Growth in HMO share of the Medicare market, 1989-1994

Between 1989 and 1994 the health maintenance organization (HMO) share of the Medicare market grew rapidly. It is still heavily concentrated geographically, however. The most influential factor in this growth is HMO penetration into an area's general health care market. Medicare payment rates and prior Medicare HMO penetration also have an impact, but their effects are much weaker. Thus, payment rate reform is likely to have only a modest impact on Medicare HMO growth in the short term. In the longer term, the HMO share of the Medicare market will continue to grow, because HMO penetration in the general health care market is growing rapidly.     

Myelin splitting, Schwann cell injury and demyelination in feline diabetic neuropathy

This paper presents a theoretical framework to predict the effects that may arise from mergers in the rapidly-growing Medicare HMO market. We argue that mergers of large Medicare HMOs should be targeted for antitrust investigation because there are significant barriers into this market. The recent merger of PacifiCare and FHP is used to illustrate the potential antitrust issues raised by Medicare HMO mergers.     

Comparative costs to the Medicare program of seven prepaid group practices and controls

This research was conducted in order to compare costs to the Medicare program for providing health care service to old people enrolled in two forms of health delivery organization: open market and prepaid group practice (pgp). Two data sources were employed: cost data provided by the Social Security Administration for seven prepaid group practices in five SMSAs and northern California and interviews conducted with administrators of the prepaid groups to determine: organizational sponsorship, incentive structure, pattern of selectivity of patients, and resource availability. Major findings are: (1) Enrollees in prepaid groups incur higher physician costs. This includes services provided by practitioners in and outside the plans. (2) Overall, prepaid groups demonstrate savings to the Medicare program in provider-initiated services- in hospital care and extended care facility services, but not in home health care. (3) Reduced spending in the hospital component does not imply reduction in the extended care facility or home service. (4) Outpatient costs in the hospital are generally higher in the open market modes, probably because this mode of care is viewed as an alternative to physician visits. (5) The greatest cost savings to the Medicare program are demonstrated by groups which are relatively small, yet hospital-based.     

Diurnal rhythms in norepinephrine and acetylcholine synthesis of sympathetic ganglia, heart and adrenals of aging rats: effect of melatonin

Provisions in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act affecting Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) and home health agency (HHA) services heighten the importance of knowing more about beneficiary, market, and policy factors that impact use of post-acute care and the costs of such services. This study used data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and other sources to address these issues. Findings shed light on responses that need to be monitored in light of the recently mandated policies and other SNF and HHA options that are being considered.     

Marketing strategies nurses can employ to promote health

Marketing strategies are employed to ensure the success of new products, services or programs. Both profit and non-profit organizations have used social marketing strategies to inform, to motivate interest, and to engage the involvement of the consumer. A client-dependent health care system did not find it necessary to market services, but a health care system that encourages clients to choose the most appropriate health promotion service available must market services. Nurses are in the business of promoting the health of clients. Therefore, it is essential that nurses become familiar with, and involved in, the development of marketing plans and strategies. The connection between the four variables of the marketing mix (product, promotion, place, and price) and promoting the health of clients is described. A case example recapitulating the marketing strategies employed to raise public awareness of a self-help group for family caregivers is related, the marketing response is evaluated, and future recommendations are proposed.     

The impact of salient advertisements on reading and attention on web pages.

Human vision is sensitive to salient features such as motion. Therefore, animation and onset of advertisements on Websites may attract visual attention and disrupt reading. We conducted three eye tracking experiments with authentic Web pages to assess whether (a) ads are efficiently ignored, (b) ads attract overt visual attention and disrupt reading, or (c) ads are covertly attended with distraction showing up indirectly in the reading performance. The Web pages contained an ad above a central text and another ad to the right of the text. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3A the task was to read for comprehension. Experiment 1 examined whether the degree of animation affects attention toward the ads. The results showed that ads were overtly attended during reading and that the dwell times on ads were the longest when the ad above was static and the other ad was animated. In Experiments 2 and 3, the ads appeared abruptly after a random time interval. The results showed that attention (i.e., the time when the eyes first entered an ad) was related to the ad onset time. This happened especially for the ad to the right, indicating that ads appearing close to the text region capture overt attention. In Experiment 3B the participants browsed the Web pages according to their own interest. The study demonstrated that salient ads attract overt visual attention and disrupt reading, but during free browsing, ads were viewed more frequently and for longer time than during reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physicians may opt out, not MCOs

