As a progressive democrat I love the Federal government and the ability of this highest structure of government to pass law that standardizes rights across the county....it is a necessity to have this structure in a country as large as ours. The problem occurs when these centralized government structures start handing all power of policy or legislation to one person---the President, the governor, or the mayor/county executive-----leaving out the legislative body. That is what neo-liberals and neo-cons are doing right now. The formation of commissions is one step in this process with the executive appointing these bodies that then pass policy without the legislative body. Executive orders, once used with extreme rarity have been more and more common under Clinton/Bush/Obama installing policy that they know would not pass through a legislative body.
Remember, the Trans Pacific Trade Pact recognizes only a global corporate tribunal as the body able to change laws that are included in these treaties and these treaties effect every avenue of life. All of this requires a centralization of government as seen in nations like China.
This is why you are seeing an inability to engage on any public policy issues and it is why all your rights as citizens are being totally ignored.....neo-liberals and neo-cons are working to install all of the structures leading to this TPP global corporate tribunal structure. It is why as well this election for governor in Maryland refused to allow a candidate fighting against this structure to be heard. Brown, Gansler, and Mizeur are the only three democratic candidates because they are all neo-liberals ready to continue to install this global corporate structure that takes all legislative power away from the American people and the citizens of Maryland.
Centralized government
From Wikipedia
A centralised government (spelled centralized government in American English) is one in which power or legal authority is exerted or coordinated by a de facto political executive to which federal states, local authorities, and smaller units are considered subject
This morning I listened to a report that the Baltimore County administrators were going to integrate the Baltimore County Library System technology with the county's in an effort to save a few million dollars. Remember, the county wastes a few million dollars on any number of corporate subsidies or outsourcing to private businesses which end in costing more money than if the public sector did the work itself. So, this is not a cost-cutting issue......it is the centralization of technology at a time when government at all level is selling public data for revenue that is the problem.
The library administrators were concerned about the lose of control of these technology staff and department for just that reason. Libraries are tasked with making sure the patrons using their sources have privacy issues met. The county on the other hand sells public data and this library database will be no different. Control extends beyond who is checking out what or using computers to visit what websites------it allows the county control of censuring websites through intranet services. If you think that far-fetched know that Johns Hopkins Library and its internet service affecting all campuses -----a large pool of employees and students-----does this already to an extent. Intranet servers can censure and do. So, when a library system that is for some the only way to access the internet loses control to allow freedom of content and privacy-----
Librarians across the country hit the protest lines when Obama and a neo-liberal Congress passed laws that allowed NSA to collect library patron's data and librarians were told they were legally bound to silence in the Federal government's collection of that data. We know know that the NSA is Wall Street and Wall Street is selling the data collected to overseas governments and organizations so none of this is being kept private---no matter how much they tell you it is. So yet another sector of employees----this time librarians-----are being told that what used to be their duty to protect the public is no longer their duty. If you think this is about saving a few million dollars of public money----look at the billions of dollars lost each year to corporate fraud and more billions given away in corporate subsidies and tax breaks.
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY FOLKS!
Mount Prospect Public LibraryPrivacy and Confidentiality of Patron Information Policy
October 2009
Administrative Modification4Illinois Records Confidentiality Act (75 ILCS 70/1-2)(75 ILCS 70/1) (from Ch. 81, par. 1201)
Sec.1. (a) The registration and circulation records of a library
are confidential information. No person shall publish or make any information contained in such records available to the public unless:(1)required to do so under court order; or(2)the information is requested by a sworn law enforcement officer who represents that it is impractical to secure a court order as a result of an emergency where the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that there is an imminent danger of physical harm.The information requested must be limited to identifying a suspect, witness, or victim of a crime. The information requested without a court order may not include the disclosure of registration or circulation records that would indicate materials borrowed, resources reviewed, or services used at the library.If requested to do so by the library, the requesting law enforcement officer must sign a form acknowledging the receipt of the information. A library providing the information may seek subsequent judicial review to assess compliance with this Section.This subsection shall not alter any right to challenge the use or dissemination of patron information that is otherwise permitted by law.(b)This Section does not prevent a library from publishing or making available to the public reasonable statistical reports regarding library registration and book circulation where those reports are presented so that no individual is identified therein.(b-5)Nothing in this Section shall be construed as a privacy violation or a breach of confidentiality if a library provides information to a law enforcement officer under item (2) of subsection (a).(c)For the purpose of this Section, (i) “library” means any public library or library of an educational, historical or eleemosynary institution, organization or society; (ii) “registration records” includes any information a library requires a person to provide in order for that person to become eligible to borrow books and other materials and (iii) “circulation records” includes all information identifying the individual borrowing particular books or materials.(Source: P.A. 95-40, eff. 1-1-08)(75 ILCS 70/2) (from Ch. 81, par. 1202)Sec. 2. This Act may be cited as the Library Records Confidentiality Act.(Source: P.A. 86-1475.)
