We Used To Call It Socialized Medicine

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What we now call single payer health insurance is what we used to call national health insurance and before that it was socialized medicine.

Do these name changes make the underlying ideas more palatable? Apparently not.

Vermont has now thrown in the towel on its plan to create single-payer heath insurance presumably an option states are permitted under the Affordable Care Act. State officials decided that even in blue state Vermont voters would be unwilling to agree to the huge tax hike needed to pay for the scheme: an 11.5 percent payroll tax and an income tax of up to 9.5 percent, on top of the current one.

Giving up cannot have been easy. It came at the end of a four-year, very expensive effort. Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin was elected in 2010 on an explicit single-payer platform and he has been trying ever since to make it a reality. As the Wall Street Journal editorial page explained:

Health and Human Services bestowed a $45 million grant for planning, and since 2011 Mr. Shumlins team has worked closely with HHS, the Treasury and White House budget office.

The state hired William Hsiao of Harvard and Jonathan Gruber of MIT to design the program. The former economist created Medicares price controls in the 1980s and the latter is sometimes called the architect of Obamacare.

So what was the point of the whole exercise?

Thats not clear. Almost everybody in Vermont already has health insurance (the uninsurance rate is 6.8%). And the insurance they have is more comprehensive than what most other Americans have. Its even more comprehensive than what Obamacare promises. As Avik Roy explains, Silver plans, used as the benchmark for Obamacares subsidies, have an actuarial value of 70 percent. That means that for every dollar of expected health costs, the insurance company will plan to pay 70 percent and patients will pay 30 percent in the form of co-pays and deductibles. By contrast, the actuarial value of the average Vermont private plan in 2011 was 87 percent, according to Hsiao and Gruber.

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We Used To Call It Socialized Medicine

High-profile Oklahoma abortion doctor no longer practicing medicine

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Naresh Patel

OKLAHOMA CITY A high-profile abortion doctor is no longer practicing medicine after his recent arrest.

An undercover investigation found Dr. Naresh Patel was selling abortion drugs to patients who werent even pregnant.

Last week, despite his arrest for fraud, Patel was still allowed to practice medicine in Oklahoma. At that time,the state medical board said they had no plans for a hearing concerning Dr. Patels medical license.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said he wanted the state medical board to step in and take away Dr. Patels medical license.

They have ample reason to review whether he should be practicing medicine in the state of Oklahoma. From my perspective, he shouldn`t be. There`s a process to address this and the board should implement that process,Pruitt said.

As of December 29, Patel is no longer practicing medicine, according to the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision website.

Earlier this month,NewsChannel 4 spoke with one of Patels former patients. She claims he lied to her about how far along she was in her pregnancy so he could charge her more money.

They said, well that`s going to be another 500 dollars, the woman said.

She says they didnt give her any anesthesia and the pain was unbearable.

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High-profile Oklahoma abortion doctor no longer practicing medicine

Reforming Graduate Medical Education in the U.S.

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Abstract

The foundation of the U.S. health care system is a workforce of highly competent doctors who are prepared to provide the highest quality health care when they enter practice. However, there is increasing concern that the current system for training doctors following graduation from medical school falls short in terms of producing an adequate workforce to meet the nations changing health care needs. Reforming the graduate medical education system will require accurate data on the true costs of training physicians, greater oversight and accountability, and a transition from the current outdated financing system that is based mainly on federal support to a system that is more equitably distributed among stakeholders and where the funding is controlled by the states and follows the trainee.

The U.S. health care system has some of the most highly qualified, competent doctors in the world, and the care that they provide is generally as good asand in many cases, superior tothat in other nations. However, Americas current system for training doctors after graduation from medical school needs substantial reform.

The primary deficiency is an uncoordinated and outdated financing system that fails to foster the kind of health care workforce needed to keep pace with the changing demographic and epidemiological profile of Americas patient population. The graduate medical education (GME) system falls short in both the number of doctors trained and their distribution by specialty and geography.

The good news is that private accreditation and certification entities are already actively pursuing reforms to basic GME standards and training methodswithout the need for government intervention. Yet, for revised medical education standards and methods to be truly effective, those changes must be accompanied by complementary reforms to GME financing, governance, and accountabilityall of which are still lacking. Federal and state lawmakers need to tackle this second set of issues because government funding heavily influences the basic structure and performance of Americas GME system.

Lawmakers should pursue a reform agenda based on four principles:

Calls for substantial reform of GME are not new. Among others, the Commission on Graduate Medical Education in 1940, the Millis and Coggeshall reports in 1966, the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee in 2010, and, most recently, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in a report published in July 2014 have called for reform. Given that the past century witnessed significant and rapid advances in medical science, periodic calls to reform medical education to keep pace should not be surprising.

Indeed, the first systemic redesign of American medical education dates back to the reformist era at the turn of the 20th century. In 1904, the American Medical Association (AMA) established the Council on Medical Education, which led to Abraham Flexners extensive survey of medical schools and their educational standards and practices. Flexners report was published in 1910 and became the catalyst for a sweeping transformation and standardization of what is now known as undergraduate medical education (UME), the period of study leading to a medical degree.[1]

Opportunities for postgraduate medical education existed as early as the mid-19th century, although widespread adoption of a period of training in a formal residency program as the preferredand eventually the onlypath to becoming a board-certified doctor was largely a postWorld War II phenomenon. For instance, surgical residency programs existed as early as 1889. However, during most of the first half of the 20th century, the majority of surgeons entered general practice before gaining surgical expertise through informal methods such as apprenticeships, educational opportunities in Europe, short courses, or performing progressively more complex operations on surgical patients in their practices.[2]

In 1913, Pennsylvania was the first state to require a one-year rotating internship after graduation from medical school as a prerequisite for physician licensuresomething that is now a minimum requirement in all states. Physician specialty boards began to proliferate in the 1920s and 1930s, and during World War II, board-certified doctors were given higher rank, better pay, and better assignments in the armed forces.