Physicians and other practitioners can now contract privately with Medicare beneficiaries for services that Medicare covers and charge more than Medicare pays. Private contracting means more treatment choices for beneficiaries. It also means that practitioners can charge whatever the market will bear, but at the cost of having to withdraw from Medicare for 2 years. For private contracting to become popular, the law will have to be changed to lower the associated cost.     

国有钢铁企业营销存在的问题及其对策——对安阳钢铁集团信阳钢铁公司营销的调查分析

结合信钢产品市场营销中存在的问题,分析了国有钢铁企业在日趋激烈地钢铁市场竞争中应采取的对策,具体阐述了如何发现市场、抢占市场、拓展市场的营销策略。     

企业营销调研与信息系统初探

本文通过对企业营销调研、信息系统开发的分析 ,阐述了营销观念是企业经营思想上观念根本的变革。对企业改变传统的思想 ,以市场为导向具有参考价值。     

冶金企业市场营销存在的问题和对策

介绍了中国冶金企业在市场竞争由“卖方市场”向“买方市场”转变的情况下,市场营销策略的优劣对企业生存和发展的重要影响。本文深入分析了当前冶金企业市场营销存在的问题,并提出了一些建议和对策,以期对中国冶金企业市场营销工作有所益处。     

钢铁产品经营风险的识别与规避

钢铁产品经营中存在资产风险和市场风险两类风险因素。针对市场风险影响因素,应采取关注市场、开发市场、努力保持低库存等措施;针对资产风险因素,应采取加强合同管理、收款管理、产品交付管理等措施。     

Hygienic efficacy in the city design and construction process and the methodological approaches in developing a standards document]

The essence and specific features of marketing are disclosed, based on the results of studies of the drug market. The market of outpatient and hospital services is analyzed using the marketing means. The succession of compartments of the marketing programs applied is presented.     

对钢铁企业完善营销服务的认识

随着经济的全球化,市场竞争日趋激烈,钢铁企业经营环境面临着前所未有的变革。钢铁企业要在激烈的市场竞争中立于不败之地,单靠提高产品科技含量和质量,增强产品自身竞争力已远远不够,为此,现代营销观念下的营销战略创新应运而生,有效的市场营销战略是企业成功的基础,钢铁企业只有准确的制定并实施自己的营销战略,才能在激烈的市场竞争中赢得胜利。     

钢铁企业发展钢材直供的思考与对策

分析了钢铁企业目前营销渠道现状及发展趋势，总结钢材直供的形式、特点、合作方式，为钢铁企业发展直供提供了一些问题关注点及相应的对策。     

Inhibition of metastases by anticoagulants

Medicare spends more than $200 billion a year; the politics surrounding the Medicare program cannot be fully understood without an adequate appreciation of that fact. An understanding of the political economy of Medicare is perhaps best achieved by thinking along three dimensions: (1) Medicare as redistributive politics; (2) Medicare as special-interest politics; and (3) Medicare as distributive politics. Seeing the extent to which Medicare policies flow from these political processes makes clear that Medicare reform and broader political reform are, at some level, inseparable and indistinguishable.     

4PS理论在房地产营销策划中的应用研究

随着国家不断对房地产业进行宏观调控,并出台了一系列规范房地产市场的宏观调控政策,严格控制了房地产项目贷款,这更进一步加剧了我国房地产市场竞争的激烈程度。文章立足于当前我国房地产市场发展现状,应用4PS理论对湘江城房地产项目进行了营销策划研究。     

The use of marketing techniques to facilitate acceptance of prevention programs: Case example.