THIS IS A MOVEMENT AWAY FROM FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PRIVACY. NOTE AGAIN, THIS POLICY ONLY SAVES A FEW MILLION DOLLARS AT MOST AND HANDS IT TO A GOVERNMENT USING PUBLIC DATA SALES AS REVENUE.
When President Obama or Governor O'Malley say they promote OPEN GOVERNMENT-----this does not mean transparency to the American citizens of government operations-----quite the opposite. It means that any public information wanted will be sold to the highest bidder.
THIS IS HOW YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A NEO-LIBERAL RUNNING AS A DEMOCRAT-----DO YOU HEAR YOUR POL DECRYING THE WHOLESALE MARKETING OF ALL CITIZEN'S PERSONAL DATA?
Sales Of Public Data To Marketers Can Mean Big $$ For Governments August 26, 2013 10:00 PM
DENVER (CBS4) – Roughly 60 percent of the mail we get can be classified as junk mail, but sometimes that flood of mail seems nonstop, and the pitches are often unsettlingly specific. This tends to happen particularly after major life events.
A CBS4 Investigation has uncovered that government agencies at all levels are selling personal information to marketing companies.
Eric Meer is a small business owner who works out of his home in Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood. Meer says he was deluged by direct mail after registering his small business with the Colorado Secretary of State. He says many of the ads he received were deceptive asking him to pay fees that he wasn’t required to pay.
Meer had a hunch the Secretary of State was selling his business information to marketing companies. CBS4 confirmed his hunch was right. Last year, the Secretary of State brought in $59,000 for business registration data.
“It feels like a betrayal,” Meer said. “Because our government is supposed to protect us, not to sell our information and profit from us.”
Spokesperson Andrew Cole confirms the Secretary of State sells business information for monetary amounts ranging from $200 to $12,000, depending on frequency and amount of information requested. But, Cole says the fees only cover the costs of running the databases.
“We are not looking to make money,” said Cole. “We charge to cover our costs.”
According to Cole, there is no way to opt out of these lists and anyone can buy them, even scammers. There is no screening process.
“It’s a public database,” Cole said. He said it’s “meant to be public” and part of running a transparent government.
The Secretary of State also sold voter registration information — including names, addresses and political party affiliation of voters — for $58,000, last year.
Do you ever notice a surge of confusing mail after refinancing, a foreclosure, or buying a house? The Denver Clerk and Recorder made $32,000 last year selling home sale data.
It happens in college, too. The University of Colorado Boulder buys names from the SAT for 33 cents each and names from the ACT for 34 cents each for recruiting purposes. CU sells student information to private meal plans and storage companies for $15,000 a year.
Even death is for sale. The Social Security Administration sells a “Master Death Index” for 7,500 each. The result, an onslaught of letters to surviving family members asking to purchase a home.
Local marketer Becky Seely has purchased lists in the past and says it’s clear these agencies are catering to marketers.
“What average consumer needs to know the deaths that happened in the last three months or the new businesses that registered?” asks Seely.
But she says most of the time we put ourselves on marketing lists without realizing it. The most common ways our information is collected and then circulated is when we enter a contest, use a valued customer shopping card, register a product, subscribe to a magazine or even give money to a charity.
