A Week's Worth of Must-Reads

Every once in a blue moon so many good H/HC articles pile up in my Inbox that I can't address all of them in a timely fashion.

So here are a few of this week's (and last week's) best for your edification:

1. Aging Japan Struggles to Rein in Healthcare Costs
(aka The US Outlook in 10 Years)

"Other ageing nations will be watching closely to see how far the heavily indebted
government can rein in costs especially as the number of elderly in Japan creeps up with
projections that 40 percent of the population will be aged 65 and over by 2055."

2. One-Third of US Lacked Health Insurance
(aka The Reason We Need More Organizations Like MEDBANK)
Blogger's Full Disclosure (aka Always Read the Fine Print: I sit on the BOD at Medbank of MD)

"The report found that more than 79 percent of those without insurance were in families in which at least one person had a job, 70.6 percent were themselves employed full-time, and 8.7 percent were employed part-time."

3. Do You Know Where Your Next CEO Is?
(aka Well Punk, Do Ya? Forget Having Two Successors Handpicked - Try 4 Per
Generation...MINIMUM)

If you're having difficulty recruiting administrators/execs/BOD members from outside the industry NOW, imagine the conundrum you'll have 10 years from now when those with the most desirable experience have been promoted to C-level positions at established
organizations before the age of 40...try snapping us up then.

4. 70% of Churches Provide Healthcare Services
(aka Forget Retail Clinics - Churches May Be Your Biggest Competition...and If You Thought JCAHO Was Tough, Just Try Taking on an Active Congregation)

"...churches said that they provided counseling or support groups for mental health or
substance abuse problems, tests for medical conditions such as hypertension and high
cholesterol, flu vaccinations and sponsorship of health clinics for members or the community. In addition, 65% of churches said that they provided health care education
programs, and 51% said that they offered financial assistance for medical bills.."