Tennessee Experiment's High Cost Fuels Health-Care Debate - WSJ.com

Tennessee Experiment's High Cost Fuels Health-Care Debate - WSJ.com

In 1994, Tennessee launched an ambitious public insurance program to cover its uninsured. The plan, TennCare, fulfilled that mission but nearly bankrupted the state in the process. Unlike Massachusetts's more recent universal coverage law, the TennCare plan's... runaway costs show that the public health-insurance proposal by House Democrats could bankrupt the federal government.

As originally envisioned, the Tennessee plan expanded Medicaid, the government health-care program for the poor, to cover people who couldn't afford insurance or who had been denied coverage by an insurance company.

In a letter to Congress last month, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) compared the public plan envisioned in the House bill to TennCare, warning that TennCare became so costly at its peak that it ate up one-third of Tennessee's budget.

"The promise of TennCare has gone unrealized," she wrote. "Many of the concerns we have expressed about the proposal before us today are the stark realities of a system that went terribly wrong in Tennessee."

With an initial budget of $2.6 billion, TennCare quickly extended coverage to an additional 500,000 people by making access to its plans easy and affordable. But the program became so expensive that Tennessee was forced to scale it back in 2005.

TennCare had its failings. The plan, for example, paid health providers less than private insurance plans, prompting some physicians and hospitals to increase charges to private insurers. Some of this resulted in so-called cost shifting, with insurance companies passing on the costs through higher premiums.

Rep. Blackburn says TennCare shows that a public plan would undermine the current employer-based health-care system, citing data from University of California at San Diego that showed 45% of people claiming TennCare's benefits had left employer-provided insurance.

China's 'cancer villages' heavily polluted - Washington Times

China's 'cancer villages' heavily polluted - Washington Times:

"XIADIAN, China | Located just downstream from three steel factories, a paper mill and a bone-processing plant, the citizens of Xiadian have grown used to seeing the Baoqiu River turn red, yellow and sometimes white from what they say is untreated industrial wastewater.

The town also has seen at least 50 of its 3,000 residents die of cancer in the past five years; an unknown number of others are being treated for cancer or other pollution-related diseases.

'People get cancer and die; there's not much to do about it. There's not much to hope for,' said Mrs. Zuo, a 24-year-old restaurant worker who asked that she be identified by only her last name."

Radioactive Chinese Drywall Is Stinking Up U.S. Homes

The government thinks radioactive industrial waste from China is responsible for a recent sulfur stench that has plagued hundreds of Florida homes. Demand for Chinese drywall spiked during the housing boom, but federal regulators believe the drywall contained phosphogypsum, a banned waste byproduct that features prominently in Chinese construction. When used in drywall, the probable carcinogen can corrode "air conditioners, mirrors, electrical outlets and even jewelry."

The health risk of phosphogypsum is uncertain, but industry specialists say they are troubled by its widespread use and the possibility it was exported, especially in light of recent incidents in which other Chinese imports such as pet food, toys and candy were found to be contaminated with toxic or unsafe substances.

"Considering the fact that phosphogypsum can cause corrosion, something should be done," said Ding Dawu, a geoscientist and an authority on gypsum processing in China. "Right now," he added, "there are no complaints [in China] because most people don't know much about gypsum board and there are no standards against it."

[...]

Huge phosphogypsum dump sites can be seen in all corners of China. Near the banks of the Yangtze River in central China's Wuhan area, raw phosphogypsum is spread over 20 acres and packed 65 feet deep into the ground. The smell of sulfur permeates the air. Workers at the site said the material was given away to anyone willing to pay the transportation costs, a mere $1.75 per ton.

No one knows how much phosphogypsum board from China was shipped abroad. But in 2006, Chinese exports of drywall to the U.S. totaled a record 503 million pounds valued at more than $25 million, according to Chinese customs' statistics. That's enough for 32,000 homes.

The EPA, Customs, and the Department Commerce all say they aren't required to test drywall, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission says they only ask Customs to inspect items for which there are mandatory testing requirements. So, as usual, it's up to the Chinese quality protection agency to keep us safe.

http://consumerist.com/5307422/radioactive-chinese-drywall-is-stinking-up-us-homes

Counterfeit Drugs Made In China Relabeled "Made In India"

Consumerist - Counterfeit Drugs Made In China Relabeled "Made In India" - Pharma:

"The Chinese poison train makes plenty of stops outside of the United States. When those stops are in developing countries, bad things can happen. Even worse things happen when dangerous products from China are intentionally mislabeled as being from another country. Say, India.

In this case, the dangerous products were fake antimalarial tablets destined for Nigeria. 642,000 people would have been affected had the Nigerian government not discovered the fake drugs and intercepted them. While the tablets were labeled 'Made in India,' evidence showed that they were produced in and shipped from China.