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Reforming Graduate Medical Education in the U.S.

2012 Jeep Liberty Sport Used Cars – Wallingford,CT – 2014-12-29 – Video

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2012 Jeep Liberty Sport Used Cars - Wallingford,CT - 2014-12-29
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2012 Jeep Liberty Sport Used Cars - Wallingford,CT - 2014-12-29 - Video

The Wall Street Journal: Liberty Media CEO Maffei gets contract extension

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Liberty Media Corp. Chief Executive Greg Maffei has reached an agreement to remain in that role through 2019.

Liberty LMCA, +1.41% has pursued an aggressive expansion strategy since Maffei took the helm at the start of 2006. He said in a January interview with The Wall Street Journal that we need to look at the marketplace, trying to look for durable assets, take advantage of cheap financing and think about trying to build different kinds of value.

Liberty Media bought a big stake in Charter Communications Inc. last year and spun off that interest into Liberty Broadband LBRDK, -0.89% , a new publicly traded company. Charter has agreed to buy subscribers from Comcast Corp. CMCSA, +0.84% after Comcasts pending deal with Time Warner Cable Inc. TWC, +1.11% closes. Liberty and Charter had pursued an acquisition of Time Warner Cable but lost out to Comcast.

We are extremely pleased that Greg will continue in his leadership role for another five years, Chairman John Malone said in a statement. Maffei will continue as president and CEO of Liberty Interactive as well.

A new compensation agreement calls for Mr. Maffei to receive an annual base salary of $960,750, increasing annually by 5%, and an annual target cash bonus equal to 250% of the applicable years base salary.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

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The Wall Street Journal: Liberty Media CEO Maffei gets contract extension

Liberty Media CEO Maffei gets contract extension through 2019

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Liberty Media Corp. Chief Executive Greg Maffei has reached an agreement to remain in that role through 2019.

Liberty LMCA, +1.41% has pursued an aggressive expansion strategy since Maffei took the helm at the start of 2006. He said in a January interview with The Wall Street Journal that we need to look at the marketplace, trying to look for durable assets, take advantage of cheap financing and think about trying to build different kinds of value.

Liberty Media bought a big stake in Charter Communications Inc. last year and spun off that interest into Liberty Broadband LBRDK, -0.89% , a new publicly traded company. Charter has agreed to buy subscribers from Comcast Corp. CMCSA, +0.84% after Comcasts pending deal with Time Warner Cable Inc. TWC, +1.11% closes. Liberty and Charter had pursued an acquisition of Time Warner Cable but lost out to Comcast.

We are extremely pleased that Greg will continue in his leadership role for another five years, Chairman John Malone said in a statement. Maffei will continue as president and CEO of Liberty Interactive as well.

A new compensation agreement calls for Mr. Maffei to receive an annual base salary of $960,750, increasing annually by 5%, and an annual target cash bonus equal to 250% of the applicable years base salary.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

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Liberty Media CEO Maffei gets contract extension through 2019

Liberty's Gunning, Nazareth's Stefanik win titles at Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic

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Andrew Gunning's older brother was an accomplished wrestler at Liberty High School who placed third in the state as a senior last season.

Jake Gunning is now a redshirt freshman on the University of Buffalo wrestling team.

He was in attendance at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic on Monday evening to watch his younger sibling do something he was unable to do: capture a BHWC tournament title.

Andrew Gunning, a junior, finished first at 220 pounds in the 26-team, two-day event at Liberty's Memorial Gym. Gunning was one of two wrestlers from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference to win individual titles. Nazareth sophomore Travis Stefanik claimed the 145-pound championship.

Wyoming Seminary Prep crowned four champs and easily won the team title with 272.5 points.

Phillipsburg finished second with 198. Brandon Paetzell (113) and Max Elling (160) won titles for the Stateliners, who have one of the top teams in New Jersey.

Gunning was locked in a spirited duel in the 220-pound final with Wyoming Seminary's Harrison Nye when he hit the winning takedown in the final 10 seconds. Gunning, who placed seventh as a sophomore, turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 win.

"I wasn't really aware of the time until I looked up and there were only 14.5 seconds left," he said. "I thought there were at least 30 seconds left. I was like, 'Oh shoot, I need to get going.' I didn't want to shoot too early so I waited for the right time."

Liberty coach Jody Karam said that, like his older brother, Andrew Gunning has a knack of coming through in the clutch.

"I was on him pretty hard to get going. He wrestles similar to his brother in that he's very smart strategically and is very timely," Karam said. "This is a major step for Andrew. It'll be beneficial for his confidence."

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Liberty's Gunning, Nazareth's Stefanik win titles at Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic

Liberty Property (LPT) Upgraded From Hold to Buy

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Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer or Stephanie Link. TheStreet Ratings quantitative algorithm evaluates over 4,300 stocks on a daily basis by 32 different data factors and assigns a unique buy, sell, or hold recommendation on each stock. Click here to learn more.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Liberty Property (LPT) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from Hold to Buy with a ratings score of B-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate LIBERTY PROPERTY TRUST (LPT) a BUY. This is driven by some important positives, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, increase in stock price during the past year, reasonable valuation levels, good cash flow from operations and expanding profit margins. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook."

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Liberty Property (LPT) Upgraded From Hold to Buy