关于我国金融法治重构的思考

我国已经初步形成基本适应社会主义市场经济和金融发展的金融法治框架;金融法治建设面临的新态势可以概括为金融服务现代化,其基本特征有金融政策自由化、金融服务网络化、金融企业巨型化和金融服务贸易全球化等;我国金融法治的重构,应以“推动金融服务现代化”为根本任务,并应遵循“法治先行、服务为本。整体设计、重点推进”的方针。     

Death caused by accidental hanging in the hand strap loop of a garage door

The authors report on a 10-year-old boy who accidentally hanged himself in the hand strap of a garage door. The door was an electric overhead door of an underground garage. The accident was reconstructed at the scene using a dummy. The strap of the door was long enough to be slipped over the head easily. In view of this background it seems advisable to consider whether the current safety regulations on the operation of electric doors should be changed accordingly.     

关于预防和减少公安信访的思考

全国公安机关开展的“开门接访”活动对于依法处理积留的信访问题起到了显著的效果,但要从根本上解决公安信访问题,关键是要加强公安法制建设,完善监督机制,规范公安执法活动,大力整治公安民警在执法活动中存在的突出问题,从源头预防和减少公安信访问题的发生。     

Legal Needs of The Poor: Problems,Priorities and Attitudes*

The Legal Services Corporation is faced with the problem of allocating limited resources in order to meet the legal needs of the poor. It is forced into the dilemma of setting priorities, creating workable regulations to meet an ambiguously defined and elusive concept of legal need. Recently enacted regulations require annual reports by legal services programs that are based, in part, on the assessment of eligible clients' needs as expressed by their attitudes. These regulations are premised on unarticulated implicit assumptions relating attitudes, problems experienced, and legal need. This study examines these assumptions in an analysis of perceived problems, help seeking behavior, attitudes toward the allocation of legal services resources, and how these have changed over time for the eligible client population of one legal service program in California.     

Perceptions About the Poor,Their Legal Needs,and Legal Services*

The Legal Services Corporation is faced with the problem of allocating limited resources in order to meet the legal needs of the poor. It is forced into the dilemma of setting priorities, creating workable regulations to meet an ambiguously defined and elusive concept of legal need. Current regulations require annual reports by legal services programs that are based, in part, on the assessment of eligible clients' needs as expressed by the attitudes of clients, the private bar and other interested persons. These regulations are premised on implicit assumptions relating attitudes, problems experience, legal need, and the relevancy of nonclient perceptions. This study examines these assumptions in an analysis of perceived problems, attitudes toward the allocation of legal services resources, and how these differ between the eligible client community, the private bar and public agencies in a community served by one legal service program in California.     

Medicare program; clarification of Medicare's accrual basis of accounting policy--HCFA. Final rule

This final rule revises the Medicare regulations to clarify the concept of "accrual basis of accounting" to indicate that expenses must be incurred by a provider of health care services before Medicare will pay its share of those expenses. This rule does not signify a change in policy but, rather, incorporates into the regulations Medicare's longstanding policy regarding the circumstances under which we recognize, for the purposes of program payment, a provider's claim for costs for which it has not actually expended funds during the current cost reporting period.     

湖南法治政府建设实践的经验启示

2008年以来，湖南省出台了一系列政策法规文件，构筑形成了全面建设法治政府“一纲要一规划两规定六办法”的政策法规格局，并在具体实践中真抓实干、敢为人先，取得显著实效，引起全国上下广泛关注，形成中国法治政府建设所谓的“湖南模式”。“法治湖南”实践正在以其独特的内容和魅力促动着中国法治政府建设全面起航。通过探讨促动“法治湖南”建设实践动因，详细分析限权和服务为轴的湖南法治政府建设实践：一方面通过程序规控行政权力，达致“正确地做事”之目的，另一方面通过规定政府服务内容，追求“做正确的事”之目标。在此基础上，解析了湖南法治政府建设实践的经验启示。     