“It’s kind of an endless black hole of lists, unfortunately,” Seely said.
The Direct Marketing Association has blocked every state effort to create a mandatory “do not mail” registry similar to a do not call list. However, the same group offers its own registry that promises to cut down on the junk mail you receive.
The Direct Marketing Association says you cannot stop bills, statements, notices and political mailings. The group also offers a deceased Do Not Contact list.
_______________________________________________
At a time when identity theft is ubiquitous one wonders what information is going out as regards SS information from our government. We know that the NSA is acting illegally as regards data collection and distribution to outside parties so how do we know the article below honors the idea that only legal information can be attained in these data sales? Can you imagine the personal history one can attain from a lifetime of SS information in building identity?
One expects that things like census data are sold in bulk data but when every avenue of public life is opened and made easily attainable-----and for sale---as the article above has a citizen saying----I FEEL BETRAYED BY MY GOVERNMENT.
The need to do this for revenue whether Federal, state, or local is precisely the problem of lost corporate revenue and the sending of that revenue collected to these same corporations as subsidy.
NEO-LIBERALS AND NEO-CONS DO NOT SEE PUBLIC JUSTICE OR BILL OF RIGHTS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT SEE YOU AND I AS CITIZENS.
Social Security
Open Government Initiative
Social Security Data
Social Security has a long history of collecting data to carry out our mission. Our data are about people-their wages, their identifying information, their employers, their addresses, and much more. The first regulation we published included a commitment to the public to safeguard the personal information entrusted to us. This commitment is as solid as it was when Social Security began in 1935 and is further strengthened by privacy laws. We cannot publicly release much of our data because it is protected by the Privacy Laws, the Internal Revenue code, and other statutes. While some of the data can be anonymized, much of it cannot. Our open government data transparency efforts recognize these constraints and all releases will protect privacy in accordance with all applicable laws.
Here, we aim to provide you with convenient, one-stop access to high value datasets along with explanations about the data. As you browse the catelog below, click on the dataset title to see more information about the dataset. The following datasets have all been submitted to the federal government data catalog, Data.gov where you can view the catalog of SSA data along with data from many other agencies.
_________________________________________
The HIPAA laws overseeing patient privacy used to be taken so seriously we were taught at hiring orientation with a health care center that no information on patients are to be spoken in any public areas. Elevators used to be the problem when two doctors would chat about a patient case with the general public in the elevator.....that was prohibited.
Now, there is absolutely no restrictions by private health providers in selling medical data as we see with the private Medicare Advantage and the making of money by these health insurers on the data they assemble from the people paying for their insurance plans. We know restricted data is being released and we know patient names are indeed left attached to these data often......even as we are told names are not associated with data. Research shows that corporations buying the data have no trouble identifying the name of patients even if the name is not included.....
THERE IS NO PRIVACY NOW AS REGARDS YOUR MEDICAL DATA AND ALL THAT IS TIED WITH PRIVATIZING AND PROFITIZING THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY.
(“HIPAA”).1 The Privacy Rule standards address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information—called “protected health information” by organizations subject to the Privacy Rule — called “covered entities,” as well as standards for individuals' privacy rights to understand and control how their health information is used. Within HHS, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has responsibility for implementing and enforcing the Privacy Rule with respect to voluntary compliance activities and civil money penalties.
AIS's Medicare and Medicaid Market Data: 2014
A valuable resource with information on rates, benefit designs, enrollment, contacts, trends and strategies on the Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D and managed Medicaid programs. Packed with practical data and strategic information, it tracks the enrollment trends, plan design information and market share statistics that are required for an effective strategic planning process.
Save Up to $150! Place your order through our secure shopping cart
Print version only Save $45!$398.00was $443.00 Print & CD versions Save $150!$1,135.00was $1,285.00
CD Version Available for Easy Data Manipulation and Fast Searching! The CD version of AIS's Medicare and Medicaid Market Data is packed with Medicare and Medicaid data and analysis not contained in the print version. It provides:
Multi-user site licenses for AIS's Medicare and Medicaid Market Data: 2014 are also available to save you money while providing an accurate data resource for analysts throughout your organization. Call Sales Director Bailey Sterrett at 202-775-9008 x3034 to learn more.
