Paying for national health insurance--and not getting it.

The threat of steep tax hikes has torpedoed the debate over national health insurance. Yet according to our calculations, the current tax-financed share of health spending is far higher than most people think: 59.8 percent.

Does investor-ownership of nursing homes compromise the quality of care?

Quality problems have long plagued the nursing home industry. While two-thirds of U.S.

Timing of new black box warnings and withdrawals for prescription medications.

Context: Recently approved drugs may be more likely to have unrecognized adverse drug reactions (ADRs) than established drugs, but no recent studies have examined how frequently postmarketing surveillance identifies important ADRs.

Objective: To determine the frequency and timing of discovery of new ADRs described in black box warnings or necessitating withdrawal of the drug from the market.

Design And Setting: Examination of the Physicians' Desk Reference for all new chemical entities approved by the US Food and Drug Administration between 1975 and 1999, and all drugs withdrawn from the market between 1975 and 2000 (with or without a prior black box warning).

No care for the caregivers: declining health insurance coverage for health care personnel and their children, 1988-1998.

Objectives: This study examined trends in health insurance coverage for health care workers and their children between 1988 and 1998.

Methods: We analyzed data from the annual March supplements of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a Census Bureau survey that collects information about health insurance from a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized US residents.

Results: Of the health care personnel younger than 65 years, 1.