Payment Standards Research Articles

Estimating Eco-Compensation Requirements for Forest Ecosystem Conservation

This study provides an estimation of the eco-compensation requirements for forest ecosystem conservation in Hainan province of China using the ecological location quotient (ELQ). It determines that the ecosystem services provided by the forest ecosystem need to be classified into predominant, secondary and potential types. Consequently, the appropriate levels of payment are calculated using the ecological valuation coefficient (EVC) method. The mechanisms and standards of payment are then determined for the corresponding stages in the context of the eco-compensation concept. In this way, guidelines are provided for practising eco-compensation, not only in Hainan province but also in the other parts of China.

Study on the combined payment standards for DRGs of circulatory system diseases

Objective Probing into the rationale of DRGs payment standards for references to making DRGs payment standards.Methods Based on the DRGs grouping results of circulatory diseases cases admitted by a tertiary hospital from 2003 to 2005,two typical combinations were selected to determine the payment standard for each DRGs combination.Unnecessary medical expenses were excluded.Results According to the percentage of unnecessary medical expenses,Angina,non-special nursing,and class 1 nursing were in a group,with unnecessary medical expenses per ease of 758.00 yuan;CAG,single stent implantation,acute myocardial infaction as the main diagnose were in a group,with medical expenses per case of 2814.03 yuan;such expenses account for 6.20% of the total hospitalization expenses of both groups.Conclusions If the average expenses with unnecessary medical expenses excluded are set as the combined payment standard,hospitals will be restrained from unnecessary medical behaviors and expenses so incurred. Key words: DRGs; Medical services; Expenses; Payment standards

Establishing Eco-compensation Mechanism in Bohai Sea Waters under Framework of Ecosystem Approach

Ecosystem approach, a new comprehensive approach to the conservation and management of natural resources, has received universal concern and approval in the world, and it requires the application of the eco-compensation mechanism. Some basic ideas for establishing the marine eco-compensation mechanism are: payers and payees can be identified through analyzing marine ecosystem service changes and impacts on the stakeholders; financial transfer payment and environmental taxes and fees can be used as the main channels for compensation; payment standard can be set up by following the principle of a compromise between calculated theoretic results and “price bargaining”. Focusing on the key human impact on marine ecosystem in Bohai Sea, some preliminary ides on eco-compensation application are given: reform the ongoing charge system of pollutant discharge and enhance its incentives to reduce land pollutants; implement eco-compensation for freshwater demand between Bohai Sea and the river basins for the purpose of increasing freshwater inflow; popularize and strengthen the existing eco-compensation on fishery resources management, and implement the charge system of eco-compensation on reclamation from the sea for land construction.

An AHP model for bringing experts to consensus on medical payment standards

Many countries with health insurance systems conduct periodic payment standards reform. How to reach consensus in setting payment standards among different specialties with different agendas has become a critical issue. The purpose of this study is to construct an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model to obtain judgments from experts about the importance of “factors related to establishing payment standards in the national health insurance program”. Under this goal, the first tier contains four evaluation aspects, and the second tier contains sixteen evaluation criteria divided into four groups. The AHP model was then used to collect and combine the opinions of experts through an empirical study. The results can be directly used to formulate standard values as the basis for establishing payment standards. The results of our study strongly support that an AHP model is effective in forming a consensus among surgical specialists.

The cost‐effectiveness of the low‐income housing tax credit relative to vouchers: Evidence from six metropolitan areas

How expensive is the Low‐Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program relative to vouchers? Are there any market conditions under which the supply‐based LIHTC could be more cost‐effective than demand‐based vouchers? This article examines these questions in six metropolitan areas—Boston, New York, San Jose (CA), Atlanta, Cleveland, and Miami. Controlling for family income and unit size, I compare the development subsidies of new‐construction LIHTC projects with the alternative 20‐year voucher cost in each area. In general, the LIHTC is found to be more expensive than vouchers. The premium, however, varies significantly by voucher payment standard and local housing market. Assuming a payment standard of 100 percent of fair market rent, the LIHTC is only 2 percent more expensive than vouchers in San Jose, but more than twice as expensive as vouchers in Atlanta. Many factors account for these regional variations. This study emphasizes two: local market conditions and program administration.

Explaining State-Level Variations In Levels And Change In The Distribution Of Income In The United States, 1978-1990

Income concentrations increased markedly in the United States during the period since 1980. Income concentrations occurred within states at differing levels and rates. We estimate models that explain variations in levels of income concentration among states in 1980 and 1990 and of changes in state-level income concentration during the period 1978 to 1990. We test for the effects of state and national government redistributive policies along with a number of states’ economic, demographic, and political characteristics linked to income distribution in previous research. Results show state-borne redistributive policies have little influence on income concentration. Where state policies do affect income concentration, more generous welfare programs have the unexpected effect of coinciding with increases in income concentration. Higher cash transfers are associated with increased income inequality. Only the establishment of payment standards comparable to the retail wage, a welfare policy enacted by a few states, is associated with reduced income inequality.