_____________________________________________
When we centralize such extensive systems like data systems we are placing into the hands of a few all the power of information and how it is disseminated. In Maryland we already have a problem with having grand announcements by politicians that a policy has been successful as shown by data only to find the data was skewed. It is of no value to the American people if we find years later the data was skewed.
In modern history data was collected and analyzed by our public universities by academics with the goal of providing unbiased and accurate information. Today, corporatization of our universities has created the inability to rely on that source and as we see more and more data centralized and taken from the realm of more and more people-----there goes the whistle blowers who see problems and report them. We already have a war on whistle blowers as the people in power take the nation more towards autocracy.
In Maryland, we have had the executive offices of governor and mayor/county executive garner more and more control of public policy with the creation of commissions that then decide public policy behind closed doors and without legislative approval and those commissions are appointed by these very executives----governor, mayor, or county executive. This centralization is what is taking all power of the people to participate in government-----it is allowing corporate pols to deal only with corporations and their bidding----and this consolidation of technology and data further erodes the hands on opportunity of the citizens of Maryland to know what the real information is and how it is processed.
We know as well with these neo-liberals and neo-cons----that the IT is handled by private corporate contractors having exposure to what is told to citizens as kept private by the government. This was the big issue over the building of these health systems whether at the Federal or state level----private corporations are directly exposed to private information when government outsources everything to these large corporations.
We know that many programs in NSA are run by Wall Street and all that data is in turn sold overseas to governments that now have our private information and we have no idea where it goes from there.
THIS IS CRITICAL FOLKS! YOU ARE WATCHING AS THIS CENTRALIZATION LEAVES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND CITIZENS OF MARYLAND WITHOUT ACCESS TO MUCH OF THE DATA COLLECTED AS A MEANS OF KNOWING WHAT WE ARE BEING TOLD IS TRUE.
What Is a Centralized Organizational Structure?
A centralized organizational structure is an approach to handling decisions that concentrates the power at the top of a hierarchy. A limited number of people have the ability to make decisions and they are senior members of the company or organization. This contrasts with a decentralized organizational structure, where higher-ups delegate authority down a chain of command to allow employees at many levels to make decisions. There are advantages and disadvantages to both structures that may be considered in the course of developing or modifying an organizational structure.
This approach can be seen everywhere from small businesses to large companies. A business owner with only a few employees may prefer to make all the decisions for the business in a centralized organizational structure. Employees must discuss any planned activities or concerns with the owner, and cannot independently make decisions, except in very controlled circumstances. This allows for greater control over business operations.
At large companies, the centralized organizational structure is typically paired with a very large and heavily tiered hierarchy. As people work their way up the hierarchy, they have more authority and more connections to people who can make decisions. At the very top lie the handful of people with the ultimate power over activities at the company. These can be members of a board, or chief officers, depending on how the business is organized.
Ad One advantage of centralized organizational structure is efficiency. When decisions need to be made, they are made quickly, because no consultation is necessary. However, the disadvantage to central control is that it may take a long time for issues to reach the people who can make decisions. They are often overloaded with work and it may take some time for an issue to come to their attention. In a decentralized structure, autonomy at lower levels can allow for faster resolution of minor problems because they do not need to be escalated through a series of tiers.
Another potential flaw of centralized organizational structure is stagnation. Upper officials of a company may not be in touch with workers, or could lag behind on industry developments. When they are the only people making decisions, it may be hard for a company to move forward and promote progress. This structure can also contribute to a more hidebound culture where employees feel less valued. People trusted with decisions tend to feel more connected to their employers, and may be more prone to stay in the long term.
Remember, the Trans Pacific Trade Pact recognizes only a global corporate tribunal as the body able to change laws that are included in these treaties and these treaties effect every avenue of life. All of this requires a centralization of government as seen in nations like China.
