Weblog roundup – “concierge medicine,” trench deaths, and other news

July 2nd, 2004 by Julie Ferguson

Asking us if we have lost our capacity for outrage, Tom Mayo reports on the disturbing trend of concierge medicine in a post at HealthLawBlog. The nub of the story is that a class of medicine is emerging where those who can afford it essentially pay an additional premium – or “a bribe,” as some have called it – to ensure quality care. Read his post and the source article from Newsday entitled Good health care: for rich people only?.
Just in time for the 4th of July, OSHA announces and Alliance with the American Pyrotechnics Association to promote fireworks safety. Via rawblogXport.
Perhaps OSHA should be putting more efforts into enforcement and less into Alliances? Jordan Barab reports on another infuriatingly preventable trench death. If you follow Confined Space, this is a sad litany you will find over and over again in his posts. Yet as Jordan reports, compliance with OSHA standards could prevent trench deaths.
Workforce Insights is an online resource for HR practitioners that covers news about emerging labor trends and issues. It’s sponsored by a Fidelity staffing company, Veritude. Thanks to Benefitsblog for the pointer.
Last week, we wrote about workers comp coverage for contract workers in Iraq. For more information on the topic of contract workers in Iraq, Workforce Management currently features an article about contract workers entitled Dangerous Business. Also, the Washington Post has a report about an underclass of foreign workers who are being recruited – often unwittingly – to work in Iraq. These workers get less pay, poor food and shelter, and inadequate safety measures in comparison to U.S. counterparts.
Have you visited KivaCom yet? We’ve pointed it out before, and it is among the resources in our sidebar. It’s a great resource that culls some of the most significant national and regional (Ohio) news stories on workers comp, health care, legal, labor and safety issues…well worth a regular visit.
Over & out – have a happy and safe holiday weekend, people!

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