Both China and India are big players in the manufacture of generic drugs, and both export medicines to Africa. The Indian government is, understandably, concerned that the incident may hurt the reputation of India's pharmaceutical industry in Africa and elsewhere around the world. Rightly so, since India is more than capable of exporting their own fake drugs. No help from China needed."

More testing sought for Chinese-made drywall - Business - MiamiHerald.com

More testing sought for Chinese-made drywall - Business - MiamiHerald.com:

"Lawmakers concerned about the pace of the investigation into problems related to Chinese-made drywall asked for $2 million for additional testing by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as an awareness campaign about the material.

Some people who live in homes that used the imported drywall -- homes generally built from 2004 to 2008 -- have complained of respiratory problems, blackened jewelry and corrosion of copper pipes and wiring, said U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson of Florida and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

Nelson said the federal consumer protection agency has dragged its feet in dealing with problems associated with the drywall and has complained it doesn't have the funds to do so.

''We can't wait around for this,'' Nelson said."

Mattel fined $2.3M for lead paint on toys - USATODAY.com

Mattel fined $2.3M for lead paint on toys - USATODAY.com:

"Mattel and Fisher-Price were among dozens of manufacturers that yanked millions of Chinese-made toys from store shelves in the months leading up to the 2007 holiday shopping season. The recalls made parents uneasy as they shopped for gifts for small children.

'These highly publicized toy recalls helped spur congressional action last year to strengthen CPSC and make even stricter the ban on lead paint on toys,' said the commission's acting Chairman Thomas Moore. 'This penalty should serve notice to toy makers that CPSC is committed to the safety of children.'"

Some skeptical of China's new food safety law - USATODAY.com

Some skeptical of China's new food safety law - USATODAY.com:

"BEIJING — Following recent tainted milk and pet food scandals that damaged the 'Made in China' brand worldwide, some Chinese experts and consumers are worried that the country's first food safety law may not be enough to prevent a repeat.

The new law, which China's legislature passed Saturday, toughens penalties against makers of tainted food. It also establishes a Cabinet-level food safety commission to improve monitoring, beef up safety standards, and recall substandard products.

Wu Yongning, deputy director of China's National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety, said the new law is a lost opportunity to create a single, powerful body — akin to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — to handle food safety.

Wu counts 13 Chinese government departments with a hand in food safety. He said at least five will remain heavily involved under the new law.

'There has been no fundamental reform of the system that many people in the industry hoped for,' Wu said."

Bad, Bad China, Says The WTO. Who Cares, Says China

Bad, Bad China, Says The WTO. Who Cares, Says China | The Truth About Cars:

"China has a 60 percent local content law for cars. If local content falls below that mark, the car is treated as an import, even if it’s Made in China. That means a 25 percent duty.

“Unfair!” said the US, EU and Canada, and filed a complaint with the WTO in March 2006. In July, the WTO ruled that China is wrong. China appealed. The WTO now rejected the appeal, and China has to come into compliance. “WTO’s final ruling marks the first time the country has lost a legal trade dispute since joining the global trade body in 2001,” China Daily regrets.

However, the Chinese parts industry’s fear of a flood of cheap imports from the EU and NA is unwarranted, China Daily says: “Analysts say that the effect on the domestic auto industry would be minimal since many multinationals would still prefer using local car parts to imported ones even if the Chinese government lowers the tariff over some auto parts.” According to a report by China Galaxy Securities, most multinational carmakers have already started making more car parts in China to cut costs. Honda and Volkswagen, for instance, make over 80 percent of their components in China. And China doesn’t have to change tomorrow: “China now has a reasonable period of time"

Could the Economic bust in the US be a good thing in the long run?

Here's the scenario: the US has been flush with cheap goods ever since industrialists discovered they could make and transport goods cheaper from halfway around the world than they could by making them where they will be consumed, paying the local workers a decent wage. That decent wage also creates more consumers for their goods.

The Chinese are now finding that their goods can't be sold at any price, because consumers just aren't buying anything, and manufacturers are closing shop and moving out of china.

The future could be (and this is a big "if," assuming logic exists in board rooms), that Western labor unions will either die the horribly wretched death they deserve, or that they will agree to reasonable terms. This will make the Western manufacturers look again at making goods where they are sold, eliminating transport costs, and again, creating the consumers they desperately need.

Nah, it'll never happen, because it makes sense.

Bloom Off The Rose For Chinese Car Industry | The Truth About Cars: "The good new times are over in China. According to reports published by J.D. Power, the increase in auto sales has slowed down to 6.7 percent this year, as opposed to 22 percent in 2007 and 26 percent in 2006. An analyst at the usually well-informed Nomura bank in Japan sees China’s auto sales growth slowing to 3.8 percent next year, and 6.4 percent in 2010."

