Economic Team Announcement

Good morning. The news this past week, including this morning’s news about Citigroup, has made it even more clear that we are facing an economic crisis of historic proportions. Our financial markets are under stress. New home purchases in October were the lowest in half a century. Recently, more than half a million jobless claims were filed, the highest in eighteen years – and if we do not act swiftly and boldly, most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year. While we can’t underestimate the challenges we face, we also can’t underestimate our capacity to overcome them – to summon that spirit of determination and optimism that has always defined us, and move forward in a new direction to create new jobs, reform our financial system, and fuel long-term economic growth

PLAN TO LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS AND ENSURE AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE HEALTH COVERAGE FOR ALL

Health care costs are skyrocketing. Health insurance premiums have doubled in the last 8 years, rising 3.7 times faster than wages in the past 8 years, and increasing co-pays and deductibles threaten access to care. Many insurance plans cover only a limited number of doctors’ visits or hospital days, exposing families to unlimited financial liability. Over half of all personal bankruptcies today are caused by medical bills. Lack of affordable health care is compounded by serious flaws in our health care delivery system. About 100,000 Americans die from medical errors in hospitals every year. One-quarter of all medical spending goes to administrative and overhead costs, and reliance on antiquated paper-based record and information systems needlessly increases these costs. Tens of millions of Americans are uninsured because of rising costs. Over 45 million Americans— including over 8 million children6—lack health insurance. Eighty percent of the uninsured are in working families. Even those with health coverage are struggling to cope with soaring medical costs. Skyrocketing health care costs are making it increasingly difficult for employers, particularly small businesses, to provide health insurance to their employees. Underinvestment in prevention and public health. Too many Americans go without high-value preventive services, such as cancer screening and immunizations to protect against flu or pneumonia. The nation faces epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases as well as new threats of pandemic flu and bioterrorism. Yet despite all of this less than 4 cents of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health. Our health care system has become a disease care system, and the time for change is well overdue

25 anys de l'associació atlètica de Tona

El 26 d’octubre de 1986 es va constituir legalment l’Associació Atlètica de Tona, una de les entitats més populars del poble. El seu naixement legal venia precedit d’anys d’activitat al servei del poble, i molt especialment a les escoles. En el següent article repassem quina ha estat la seva trajectòria,quines són les seves fites més importants i com afronta el futur

Time to First-Line ART Failure and Time to Second-Line ART Switch in the IeDEA Pediatric Cohort

BACKGROUND: Globally, 49% of the estimated 1.8 million children living with HIV are accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART). There are limited data concerning long-term durability of first-line ART regimens and time to transition to second-line. METHODS: Children initiating their first ART regimen between 2 and 14 years of age and enrolled in one of 208 sites in 30 Asia-Pacific and African countries participating in the Pediatric International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS consortium were included in this analysis. Outcomes of interest were: first-line ART failure (clinical, immunologic, or virologic), change to second-line, and attrition (death or loss to program ). Cumulative incidence was computed for first-line failure and second-line initiation, with attrition as a competing event. RESULTS: In 27,031 children, median age at ART initiation was 6.7 years. Median baseline CD4% for children ≤5 years of age was 13.2% and CD4 count for those >5 years was 258 cells per microliter. Almost all (94.4%) initiated a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor; 5.3% a protease inhibitor, and 0.3% a triple nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimen. At 1 year, 7.7% had failed and 14.4% had experienced attrition; by 5 years, the cumulative incidence was 25.9% and 29.4%, respectively. At 1 year after ART failure, 13.7% had transitioned to second-line and 11.2% had experienced attrition; by 5 years, the cumulative incidence was 31.6% and 25.9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: High rates of first-line failure and attrition were identified in children within 5 years after ART initiation. Of children meeting failure criteria, only one-third were transitioned to second-line ART within 5 years

Interests, trust and security in US-Jordanian nuclear relations

This article explores the relationship between Jordan and the United States (US) in the field of nuclear energy cooperation. Since 2010 the Jordanian government has accelerated its plans for a nuclear energy program and has engaged with multiple partners around the world in order to agree terms for cooperation in technology exchange, monitoring, and the construction of infrastructure. Bilateral negotiations between the US and Jordan for a "123" nuclear cooperation agreement were underway by early 2008, but were suspended in 2011 without an agreement being reached. Jordanian nuclear energy policy has been spurred by energy security considerations (as it currently imports 97 percent of its energy needs) and the discovery of up to 120,000 tonnes of uranium ore in Jordan. At the same time, the US is primarily interested in management of nuclear technology proliferation. This work considers the perceptions of self and other in Jordanian and US policymaking in order to understand why bilateral cooperation has not materialized and what this means for nuclear proliferation in Jordan. This study finds that the US–Jordanian negotiations have been impeded by contradictory objectives and perceptions, and a "123" agreement is not likely in the short to medium term, but that development of Jordan’s nuclear energy program will likely continue regardless

Repealing the ACA without a Replacement — The Risks to American Health Care

Health care policy often shifts when the country’s leadership changes. That was true when I took office, and it will likely be true with President-elect Donald Trump. I am proud that my administration’s work, through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other policies, helped millions more Americans know the security of health care in a system that is more effective and efficient. At the same time, there is more work to do to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality, affordable health care. What the past 8 years have taught us is that health care reform requires an evidence-based, careful approach, driven by what is best for the American people. That is why Republicans’ plan to repeal the ACA with no plan to replace and improve it is so reckless. Rather than jeopardize financial security and access to care for tens of millions of Americans, policymakers should develop a plan to build on what works before they unravel what is in place