Is that surgery really worth it? Do I really value that cancer screening? Is that extra imaging service necessary?
These are the kinds of questions consumers ask themselves when their insurance plans require higher cost sharing for medical services. This is a new reality in the US health care system, as large employers offering coverage have moved aggressively toward less generous, high-deductible insurance offerings.
Standing up at work can be good for your health. That is the finding of recent research that links standing-based work to improved health outcomes. It follows numerous other studies that show how our sedentary work habits may be killing us.
Telecommunication companies were up in arms in February after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made net neutrality the law of the land by classifying broadband internet as a utility, seeming to ensure there would be no pay-to-play fast lanes.
Not so fast. As Verizon’s planned acquisition of AOL reminds us, there’s another way to cash in on giving certain content preferential treatment: buy it.
Since the 1970s, nuclear power has provided cheap, stable and clean electricity that has fuelled South Korea’s rapid economic growth. Currently, 23 nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 21 gigawatts of electric energy are generating 27 percent of South Korea’s total electricity needs. The wholesale price of nuclear power, US$52 per megawatt hour (MWh) in 2014, is still cheaper than coal (US$61/MWh) without any form of carbon pricing.
Last month, the European Commission (EC) filed a formal antitrust complaint against Google for abusing its dominant market position in internet search.
The recent Francis Report into how poor care at Mid-Staffordshire Foundation Trust was allowed to happen was another lesson in just how valuable whistleblowers are to society. Yet as a society, we don’t seem to care that many struggle to survive.
Considering the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for employment and GDP and the number of such firms in Asian countries, there needs to be further efforts to offer SMEs access to finance. Asian economy characteristics are having bank-dominated financial systems and underdeveloped capital markets, and as a result, banks are the main source of financing for SMEs. However, the financial health of SMEs is difficult to evaluate since many do not have solid accounting systems and many SMEs in Asia resort to borrowing money from moneylenders at high interest rates.
As China seeks to further boost the e-commerce sector, it is likely to attract new capital and create new jobs and entrepreneurs.
Recently, the State Council, China’s cabinet, announced that it would boost the development of e-commerce by cutting red tape and liberalizing investment regulation in the sector. Reportedly, the new measures include a tax cut, simpler administrative procedures and a push for entrepreneurship.
Recently, the National Football League (NFL) announced it was giving up its nonprofit status. This is a much-coveted designation because it exempts the entity from taxation.
Some lawmakers have been trying to take away its tax-exempt status for years, with Senator Tom Colburn and Congressman Jason Chaffetz leading the charge. But their bills to limit who qualifies have gone nowhere.
Thailand’s current democratic crisis sits in stark contrast with its greatest achievement this century: universal health coverage. This achievement is also a prime example of the ideological disagreements on the value of populism in Thai politics.
In 2001, the government introduced ‘30 baht healthcare’, a comprehensive government funded scheme that provided extended health coverage to all citizens. Compared to other countries with similar levels of development, establishing universal healthcare coverage in Thailand was a serious accomplishment.