Wal-Mart removes brand of eggs from China stores - USATODAY.com

This melamine is everywhere in China's food supply. So much so, that I hear the PRC is going to come up with a new recipe: General Tso's Melamine.

Wal-Mart removes brand of eggs from China stores - USATODAY.com:

BEIJING (AP) — Wal-Mart said Tuesday it had stopped selling a brand of eggs in its Chinese stores after food safety regulators in Hong Kong found excessive levels of the industrial chemical melamine in eggs sold under the brand.

The world's largest retailer said it has removed a brand of eggs produced by China's Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group from all of its stores in China."

Report: FDA inspections of foreign plants lacking - USATODAY.com

Report: FDA inspections of foreign plants lacking - USATODAY.com:
"Although the FDA will soon be placing inspectors in China and India, 'given the growth in foreign drug manufacturing for the U.S. market, and the large gaps in FDA's foreign drug inspection program, significant challenges remain,' the Government Accountability Office said in its report.

The report 'confirms that the system deployed by FDA to police (foreign) facilities and keep Americans safe from poorly manufactured drugs is understaffed, overwhelmed and completely inadequate,' said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich."

Why the Dems Want the Economy to Fail

I won't belabor the point about Wall Street face-planting after the US Congress fails to do anything about the 2008 banking and economic crisis. But take note of this:

Surprise! This is an election year. The Democrats are holding nothing back in order to win the presidency. They have no doubt seen the polls indicating that democrat Barack Obama's poll numbers have increased precipitously since the start of the crisis. Given that Obama's numbers have shot up in inverse proportion to the Dow Jones Industrial Average going down, why would the Democrats want to end the crisis?

The US stock market lost 777 points yesterday, translating to 1.1 TRILLION dollars of lost value. That's about 1.5 times the cost of the $700 billion bailout. If you think that doesn't affect you, have a look at your retirement portfolio; if you have a 401K, you lost a lot of money. Common sense would tell anyone with the slightest twinge of statesmanship that the crisis must be ended. But in an election year, all bets are off.

What other reason can be offered for Rep. Nancy Pelosi to go on a name-calling spree, including saying that against her Republican opponents were "unpatriotic," right before a critical vote on the measure? Common sense would say that action would cause the vote to fail. Ironically, she was in the midst of a speech congratulating the House of Reps on it's "bipartisan" efforts, when she went off-message and condemned Pres. George Bush and Republicans for causing the crisis in the first place (not true; they all caused it, as far back as 1999).

Barney Frank, head of the banking committee, did much the same, but he couldn't even corral all of his dem party members in the committee to vote for the measure; 12 democrats on the banking committee voted against the bill. Had they voted yes, the bill would have passed.

The longer this crisis lasts, the more stock value is lost, the harder it is for credit to be issued, and the greater the risk of an outright depression. The US monetary system is locked up, and all the democratic leadership in congress can do is call names. Positively incredible.

What will the dems do to win an election? I think it's time that all of them - both parties - are given their walking papers. Vote out all incumbents. It's the patriotic thing. Assuming we're all still capable of voting in the breadline.


ABC News: Stocks Have Miserable Day After House Vote:

"The day started with silence -- the iconic opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange failed to sound -- and things just got worse from there, ending in the single biggest one-day point loss in history.
Congress votes down economic relief package prompting investors to sell.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 777.68 to close at 10,365.45. The previous biggest point drop came on Sept. 17, 2001, the first day the market reopened after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

A jittery stock market spent all morning in negative territory as investors worried about the $700 billion bailout package before Congress today. By 1:40 p.m. it became clear that the House was not going to pass the bill, and stocks went into a freefall; the Dow fell 400 points in 10 minutes before eventually dropping 700 points below Friday's close.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 also posted massive losses, down 9.1 percent and 8.8 percent respectively."

Cadbury: Melamine Found in Chinese-Made Chocolates - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

FOXNews.com - Cadbury: Melamine Found in Chinese-Made Chocolates - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News:

"HONG KONG — British candy maker Cadbury said Monday it is recalling 11 types of Chinese-made chocolates after tests found they contained the industrial chemical melamine.

A Cadbury spokesman said it was too early to say how much of the chemical was in the chocolates.

'These are preliminary findings from tests. And it's too early to say where the source was or the extent of it,' the spokesman told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

He declined to be named because of company policy.

Cadbury said in a statement it has recalled 11 chocolate products made at its factory in Beijing which are distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia."

