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The authors studied the ratio of costs to charges (RCC) used to estimate the cost of Medicare hospital cases in the formula which sets cost outlier payments. The authors estimate that, under current payment policy, the cost of the average cost outlier case is overestimated by 23 percent. The causes of this overestimate are a secular decline in RCC of between 2 and 3 percent a year and the fact that cost outlier cases typically receive a higher percentage of ancillary charges that have a very low actual RCC. The inaccurate estimate of the cost of cost outlier cases contravenes current policy intent in two important ways. First, it changes the fraction of the excess costs that are insured from the intended 75 percent to 92 percent. Secondly, cases face different cost outlier thresholds, and therefore receive different payment amounts, depending on the mix of ancillary and accommodation services required by the patient. It would be possible to improve the measurement of the cost of cost outlier cases by using separate RCCs for ancillary and accommodation charges. The outcomes of alternative policies are estimated in the report.

Medicare. --- Hospitals --- Outliers, DRG --- Prospective Payment System --- Prospective payment --- economics

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This paper studies the relationship between the level of economic development and the incidence of three forms of payments across countries, namely the incidence of bank accounts, digital payments, and mobile money accounts among the adult populations across countries. It presents simple statistical tests of leapfrogging, the phenomenon by which poor countries surpass rich countries in the provision of payments mechanisms. It contributes to a broader and long-standing literature on stages of development, as well as to the literature on financial development and access to finance. The findings suggest that there is evidence of "absolute" and "relative" leapfrogging, with both terms defined in the paper. In addition, the Middle East and North Africa region, on average, suffers from a notable underperformance gap across all observed stages of payment-systems development. This finding suggests that the region suffers from structural impediments to the development of its financial and banking systems that go well beyond the adoption of digital-technology tools.

Banking --- Digital Payment --- Digital Technology --- E-Finance and E-Security --- Finance and Development --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Development --- ICT Economics --- Information and Communication Technologies --- Innovation --- Mobile Money --- Payment System

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"An exploration of the economic applications of distributed ledger technology"--

Finance --- Financial services industry --- Technological innovations. --- Bitcoin --- blockchain --- distributed ledgers --- distributed ledger technology --- DLT --- decentralization --- smart contracts --- tokens --- currency --- cashless economy --- e-money --- payment system --- Encryption --- proof of work --- proof of stake --- Ethereum --- Libra --- Ripple --- Stellar --- Algorand --- central banks --- mechanism design --- algorithmic digital reserve bank --- Townsend Thai project --- ECONOMICS/Finance --- COMPUTER SCIENCE/General

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This open access book introduces the National Health Insurance (NHI) system of Taiwan with a particular emphasis on its application of digital technology to improve healthcare access and quality. The authors explicate how Taiwan integrates its strong Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry with 5G to construct an information system that facilitates medical information exchange, collects data for planning and research, refines medical claims review procedures and even assists in fighting COVID-19. Taiwan's NHI, launched in 1995, is a single-payer system funded primarily through payroll-based premiums. It covers all citizens and foreign residents with the same comprehensive benefits without the long waiting times seen in other single-payer systems. Though premium rate adjustment and various reforms were carried out in 2010, the NHI finds itself at a crossroads over its financial stability. With the advancement of technologies and an aging population, it faces challenges of expanding coverage to newly developed treatments and diagnosis methods and applying the latest innovations to deliver telemedicine and more patient-centered services. The NHI, like the national health systems of other countries, also needs to address the privacy concerns of the personal health data it collects and the issues regarding opening this data for research or commercial use. In this book, the 12 chapters cover the history, characteristics, current status, innovations and future reform plans of the NHI in the digital era. Topics explored include: Income Strategy Payment Structure Pursuing Health Equity Infrastructure of the Medical Information System Innovative Applications of the Medical Information Applications of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Digital Health Care in Taiwan is essential reading for academic researchers and students in healthcare administration, health policy, health systems research, and health services delivery, as well as policymakers and public officials in relevant government departments. It also would appeal to academics, practitioners, and other professionals in public health, health sciences, social welfare, and health and biotechnology law.

Health economics --- Health & safety aspects of IT --- Public health & preventive medicine --- Medicine: general issues --- Taiwan National Health Insurance Administration --- digital health --- big data and AI --- health system --- health care --- medical care --- medical costs --- healthcare costs --- medical payment system --- social insurance --- telemedicine --- eHealth --- universal health coverage --- health equity --- drug reimbursement --- medical device reimbursement --- medical expense claims data --- health policy --- single-payer system --- Informàtica mèdica --- Salut pública --- Taiwan

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The authors review the series of events that led to the 2002 Uruguayan banking crisis, assess the current status of the Uruguayan banking sector, and analyze the policy responses undertaken by the Uruguayan authorities to counteract the crisis. The main conclusion from their analysis is that although the immediate trigger for the crisis was caused by contagion resulting from Argentina's financial crisis, the spread and magnification of the crisis that engulfed the Uruguayan economy was amplified by certain weaknesses of the Uruguayan economy in general, and the domestic banking sector in particular. The authors also believe that the policy responses adopted by the Uruguayan authorities were mostly adequate, allowing Uruguay to successfully counteract simultaneous banking and public debt crises. Most important, the Uruguayan authorities were able to overcome a severe crisis while preserving the necessary trust in banking contracts, achieving a high level of social stability and political cohesion, and maintaining a fluid dialogue with multilateral financial institutions and all affected parties. The cooperative and consensual approach taken by the authorities created the necessary conditions to overcome some of the important obstacles to the recovery of the domestic banking sector.

Bank Policy --- Banking Crisis --- Banking Sector --- Banking System --- Banks and Banking Reform --- Contracts --- Currencies and Exchange Rates --- Currency --- Currency Mismatch --- Debt Crises --- Debt Markets --- Debt Restructuring --- Domestic Banking --- Emerging Markets --- Exchange --- Exchange Rate --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Crisis --- Financial Crisis Management and Restructuring --- Financial Institutions --- Financial Intermediation --- Financial Literacy --- Government Debt --- International Financial Institutions --- Payment System --- Policy Responses --- Private Banks --- Private Sector Development --- Public Debt