Federal Statistical Coordination Today: A Disaster or a Disgrace?

Article Abstract:

Paraphrasing a British official that a disgrace is a disaster that is permitted to persist, the author asserts that such is the case existing today in the realm of government statistical coordination. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had eliminated six national statistical programs from federal funding, but a joint congressional economic committee recommended an $18 million restoration move in 1982. In a 1983 Government Accounting Office (GAO) report suggesting implementation of the 1980 Paper Reduction Act, it is noted that four major planning directives were not acted upon by the OMB, including non-evaluation of statistical programs and oversight reviews. Other chief functions of statistical policy outlined in the GAO notice as being responsibilities of the OMB, refer to consideration of statistical standards, principles and guidelines, but these are seen as diminishing and declining agency resources. For efficiency's sake, the federal statistical policy must forego its reliance upon a decentralized system in the areas of health, energy, justice, and the environment. The United States government always has been a leading force worldwide in the field of official statistics, and its integrity, long-range improvements and performance quality should not be allowed to deteriorate and become irrelevant.

Management, Statistics, Administrative agencies, Government agencies, Organization

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Federal Policy Toward Health Care Technology: The Case of the National Center

Article Abstract:

Legislation (Public Law 95-623) created the National Center for Health Care Technology in 1978. It was the only federal program implemented whose sole purpose was to affect the way health care technology is used in the United States. The Center was disbanded in 1981. It's major accomplishments were in collecting and processing information on health care technologies and advising Medicare authorities on which medical procedures merited reimbursement. Competition from the National Institutes of Health and the Office for the Medical Application of Research contributed to the Center's demise. Anti- regulatory sentiments in the Reagan administration and hostile officials in key health posts were also responsible for the Center's termination.

Laws, regulations and rules

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States' Responses to Federal Health Care 'Block Grants': The First Year

Article Abstract:

Federal funding of health care programs has been transferred to the states with the creation of 'block grants'. The transfer of funding authority was accompanied by substantial funding cuts. Case studies of California, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Texas were undertaken to determine what major changes in their health care policies have taken place. Tables showing the consolidation of old health care categories into fewer and more comprehensive new categories are included. The six states studied showed basically no changes in their programs or administrative procedures after receiving the block grants. Reductions in services will occur in the future when further federal budgetary cuts are implemented.

Finance

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