A con job: inmates save big bucks by manning Medicaid phone lines

Article Abstract:

The Oregon Health Plan uses inmates at the state penitentiary in Salem, OR, to staff two hotlines for the state's Medicaid program since 1995. Inmates handle routine inquiries, mail out marketing materials and take requests for applications. Oregon Prison Industries acts as the agency for the prisoners, and its contract with the Oregon Health Plan runs about $250,000 per year. The state treasurer estimates the state saves up to $84,000 per year on Medicaid expenses, while the prisoner's labor defrays the cost of prison expenses.

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Or forever hold your peace: a flap over medial school prestige threatens the latest NYU-Mount Sinai nuptials

Article Abstract:

New York University physicians are protesting the merger between NYU and Mount Sinai medical centers over graduate degree issuance. Mount Sinai Medical School would become an independent university school and would be permitted to issue NYU degrees, even though it lacks NYU's reputation and history. NYU physicians and administrators have gone to court to resolve the issue.

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The new VA

Article Abstract:

The US Veterans Health Administration was reorganized in Oct 1995. In 1997, the budget grows 3% per year rather than 7% to 11%, admissions have decreased by 12% and efficient outpatient care has increased. The veterans hospitals are operating as a competitor of other hospitals rather than as a sector of government bureacracy.

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