The Cost of Compensating Asbestos Victims Under the Occupational Disease Compensation Act of 1983

The potentially huge financial liability due to asbestos product suits and the resulting filings for reorganization in bankruptcy by Manville, UNR Industries, Inc., and Amatex, has become a major public policy concern. In response to the problem several bills have been introduced in the Congress to provide compensation for asbestos (and other occupational disease) victims. This paper estimates the cost of compensating asbestos victims under the provisions of the "Occupational Disease Compensation Act of 1983," introduced by Congressman George Miller. Utilizing fatality projections from studies by Enterline, Selikoff, and Walker, and assumptions regarding likely claims filing and success rates, duration and degree of disability, and medical expenses, first year costs for this legislation are estimated to range from a low of $131 million to a high of $ billion. Present value cost estimates at a 2% real discount rate range from $3 billion to $56 billion. The paper also estimates the impact of possible modifications to the compensation provisions of the legislation. Reducing medical payments by the amount received from medicare would lower costs by 3-4%. Providing survivors with a 3-year lump sum benefit rather than a 5-year lump sum payment would save 20-25% as would offsetting the 5-year lump sum by expected social security old age and disability benefits. Combining all of these changes would reduce costs by almost 50%.     

Scenarios in Europe—Who uses them and why?

The authors of this article describe a study of European companies the aim of which was to review the extent of multiple scenario analysis in company planning. They describe the differences in planning between users and non-users of the system, and analyse the benefits and drawbacks of using the system.     

An overview of the Salmonella enteritidis risk assessment for shell eggs and egg products.

This article summarizes a quantitative microbial risk assessment designed to characterize the public health impact of consumption of shell eggs and egg products contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis (SE). This risk assessment's objectives were to: (1) establish the baseline risk of foodborne illness from SE, (2) identify and evaluate potential risk mitigation strategies, and (3) identify data gaps related to future research efforts. The risk assessment model has five modules. The Egg Production module estimates the number of eggs produced that are SE-contaminated. Shell Egg Processing, Egg Products Processing, and Preparation & Consumption modules estimate the increase or decrease in the numbers of SE organisms in eggs or egg products as they pass through storage, transportation, processing, and preparation. A Public Health Outcomes module then calculates the incidence of illnesses and four clinical outcomes, as well as the cases of reactive arthritis associated with SE infection following consumption. The baseline model estimates an average production of 2.3 million SE-contaminated shell eggs/year of the estimated 69 billion produced annually and predicts an average of 661,633, human illnesses per year from consumption of these eggs. The model estimates approximately 94% of these cases recover without medical care, 5% visit a physician, an additional 0.5% are hospitalized, and 0.05% result in death. The contribution of SE from commercially pasteurized egg products was estimated to be negligible. Five mitigation scenarios were selected for comparison of their individual and combined effects on the number of human illnesses. Results suggest that mitigation in only one segment of the farm-to-table continuum will be less effective than several applied in different segments. Key data gaps and areas for future research include the epidemiology of SE on farms, the bacteriology of SE in eggs, human behavior in food handling and preparation, and human responses to SE exposure.     

The impact of severe stalking experienced by acutely battered women: an examination of violence, psychological symptoms and strategic responding

Stalking has been relatively understudied compared to other dimensions of intimate partner violence. The purpose of this article was to examine concurrent and subsequent intimate partner abuse, strategic responses and symptomatic consequences of severe stalking experienced by battered women. Thirty-five battered women classified as "relentlessly stalked" and 31 infrequently stalked battered women were compared. Compared to infrequently stalked battered women, relentlessly stalked battered women reported: (a) more severe concurrent physical violence, sexual assault and emotional abuse: (b) increased post-separation assault and stalking; (c) increased rates of depression and PTSD; and (d) more extensive use of strategic responses to abuse. Results underscore the scope and magnitude of stalking faced by battered women and have implications for assessment and intervention strategies.     

Don't fix it

Next to doing nothing, fixing a problem is often the worst thing you could do with it. Fix a problem but miss the context, and you still have the problem--only it's bigger, it's weirder, it costs more, and everybody's grumpy. When something comes at you with a "problem" label, use it as an opportunity to connect things up, to explore, to ask the bigger questions, to find the new possibilities. When we react to a problem, we put ourselves into a dilemma. To find fruitful and creative solutions, we need to be in a place of choice, with many possibilities. Real participation--giving people real choice--is the only way you can bring people's intelligence and life experiences to bear on the situation at hand.     

Navigating the job search superhighway

The recent Cyberforum on "Navigating the Job Search Superhighway" gave 131 American College of Physician Executive members the opportunity to discuss the job search process, addressing questions and sharing what they've learned through their experiences in the medical management job market. Several comments that convey the essence of the discussion are listed, representing the various viewpoints of the participants. The words are from physician executives who have gone through the job search process and from some who have been involved in hiring decisions. The topics range from the value of experience to the importance of having a management degree to tips on networking to preparing for the interview. The final section on contract negotiation is a composite of comments on the subject during the Cyberforum.