paper we shall introduce a new electronic payment concept based on the popular direct debit payment model, entitled periodical payments. The direct debit model currently in use online is neither secure nor flexible, and requires a leap of faith by the customer who must trust the merchant to behave honestly. Electronic direct debit request (DDR) forms are not signed by both parties in a ...

In recent years interest-bearing checking accounts and ATM cards have become quite ubiquitous. These alternative payment methods offer many benefits, but a majority of households have yet to adopt these technologies as a means of payment. The goal of this paper is to answer why some households have been reluctant to make the switch. This paper uses dynamic discrete choice techniques to model ho...

The Medicare prospective payment system, which is based on the diagnosis-related group patient-classification system, identifies previously unrecognized redistributions of revenue among diagnosis-related groups and hospitals. The redistributions are caused by two artifacts. One artifact results from the use of labor market indexes to adjust costs for the different prices paid by hospitals in di...