Interest groups and state Medicaid drug programs

A simultaneous equations model is estimated to analyze the interaction between state Medicaid pharmaceutical drug reimbursement rates, drug recipients per capita, and expenditures per drug recipient. Interest groups are shown to have a strong positive impact on pharmacy reimbursement rates, which, in turn, have an impact on pharmacy participation rates and drug utilization and expenditure patterns. Finally, a strong inverse relationship exists between expenditures per recipient and program size. The results verify the existence of substantial variation in state Medicaid programs and point to potentially growing disparities as a result of current policies.     

Hepatocyte cryopreservation:Is it time to change the strategy?

Liver cell transplantation presents clinical benefit in patients with inborn errors of metabolism as an alternative,or at least as a bridge,to orthotopic liver transplantation.The success of such a therapeutic approach remains limited by the quality of the transplanted cells.Cryopreservation remains the best option for long-term storage of hepatocytes,providing a permanent and sufficient cell supply.However, isolated adult hepatocytes are poorly resistant to such a process,with a significant alteration both...     

Idealism resurgent (and what realists should do about it): Ideas and foreign aid

David Lumsdaine's study on the role of moral beliefs in the foreign aid regime represents the apex of a recent resurgence in idealist approaches to international relations, including the emergence of a so‐called ‘constructivist’ perspective. In reviewing these contributions, the author argues in favour of treating beliefs other than moral ones as important in developing a fuller understanding of the cognitive dynamics of foreign aid. He also suggests that the role of norms in the foreign aid regime requires special attention, and the need to complement an idealist appreciation for the causal role of ideas with a realist perspective on the role of power and strategy in creation the conditions for the efficaciousness of ideas.