More food in China found with unsafe chemical levels - USATODAY.com

More food in China found with unsafe chemical levels - USATODAY.com:

"HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong supermarkets stripped shelves of a popular cookie brand made in China on Friday after Macau authorities found excessive amounts of the industrial chemical melamine in the product.

The removal of the chocolate-filled cookies came after Macau's Health Bureau found Thursday the amount of melamine in the Koala's March brand was 24 times the safe limit.

The grocery store Wellcome removed the brand made by Japan's Lotte China Foods Co. from shelves Friday, spokeswoman Annie Sin said. Another chain, PARKnSHOP, also pulled the company's cookies."

Chinese milk powder sickens 53,000 kids

ABC News: China's Product Safety Watchdog Steps Down:

"The head of China's food safety watchdog resigned Monday for failing to stop the widespread contamination of baby formula as the number of children sickened in the scandal soared to nearly 53,000, including four infants who died.

The shake-up came as investigators revealed that China's biggest producer of powdered milk, Sanlu Group Co., had received complaints as early as December 2007 linking its infant formula to illnesses in babies. Months later, tests revealed the milk was tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, which causes kidney stones and can lead to kidney failure."

More Than 12,000 Chinese Children Sick From Milk

FOXNews.com - More Than 12,000 Chinese Children Sick From Milk

"BEIJING — China's tally of the number of children sickened by tainted milk products has doubled to nearly 12,900 as the government confronts a scandal over widespread contamination of the milk supply.

More than 80 percent of the 12,892 children hospitalized in recent weeks were 2 years old or younger, the Health Ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site late Sunday. The statement said most consumed infant formula from one company, the Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co., the dairy at the center of one of China's worst food safety scandals in years.

Over the weekend, the Chinese territory of Hong Kong reported the first known illness outside mainland China — a 3-year-old girl who developed kidney stones after drinking Chinese dairy products. She was discharged from the hospital, a Hong Kong government statement said.

In the two weeks since the government first acknowledged the contamination, it has issued recalls for dairy products from 22 companies after tests turned up traces of the industrial chemical melamine. The Health Ministry said that most of the hospitalized were sickened by powdered milk and formula."

China worries about long-term effects of bad milk

China worries about long-term effects of bad milk | Industries | Consumer Goods & Retail | Reuters:

"SHIJIAZHUANG, China, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Chinese parents agonised on Tuesday about the long-term health effects that their children could suffer after consuming formula milk which the government has confirmed was contaminated with a toxic chemical."

Chinese Baby Formula Scandal Widens - NYTimes.com

Chinese Baby Formula Scandal Widens - NYTimes.com:

"BEIJING — China’s Ministry of Health on Monday announced that two babies have died in recent months and 1,253 others have been sickened by contaminated milk powder in a widening food safety scandal that has exposed persistent weaknesses in the country’s regulatory system.

More than 340 infants remain hospitalized, including 53 in serious condition. Inspection teams are visiting dairy farms and processing centers in the country’s four main milk-producing provinces to ensure that producers are not violating safety standards.

The Chinese authorities have confirmed that the tainted baby formula was laced with melamine, a chemical additive sometimes used to make plastics and fertilizer. Last year, after thousands of pets became ill in the United States, the same chemical was found in pet food and traced to a Chinese ingredient.

The tainted milk powder has been traced to the Sanlu Group, one of China’s biggest dairy producers, which operates as a joint venture with a New Zealand-based dairy conglomerate, Fonterra. China does not export milk powder to the United States."

Chinese-made uniforms withdrawn after skin irritations

Chinese-made uniforms withdrawn after skin irritations:

"An Australian power company has withdrawn more than 3,000 Chinese-made protective uniforms after staff complained of skin irritations.

Ergon Energy says there will be no more uniforms worn in the field from close of business today.

The Electrical Trades Union says more than 250 Ergon Energy workers had broken out in rashes and some had vomited after wearing the flame-retardant suits.

Ergon says as soon as staff reported skin irritations it advised them to seek medical advice.

The company says independent scientific tests are being conducted on the uniforms and it has advised its suppliers to do the same.

Chinese manufacturers have been hit with a series of product recalls in the past year, involving millions of toys, cell phones and food products."

FDA warns on Chinese-made infant formula - MarketWatch

FDA warns on Chinese-made infant formula - MarketWatch:

"The Food and Drug Administration warned early Friday that consumers should avoid infant formulas manufactured in China. The agency advised that some Chinese-made formulas have been suspected of containing the chemical melamine, which can cause the formulation of kidney stones in babies. Currently, no Chinese manufacturers are approved to sell baby formula in the U.S. However, the agency said that Chinese-made formula may be on shelves in the U.S. in specialty stores serving the Asian community."