This is why you are seeing an inability to engage on any public policy issues and it is why all your rights as citizens are being totally ignored.....neo-liberals and neo-cons are working to install all of the structures leading to this TPP global corporate tribunal structure. It is why as well this election for governor in Maryland refused to allow a candidate fighting against this structure to be heard. Brown, Gansler, and Mizeur are the only three democratic candidates because they are all neo-liberals ready to continue to install this global corporate structure that takes all legislative power away from the American people and the citizens of Maryland.
Centralized government
From Wikipedia
A centralised government (spelled centralized government in American English) is one in which power or legal authority is exerted or coordinated by a de facto political executive to which federal states, local authorities, and smaller units are considered subject
This morning I listened to a report that the Baltimore County administrators were going to integrate the Baltimore County Library System technology with the county's in an effort to save a few million dollars. Remember, the county wastes a few million dollars on any number of corporate subsidies or outsourcing to private businesses which end in costing more money than if the public sector did the work itself. So, this is not a cost-cutting issue......it is the centralization of technology at a time when government at all level is selling public data for revenue that is the problem.
The library administrators were concerned about the lose of control of these technology staff and department for just that reason. Libraries are tasked with making sure the patrons using their sources have privacy issues met. The county on the other hand sells public data and this library database will be no different. Control extends beyond who is checking out what or using computers to visit what websites------it allows the county control of censuring websites through intranet services. If you think that far-fetched know that Johns Hopkins Library and its internet service affecting all campuses -----a large pool of employees and students-----does this already to an extent. Intranet servers can censure and do. So, when a library system that is for some the only way to access the internet loses control to allow freedom of content and privacy-----
Librarians across the country hit the protest lines when Obama and a neo-liberal Congress passed laws that allowed NSA to collect library patron's data and librarians were told they were legally bound to silence in the Federal government's collection of that data. We know know that the NSA is Wall Street and Wall Street is selling the data collected to overseas governments and organizations so none of this is being kept private---no matter how much they tell you it is. So yet another sector of employees----this time librarians-----are being told that what used to be their duty to protect the public is no longer their duty. If you think this is about saving a few million dollars of public money----look at the billions of dollars lost each year to corporate fraud and more billions given away in corporate subsidies and tax breaks.
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY FOLKS!
Mount Prospect Public LibraryPrivacy and Confidentiality of Patron Information Policy
October 2009
Administrative Modification4Illinois Records Confidentiality Act (75 ILCS 70/1-2)(75 ILCS 70/1) (from Ch. 81, par. 1201)
Sec.1. (a) The registration and circulation records of a library
are confidential information. No person shall publish or make any information contained in such records available to the public unless:(1)required to do so under court order; or(2)the information is requested by a sworn law enforcement officer who represents that it is impractical to secure a court order as a result of an emergency where the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that there is an imminent danger of physical harm.The information requested must be limited to identifying a suspect, witness, or victim of a crime. The information requested without a court order may not include the disclosure of registration or circulation records that would indicate materials borrowed, resources reviewed, or services used at the library.If requested to do so by the library, the requesting law enforcement officer must sign a form acknowledging the receipt of the information. A library providing the information may seek subsequent judicial review to assess compliance with this Section.This subsection shall not alter any right to challenge the use or dissemination of patron information that is otherwise permitted by law.(b)This Section does not prevent a library from publishing or making available to the public reasonable statistical reports regarding library registration and book circulation where those reports are presented so that no individual is identified therein.(b-5)Nothing in this Section shall be construed as a privacy violation or a breach of confidentiality if a library provides information to a law enforcement officer under item (2) of subsection (a).(c)For the purpose of this Section, (i) “library” means any public library or library of an educational, historical or eleemosynary institution, organization or society; (ii) “registration records” includes any information a library requires a person to provide in order for that person to become eligible to borrow books and other materials and (iii) “circulation records” includes all information identifying the individual borrowing particular books or materials.(Source: P.A. 95-40, eff. 1-1-08)(75 ILCS 70/2) (from Ch. 81, par. 1202)Sec. 2. This Act may be cited as the Library Records Confidentiality Act.(Source: P.A. 86-1475.)
