Race, Ethnicity and the Dynamics of Health Insurance Coverage

Using matched data from the 1996 to 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS), we examine racial patterns in annual transitions into and out of health insurance coverage. We first decompose racial differences in static health insurance coverage rates into group differences in transition rates into and out of health insurance coverage. The low rate of health insurance coverage among African-Americans is due almost entirely to higher annual rates of losing health insurance than whites. Among the uninsured, African-Americans have similar rates of gaining health insurance in the following year as whites. Estimates from the matched CPS also indicate that the lower rate of health insurance coverage among Asians is almost entirely accounted for by a relatively high rate of losing health insurance. In contrast to these findings, differences in health insurance coverage between Latinos and whites are due to group differences in both the rate of health insurance loss and gain. Using logit regression estimates, we also calculate non-linear decompositions for the racial gaps in health insurance loss and gain. We find that two main factors are responsible for differences in health insurance loss between working-age whites and minorities: job loss and education level. Higher rates of job loss account for 30 percent of the health insurance gap for African-Americans and Asians, and 16 percent of the health insurance gap for Latinos. Lower levels of education explain roughly 15 percent of the gap for African-Americans and Latinos (Asians' higher levels of education serve to close the gap). Higher rates of welfare and SSI participation among African-Americans also serve to widen the gap in health insurance loss by 8 percent.race, health insurance, insurance dynamics

Mission Capabilities of Ion Engines Using SNAP-8 Power Supplies

Mission performance capabilities of ion engines powered by the 30 kw and 60 kw SNAP-8 power supplies are compared for the following missions: a 24-hr equatorial satellite, a 100 n mi lunar satellite, a 500 n mi Mars satellite, a Mercury probe, and an out-of-the-ecliptic probe. The capabilities of arc- jet engines and chemical engines for the same missions are compared with those of the ion engines. The majority of the comparisons are for 8500-lb spacecraft which are boosted into a 300 n mi orbit by the Atlas-Centaur. Variations in initial orbit altitude, the use of actual launch dates rather than dates based on simplifying assumptions, and the combined use of chemical and electrical propulsion systems were also evaluated in terms of their effect on mission performance

Modeling the strategic trading of electricity assets

We analyze how strategic asset trading can be used to gain competitive advantage. In the case of electricity markets, companies seek to improve the value of their generating portfolios by acquiring, or selling, power plants. Accordingly, we derive the basic determinants of plant value, explaining how a particular productive asset may have different values for different firms. From this, we develop an evolutionary model to understand how market structure interacts with strategic asset trading to increase the competitive advantage of firms, and furthermore, how this depends upon the actual price-setting microstructure in the wholesale market itselfCompetitive advantage, computational learning, auctions, asset trading, simulation, electricity markets

Spin currents in superconductors

It is argued that experiments on rotating superconductors provide evidence for the existence of macroscopic spin currents in superconductors in the absence of applied external fields. Furthermore it is shown that the model of hole superconductivity predicts the existence of such currents in all superconductors. In addition it is pointed out that spin currents are required within a related macroscopic (London-like) electrodynamic description of superconductors recently proposed. The spin current arises through an intrinsic spin Hall effect when negative charge is expelled from the interior of the metal upon the transition to the superconducting state

Academic Primer Series: Five Key Papers for Consulting Clinician Educators.

INTRODUCTION: Clinician educators are often asked to perform consultations for colleagues. Invitations to consult and advise others on local problems can help foster great collaborations between centers, and allows for an exchange of ideas between programs. In this article, the authors identify and summarize several key papers to assist emerging clinician educators with the consultation process. METHODS: A consensus-building process was used to generate a list of key papers that describe the importance and significance of educational consulting, informed by social media sources. A three-round voting methodology, akin to a Delphi study, determined the most impactful papers from the larger list. RESULTS: Summaries of the five most highly rated papers on education consultation are presented in this paper. These papers were determined by a mixed group of junior and senior faculty members, who have summarized these papers with respect to their relevance for their peer groups. CONCLUSION: Five key papers on the educational consultation process are presented in this paper. These papers offer background and perspective to help junior faculty gain a grasp of consultation processes

Implications of observation-fact modifiers to i2b2 ontologies

Biomedical translational research can be facilitated by integrating clinical and research data. In particular, study cohort identification and hypothesis generation is enabled by the mining of integrated clinical observations and research resources. The informatics for integrating biology and the bedside, or i2b2, framework is widely used for this biomedical data mining. The i2b2 star schema data model using entity-attribute-value (EA V) formatted concepts is a very efficient strategy for querying large amounts of data. However, until the most recent i2b2 release, the utility of the platform was somewhat constrained by the limitations on being able to express facts about facts - i.e., modify the observations about the patients. We have found that exploiting the new modifier functionality has significantly and favorably impacted the design of i2b2 ontologies, leading to easier and more meaningful query results. Copyright © 2011 IEEE

Geothermal reservoir engineering research

The Stanford University research program on the study of stimulation and reservoir engineering of geothermal resources commenced as an interdisciplinary program in September, 1972. The broad objectives of this program have been: (1) the development of experimental and computational data to evaluate the optimum performance of fracture-stimulated geothermal reservoirs; (2) the development of a geothermal reservoir model to evaluate important thermophysical, hydrodynamic, and chemical parameters based on fluid-energy-volume balances as part of standard reservoir engineering practice; and (3) the construction of a laboratory model of an explosion-produced chimney to obtain experimental data on the processes of in-place boiling, moving flash fronts, and two-phase flow in porous and fractured hydrothermal reservoirs

Evaluating the State Basic Health Program in Connecticut

The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) offers states many options and alternatives for tailoring national health reform to best meet their specific needs. The ACA’s State Basic Health Program (SBHP) option affords states an opportunity to design a program for low-income individuals that offers better continuity of care at a lower cost, while providing a financial benefit to the state. This issue brief examines the factors that Connecticut should take into account in assessing the potential benefits of a SBHP. This analysis relies on the parameters of a SBHP as described in the ACA. The federal government has not yet issued key regulations – delineating, for example, what is the minimum benefits package that must be covered in a SBHP, or exactly how funds will flow to states – that will affect the potential cost and coverage of the SBHP option. The analysis presented here is based on existing information, acknowledging that the federal guidance may narrow the range of options available to the state. This issue brief was presented to the Connecticut State Legislature on January 31, 2012. An update to this January 2012 Research Brief was published on April 4, 2012. Client/Partner: Legal Assistance Resource Center of Connecticu