Re-engineering Payment Systems for the E-world

Payment systems are undergoing rapid changes stimulated largely by technological progress. Distributed network technology, real-time processing and customers’ willingness to use electronic banking interfaces will further reshape payment systems during the coming years. Internet and e-commerce will have a major impact on payment systems. This paper presents the current developmental trends. It analyses the need to develop payment standards and the content of payment instructions in order to fully automate the payment process. Since interbank settlements comprise an essential part of payments, they should be made an integral part of the payment process within the Internet environment. With cross-border payments increasing in importance, any new developments should take an international perspective. Payment system development requires cooperation between the banks and other participants involved. In order to build the necessary consensus, banking industry organizations as well as central banks and other regulators will need to work together to re-engineer the present payment systems, making full use of the possibilities created by modern technology.

Card associations to work for mobile payment standards

Card associations to work for mobile payment standards

Re-Engineering Payment Systems for the E-World

Payment systems are undergoing rapid changes stimulated largely by technological progress.Distributed network technology, real-time processing and customers' willingness to use electronic banking interfaces will further reshape payment systems during the coming years.Internet and e-commerce will have a major impact on payment systems. This paper presents the current developmental trends.It analyses the need to develop payment standards and the content of payment instructions in order to fully automate the payment process.Since interbank settlements comprise an essential part of payments, they should be made an integral part of the payment process within the Internet environment.With cross-border payments increasing in importance, any new developments should take an international perspective. Payment system development requires cooperation between the banks and other participants involved.In order to build the necessary consensus, banking industry organizations as well as central banks and other regulators will need to work together to re-engineer the present payment systems, making full use of the possibilities created by modem technology. Key words: payment systems, settlement systems, RTGS, payment system integration

Community-based ivermectin distributors: Onchocericasis control at the village level in Plateau State, Nigeria

The use of community residents as agents for distributing mass ivermectin therapy for onchocerciasis provides a component of community participation absent from mobile team delivery methods. Community-based distribution, however, presupposes preexisting human resources in the endemic villages capable of fulfilling the essential functions of an ivermectin distribution process: mobilizing and educating the population, dispensing the drug, maintaining records, and monitoring and treating adverse reactions. Even when such human resources exist, the community workers must continue to receive tangible support from both external (government and donor agencies) and internal (community) sources. Donor and government agencies must accept that their data collection demands will be limited by the literacy standards of the communities being served. Community leaders must agree to set and use their own local standards of payment (including food stuffs or exchange in kind) to compensate the distributors for their time and efforts. The use of locally available human and remunerative resources is a prerequisite for true community ownership of a program.

The Rise and Decline of the Early HMOs: Some International Experiences

Consumer-controlled health insurance groups in northern Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries resembled modern American HMOs in many ways. Fierceness of competition hindered European doctors' control of their own services, prompting them to organize physician-dominated insurance groups and to extend their power through means of licensure, boycott, and supportive government regulation. While patients thus gained the right to choose their own doctor, physicians were able to negotiate more favorable payment standards, including price discrimination by patients' income levels. The experience may foreshadow more ruthless operation of market principles among American HMOs, and raise questions about the HMO model's viability for Europe today.

Dysgenic fertility and welfare: An elementary test

Mathematical manipulation of fertility data from the annually conducted National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) shows an inverse relationship between intelligence test scores and both cumulative Fertility to Date and Expected Lifetime Fertility among a nationwide probability sample of 25 to 34 year old females in the US at the end of the 1970s. The findings suggest the emergence of a dysgenic pattern among post-war birth cohorts. The relationship is more negative for Blacks than for Whites and for cumulative Fertility-to-Date than for Expected Lifetime Fertility. These findings are used to test the welfare hypothesis which states that the non-uniform distribution of per-capita births across IQ and socioeconomic class in the US is partly due to a welfare system which putatively requires the poor to have children to receive its services. The Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program is examined as there is much variation in its payment standards across states. In particular southern states have significantly less generous standards compared to northern and western states. Following the welfare hypothesis the inverse relationship between IQ and fertility should therefore be less negative in the southern states. A linear model using a dummy variable regression with an interaction term to test this prediction is developed. The model is fitted using the ordinary least-squares method to the NLS data separately for Blacks and Whites and for the 2 fertility measures. The sample provides rather weak support for the welfare hypothesis with respect to Blacks and no support at all for it with respect to Whites. A non-linear response of fertility to welfare is possible and worthy of investigation.

Suggestions From Workers: Schemes and Problems

I. Purposes, methods, history of schemes, 617. — II. Beginnings of statistical study; comparative table, 620. — Varying standards of adoption and payment, 621. — Factors of depression, recidivism, sex, occupation, 624. — III. Problems of payment, 628. — IV. Collectivism and non-financial incentives, 632. — V. Indicators of quality of suggestions: per cent adopted, subject-matter, curves of payments, assessed values in relation to wage-bill, patents, 635. — VI. Function of promoting interest and competence of workers, 641.