THIS IS A MOVEMENT AWAY FROM FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PRIVACY. NOTE AGAIN, THIS POLICY ONLY SAVES A FEW MILLION DOLLARS AT MOST AND HANDS IT TO A GOVERNMENT USING PUBLIC DATA SALES AS REVENUE.
When President Obama or Governor O'Malley say they promote OPEN GOVERNMENT-----this does not mean transparency to the American citizens of government operations-----quite the opposite. It means that any public information wanted will be sold to the highest bidder.
THIS IS HOW YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A NEO-LIBERAL RUNNING AS A DEMOCRAT-----DO YOU HEAR YOUR POL DECRYING THE WHOLESALE MARKETING OF ALL CITIZEN'S PERSONAL DATA?
Sales Of Public Data To Marketers Can Mean Big $$ For Governments August 26, 2013 10:00 PM
DENVER (CBS4) – Roughly 60 percent of the mail we get can be classified as junk mail, but sometimes that flood of mail seems nonstop, and the pitches are often unsettlingly specific. This tends to happen particularly after major life events.
A CBS4 Investigation has uncovered that government agencies at all levels are selling personal information to marketing companies.
Eric Meer is a small business owner who works out of his home in Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood. Meer says he was deluged by direct mail after registering his small business with the Colorado Secretary of State. He says many of the ads he received were deceptive asking him to pay fees that he wasn’t required to pay.
Meer had a hunch the Secretary of State was selling his business information to marketing companies. CBS4 confirmed his hunch was right. Last year, the Secretary of State brought in $59,000 for business registration data.
“It feels like a betrayal,” Meer said. “Because our government is supposed to protect us, not to sell our information and profit from us.”
Spokesperson Andrew Cole confirms the Secretary of State sells business information for monetary amounts ranging from $200 to $12,000, depending on frequency and amount of information requested. But, Cole says the fees only cover the costs of running the databases.
“We are not looking to make money,” said Cole. “We charge to cover our costs.”
According to Cole, there is no way to opt out of these lists and anyone can buy them, even scammers. There is no screening process.
“It’s a public database,” Cole said. He said it’s “meant to be public” and part of running a transparent government.
The Secretary of State also sold voter registration information — including names, addresses and political party affiliation of voters — for $58,000, last year.
Do you ever notice a surge of confusing mail after refinancing, a foreclosure, or buying a house? The Denver Clerk and Recorder made $32,000 last year selling home sale data.
It happens in college, too. The University of Colorado Boulder buys names from the SAT for 33 cents each and names from the ACT for 34 cents each for recruiting purposes. CU sells student information to private meal plans and storage companies for $15,000 a year.
Even death is for sale. The Social Security Administration sells a “Master Death Index” for 7,500 each. The result, an onslaught of letters to surviving family members asking to purchase a home.
Local marketer Becky Seely has purchased lists in the past and says it’s clear these agencies are catering to marketers.
“What average consumer needs to know the deaths that happened in the last three months or the new businesses that registered?” asks Seely.
But she says most of the time we put ourselves on marketing lists without realizing it. The most common ways our information is collected and then circulated is when we enter a contest, use a valued customer shopping card, register a product, subscribe to a magazine or even give money to a charity.
“It’s kind of an endless black hole of lists, unfortunately,” Seely said.
The Direct Marketing Association has blocked every state effort to create a mandatory “do not mail” registry similar to a do not call list. However, the same group offers its own registry that promises to cut down on the junk mail you receive.
The Direct Marketing Association says you cannot stop bills, statements, notices and political mailings. The group also offers a deceased Do Not Contact list.
_______________________________________________
At a time when identity theft is ubiquitous one wonders what information is going out as regards SS information from our government. We know that the NSA is acting illegally as regards data collection and distribution to outside parties so how do we know the article below honors the idea that only legal information can be attained in these data sales? Can you imagine the personal history one can attain from a lifetime of SS information in building identity?
One expects that things like census data are sold in bulk data but when every avenue of public life is opened and made easily attainable-----and for sale---as the article above has a citizen saying----I FEEL BETRAYED BY MY GOVERNMENT.