Public Health Service--health maintenance organizations: final regulations

These rules amend the Public Health Service (PHS) regulations by implementing certain changes made by the HMO Amendments of 1978 with respect to grants and loan guarantees for planning and initial development costs (Subpart D) and to loans and loan guarantees for initial costs of operation (Subpart E). These regulations change Subpart D by including projects for the "expansion of services" of an HMO among the projects eligible for initial development assistance. In addition, they change the limits on the amount of assistance permitted for initial development projects. These regulations also change Subpart E by substituting the words "costs of operation" for the words "operating costs," thereby expanding the scope of assistance for initial operations (1) to include costs of certain small capital expenditures for equipment and alterations and renovations of facilities and (2) to incorporate into the regulations a longstanding policy which specifies the amount of preaward balance sheet liabilities which may be paid for with funds under operating loans (whether made directly or guaranteed by the Secretary).     

Medicare program; standards for quality of water used in dialysis and revised guidelines on reuse of hemodialysis filters for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients--HCFA. Final rule

This final rule revises the Medicare conditions for coverage of suppliers of end-stage renal disease services. The revisions remove general language in the regulations regarding water quality; incorporate by reference standards for monitoring the quality of water used in dialysis as published by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) in its document, "Hemodialysis Systems" (second edition); and update existing regulations to incorporate by reference the second edition of AAMI's voluntary guidelines on "Reuse of Hemodialyzers."     

The Stark Law in retrospect

Considering the ultimate goals of preventing the over-utilization of medical services and protecting the Medicare program, are the numerous phases of the Stark Law and their concomitant regulations effective; or, conversely, has the legislation served to impede entrepreneurialism among physicians to the detriment of innovations and better integration in the delivery of medical treatment? This article endeavors to answer the above question through an analysis of the policy goals behind the legislation; the evolution of its regulations; its effect on competitiveness in the field of medicine; and the ethical considerations implicated by the issue of physician self-referral. It further offers some proposals which attempt to address the problem of physician self-referral abuse while at the same time reducing the complexity and breadth of the Stark law and its regulations. The article concludes by noting that to truly change the practice of inappropriate self-referral as well as the culture of over-utilization, it is necessary not only to target specific relationships and practices prone to abuse, but to realign the financial incentives created by our current payment mechanisms as well.     

Medicare program; fee schedule for physicians' services--HCFA. Correction of final rule

In the November 25, 1991 final rule (56 FR 59624) on the Medicare fee schedule for physician services, we inadvertently set forth regulations on the fee schedule at 42 CFR, part 415. However, our plan for the recodification of HCFA regulations calls for general regulations on payment for Part B medical and other health services to be codified in part 414, with part 415 reserved for regulations on payment to teaching physicians, teaching hospitals, and provider-based physicians. Therefore, in this correction notice, we are redesignating in their entirety the physician fee schedule regulations contained in part 415, subpart A to part 414, subpart A, and reserving part 415 for future use. Also, this document corrects technical errors that appeared in the final rule published in the Federal Register on November 25, 1991 (56 FR 59502) entitled "Medicare Program; Fee Schedule for Physicians' Services".     

The role of government regulations in the adoption of cloud computing: A case study of local government

Cloud computing is a technology that facilitates improved productivity, improved efficiency and lower costs. This technology has the potential to improve the reliability and scalability of organizational systems and leads to an enhanced focus on core business and strategy. Despite the Australian Federal Government's ‘cloud-first’ strategy and policies and the Queensland State Government's ‘digital-first’ strategy, the adoption of cloud services at the local government level has been limited, largely due to a lack of specificity among government regulations and a lack of regulations that provide support to local governments. This empirical study deploys a mixed research method designed to develop a cloud regulations model to assist governments in adopting cloud computing services. By integrating Australian Cloud Policy Frameworks with the extant research on cloud computing, this study conducted 21 field interviews with Information Technology (IT) managers and surveyed 480 IT staff from Australia's 47 local governments. This research paper presents and validates a revised set of factors used to develop government regulations specific to cloud computing adoption. The factors that we found to be statistically significant were cost, quality of services, security, privacy, management, government-based facilitating conditions, and firm-based facilitating conditions regulations. Based on these findings, this research concludes that government regulation is a significant aspect in decision making for the adoption of any new technology such as cloud computing.     

Evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of Title XVI uncompensated services assurance--Health Resources and Services Administration. Rule related notice

The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments on an evaluation plan which has been developed to examine the impact and effectiveness of the regulations [42 CFR 124.501 et seq.) governing the provision of uncompensated services by health facilities obligated under Titles VI and XVI of the Public Health Service Act to provide a reasonable volume of services to persons unable to pay.     

Reasonable charges for medical care or services. Final rule

This final rule amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical regulations concerning "reasonable charges" for medical care or services provided or furnished by VA to certain veterans for nonservice-connected disabilities. It changes the process for determining interim billing charges when a new Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) code or Current Procedural Terminology/Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (CPT/HCPCS) code identifier is assigned to a particular type or item of medical care or service and VA has not yet established a charge for the new identifier. This process is designed to provide interim billing charges that are very close to what the new billing charges would be when the charges for the new identifiers are established in accordance with the regulations. This final rule also changes the regulations by removing all of the provisions for discounts of billed charges. This will eliminate or reduce duplicate discounting and thereby prevent unintended underpayments to the government.     

Reasonable charges for medical care or services. Department of Veterans Affairs. Interim final rule

This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical regulations concerning "reasonable charges" for medical care or services provided or furnished by VA to a veteran: (1) For a nonservice-connected disability for which the veteran is entitled to care (or the payment of expenses of care) under a health plan contract; (2) For a nonservice-connected disability incurred incident to the veteran's employment and covered under a worker's compensation law or plan that provides reimbursement or indemnification for such care and services; or (3) For a nonservice-connected disability incurred as a result of a motor vehicle accident in a State that requires automobile accident reparations insurance. This document amends the regulations to update databases and other provisions for the purpose of providing more precise charges.     

Special report on patient care. HCFA finally issues patient-dumping regulations

EMTALA has always been an especially worrisome law for providers because its requirements are both sweeping and vague, with potentially drastic penalties for violations. The new regulations remove only some of the law's vagueness. As with previous EMTALA amendments, all United States hospitals, as well as emergency department physicians and other doctors who see patients in the emergency department, should carefully review their internal policies regarding patient ++ transfers in light of the new regulations. For example, hospitals must have an internal policy for following up on suspicious transfers, as failure to detect an inappropriate transfer can now potentially result in a Medicare decertification action. Also, hospitals with specialized services (e.g., burn units or shock-trauma units) should review their policies on receiving transfer patients in light of the greater specificity of the new regulations. Finally, because of the confusing new requirements regarding ambulance services, all hospitals should review their relationships with and policies regarding, ambulance services and ambulance diversion.     

网络服务提供者“转通知”义务的适用研究

网络服务提供者的"转通知"义务,起源于美国《数字千年版权法》创设的"避风港"制度,其价值定位是作为沟通"通知-删除"规则与"反通知-恢复"规则之间的"辅助性措施"。随着网络技术与商业实践的持续更迭,传统"避风港"立法列举的"删除、断开链接"等制止网络侵权的必要措施难有用武之地。鉴于此,我国司法实践率先作出破局实验,将传统的辅助性的"转通知"义务扩展为网络服务提供者必须采取的制止网络侵权的"必要措施"。但是,司法对"转通知"义务的扩展,不仅与我国相关立法违背,而且在制度体系、制度平衡及实施效果等方面存在诸多质疑,不宜继续被采纳。我国《民法典》新规总概性地将"转通知"义务界定为独立于制止网络侵权"必要措施"之外的前置性措施。对此,本文建议,未来除应以《民法典》新规为基础,还应进一步深入明晰其适用的主体范围,扫清其实施的技术障碍,强化其执行的制度保障。     

INFORMATION COSTS AND LEGAL SERVICES

Most of the current debate on the effective provision of legal services ignores the centrality of information costs. It is argued that conventional controls do not address this issue, especially where clients are infrequent users of legal services and the services required are nonroutine. In this segment of the market for legal services there is an "adverse selection" problem that will drive down the quality of legal services. Existing methods of ensuring quality legal services to this segment of the market are unlikely to be effective. It is suggested that only legal agents with incentives and opportunities to acquire information can mitigate the adverse selection problem. The English bifurcation of lawyers into barristers and solicitors partly performs such a function and provides a model for possible innovations in the North American context.