There is a growing interest in marketing in contemporary psychology, but the application of marketing has largely been limited to remediative services. However, marketing techniques have considerable potential for facilitating the acceptance of prevention programs. A case example illustrates the use of market assessment as information for the marketing of preventive parenting programs for fathers, working parents, single parents, and stepparents. Three hundred parents were surveyed via a questionnaire that taped seven areas: general family concept; family communication and the balancing of family roles; previous service use; interest in participating in parent programs; factors bearing on the decision to participate; responsiveness to various forms of advertising; and demographics. The results are discussed in terms of how they influenced the shaping of four elements of the "marketing mix": product, price, place, and promotion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting primary care physician participation in Medicare

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the levels of participation and the relative association of economic and noneconomic factors on primary care physician participation in the Medicare program. METHODS: Demographic information, participation in Medicare, and attitudes toward both the Medicare program and Medicare patients were collected in a written survey mailed to half the primary care physicians in Iowa. Ordinary least squares and logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine factors associated with the percentage of Medicare patients in a practice and the acceptance of all new Medicare patients, respectively. RESULTS: Two thirds of physicians were accepting all new Medicare patients, whereas 16% were accepting no new Medicare patients. Factors associated with having a higher percentage of Medicare patients in a practice were as follows: (1) a larger proportion of Medicare recipients in the county, (2) practice as a general internal medicine physician, (3) more years in practice at the current location, (4) greater enjoyment treating elderly patients, (5) less concern about having too many Medicare patients, and (6) a stronger belief that the Medicare program respects their professional judgment. Physicians less concerned about having too many Medicare patients in their practice and physicians in counties with a higher percentage of Medicare patients were significantly more likely to accept all new Medicare patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that as Medicare reforms are discussed, careful consideration of the impact of these reforms on noneconomic issues is important to ensure adequate physician participation and access for elderly patients through the Medicare program.     

Marketing Practices of U.S. Contractors

The construction industry possesses characteristics of the production and service industries. This uniqueness requires marketing practices tailored specifically to match the construction market. A questionnaire survey of 65 U.S. contractors was conducted to determine the extent to which they are implementing a modified marketing mix theory that is compatible with the construction industry. The modified marketing mix theory recommends that contractors confront marketing from five perspectives, known as the five P’s of marketing: product, price, promotion, place, and people. This study showed that the five P’s of marketing are used by U.S. contractors in this decreasing order: product, price, place, promotion, and people. According to the survey results, U.S. contractors allocate about 1.5% of their annual revenue to marketing, but they may be spending more than they report. There seem to be only few differences between contractors that negotiate their contracts versus contractors who competitively bid their contracts, larger versus smaller companies, and contractors with a higher success rate in getting new contract awards versus contractors with a lower success rate.     

Transplacentally induced neuronal migration disorders: an animal model for the study of the epilepsies

OBJECTIVES: This investigation examined whether, despite the Tobacco Institute's Voluntary Cigarette Advertising and Promotion Code, current cigarette print advertising communicates culturally positive messages to youth about smoking. METHODS: Nine hundred thirteen students in grades 6-8 (ages 10-15) were shown a sample of four contemporary cigarette print ads (Camel, Marlboro, Newport, and Virginia Slims) and completed structured written assessments designed to capture their perceptions of each ad. RESULTS: Across the four ads, between 37% and 84% of the students reported that the ads communicated to them that smoking will make people popular, cool, successful in life, sexy, attractive, and healthy. Sizeable percentages of students reported that the ads show people using the product in an "exaggerated" way, and that what people in the ads are doing requires "exercise and physical energy." The median estimated age of the models in the ads was under age 25 for four out of the six models. CONCLUSIONS: As perceived by adolescents, current cigarette print advertising violates basic tenets of the Voluntary Code, thus bringing into question the tobacco industry's ability to self-regulate image advertising. These findings suggest that the FDA ruling to prohibit image advertising for tobacco in publications with significant youth readership deserves serious consideration.