The need to do this for revenue whether Federal, state, or local is precisely the problem of lost corporate revenue and the sending of that revenue collected to these same corporations as subsidy.
NEO-LIBERALS AND NEO-CONS DO NOT SEE PUBLIC JUSTICE OR BILL OF RIGHTS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT SEE YOU AND I AS CITIZENS.
Social Security
Open Government Initiative
Social Security Data
Social Security has a long history of collecting data to carry out our mission. Our data are about people-their wages, their identifying information, their employers, their addresses, and much more. The first regulation we published included a commitment to the public to safeguard the personal information entrusted to us. This commitment is as solid as it was when Social Security began in 1935 and is further strengthened by privacy laws. We cannot publicly release much of our data because it is protected by the Privacy Laws, the Internal Revenue code, and other statutes. While some of the data can be anonymized, much of it cannot. Our open government data transparency efforts recognize these constraints and all releases will protect privacy in accordance with all applicable laws.
Here, we aim to provide you with convenient, one-stop access to high value datasets along with explanations about the data. As you browse the catelog below, click on the dataset title to see more information about the dataset. The following datasets have all been submitted to the federal government data catalog, Data.gov where you can view the catalog of SSA data along with data from many other agencies.
_________________________________________
The HIPAA laws overseeing patient privacy used to be taken so seriously we were taught at hiring orientation with a health care center that no information on patients are to be spoken in any public areas. Elevators used to be the problem when two doctors would chat about a patient case with the general public in the elevator.....that was prohibited.
Now, there is absolutely no restrictions by private health providers in selling medical data as we see with the private Medicare Advantage and the making of money by these health insurers on the data they assemble from the people paying for their insurance plans. We know restricted data is being released and we know patient names are indeed left attached to these data often......even as we are told names are not associated with data. Research shows that corporations buying the data have no trouble identifying the name of patients even if the name is not included.....
THERE IS NO PRIVACY NOW AS REGARDS YOUR MEDICAL DATA AND ALL THAT IS TIED WITH PRIVATIZING AND PROFITIZING THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY.
(“HIPAA”).1 The Privacy Rule standards address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information—called “protected health information” by organizations subject to the Privacy Rule — called “covered entities,” as well as standards for individuals' privacy rights to understand and control how their health information is used. Within HHS, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has responsibility for implementing and enforcing the Privacy Rule with respect to voluntary compliance activities and civil money penalties.
AIS's Medicare and Medicaid Market Data: 2014
A valuable resource with information on rates, benefit designs, enrollment, contacts, trends and strategies on the Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D and managed Medicaid programs. Packed with practical data and strategic information, it tracks the enrollment trends, plan design information and market share statistics that are required for an effective strategic planning process.
Save Up to $150! Place your order through our secure shopping cart
Print version only Save $45!$398.00was $443.00 Print & CD versions Save $150!$1,135.00was $1,285.00
- Call 800-521-4323
- Print a form to fax or mail
- Medicare Advantage (MA)/Medicare managed care, Medicare Part D and managed Medicaid enrollment and market share by state, by company and by region
- Product offerings and enrollees by type of product
- Directories of MA, Medicaid and Part D plans with key executive contact information along with a Special Needs Plan directory and directories of federal, regional and state regulators
- Financial data, market expansion, merger and acquisition activity, and other company developments
- Data on premium rates and star ratings, along with state-by-state summaries of dual-eligible and Medicaid initiatives
CD Version Available for Easy Data Manipulation and Fast Searching! The CD version of AIS's Medicare and Medicaid Market Data is packed with Medicare and Medicaid data and analysis not contained in the print version. It provides:
- Plan enrollment data at the national, state and county levels for both Medicare and Medicaid HMOs
- Market data on numbers of eligibles — Medicare, Medicaid and duals
- Data on premium rates, capitation, low-income subsidies, USPCCs
- Historical data of Medicare and Medicaid managed care plans
- Part D plans with benefit structure, cost-sharing and enrollment data
- Mailing lists and all numeric data in convenient Excel spreadsheets
- A complete user-friendly PDF version of the book for fast searching
- Plus, all CD purchasers receive a free copy of the print version!
Multi-user site licenses for AIS's Medicare and Medicaid Market Data: 2014 are also available to save you money while providing an accurate data resource for analysts throughout your organization. Call Sales Director Bailey Sterrett at 202-775-9008 x3034 to learn more.
_____________________________________________
When we centralize such extensive systems like data systems we are placing into the hands of a few all the power of information and how it is disseminated. In Maryland we already have a problem with having grand announcements by politicians that a policy has been successful as shown by data only to find the data was skewed. It is of no value to the American people if we find years later the data was skewed.
In modern history data was collected and analyzed by our public universities by academics with the goal of providing unbiased and accurate information. Today, corporatization of our universities has created the inability to rely on that source and as we see more and more data centralized and taken from the realm of more and more people-----there goes the whistle blowers who see problems and report them. We already have a war on whistle blowers as the people in power take the nation more towards autocracy.
In Maryland, we have had the executive offices of governor and mayor/county executive garner more and more control of public policy with the creation of commissions that then decide public policy behind closed doors and without legislative approval and those commissions are appointed by these very executives----governor, mayor, or county executive. This centralization is what is taking all power of the people to participate in government-----it is allowing corporate pols to deal only with corporations and their bidding----and this consolidation of technology and data further erodes the hands on opportunity of the citizens of Maryland to know what the real information is and how it is processed.
We know as well with these neo-liberals and neo-cons----that the IT is handled by private corporate contractors having exposure to what is told to citizens as kept private by the government. This was the big issue over the building of these health systems whether at the Federal or state level----private corporations are directly exposed to private information when government outsources everything to these large corporations.
We know that many programs in NSA are run by Wall Street and all that data is in turn sold overseas to governments that now have our private information and we have no idea where it goes from there.
THIS IS CRITICAL FOLKS! YOU ARE WATCHING AS THIS CENTRALIZATION LEAVES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND CITIZENS OF MARYLAND WITHOUT ACCESS TO MUCH OF THE DATA COLLECTED AS A MEANS OF KNOWING WHAT WE ARE BEING TOLD IS TRUE.
What Is a Centralized Organizational Structure?
- Written By: Mary McMahon
- Edited By: Shereen Skola
- Last Modified Date: 31 May 2014 Wise Geek
A centralized organizational structure is an approach to handling decisions that concentrates the power at the top of a hierarchy. A limited number of people have the ability to make decisions and they are senior members of the company or organization. This contrasts with a decentralized organizational structure, where higher-ups delegate authority down a chain of command to allow employees at many levels to make decisions. There are advantages and disadvantages to both structures that may be considered in the course of developing or modifying an organizational structure.
This approach can be seen everywhere from small businesses to large companies. A business owner with only a few employees may prefer to make all the decisions for the business in a centralized organizational structure. Employees must discuss any planned activities or concerns with the owner, and cannot independently make decisions, except in very controlled circumstances. This allows for greater control over business operations.
At large companies, the centralized organizational structure is typically paired with a very large and heavily tiered hierarchy. As people work their way up the hierarchy, they have more authority and more connections to people who can make decisions. At the very top lie the handful of people with the ultimate power over activities at the company. These can be members of a board, or chief officers, depending on how the business is organized.
Ad One advantage of centralized organizational structure is efficiency. When decisions need to be made, they are made quickly, because no consultation is necessary. However, the disadvantage to central control is that it may take a long time for issues to reach the people who can make decisions. They are often overloaded with work and it may take some time for an issue to come to their attention. In a decentralized structure, autonomy at lower levels can allow for faster resolution of minor problems because they do not need to be escalated through a series of tiers.
Another potential flaw of centralized organizational structure is stagnation. Upper officials of a company may not be in touch with workers, or could lag behind on industry developments. When they are the only people making decisions, it may be hard for a company to move forward and promote progress. This structure can also contribute to a more hidebound culture where employees feel less valued. People trusted with decisions tend to feel more connected to their employers, and may be more prone to stay in the long term.
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