"It's Almost Like Playing 'The Price is Right'": Factors Considered by Online Male Sex Workers When Setting the Price for Their Services.

Some men who have sex with men (MSM) engage in the exchange of sexual services for money, drugs, shelter or something else of value. There has been limited research examining the factors that influence how male sex workers (MSWs) determine their fees for their services. To learn more about this, qualitative interview data were analyzed from 180 MSM from 8 US cities who had recently engaged in exchange sex with clients they had primarily met through dating/hookup websites and apps. The primary factor that affected participants' fees was the type of services provided, with a higher price generally charged for anal sex than for oral sex, mutual masturbation or massage. Condomless anal sex, in particular, commanded a higher fee. Additionally, participants required more money for special kinks or fetishes or any services that they considered to be risky, demanding or physically or emotionally uncomfortable. Other factors that affected how much participants charged for a given encounter included the duration of the meeting, the level of client appeal, the perceived wealth of the client, and the participant's current financial situation. Participants varied in their approaches to fee setting, in terms of both their degree of flexibility when negotiating a price and whether they preferred to suggest a fee or have the client first state an amount they were willing to pay. Information about MSWs' approaches to fee setting provides greater understanding of their lived experiences and the risks they may accept for higher fees.

Trauma Activation Fees Vary Widely Across US Trauma Centers.

Trauma activation fees are intended to help trauma centers cover the costs of providing lifesaving care at all times, but they have fallen under greater scrutiny because of a lack of regulation and wide variability in charges. We leveraged the federal Hospital Price Transparency rule to systematically describe trauma activation fees as captured in the Turquoise Health database for all Level I-III trauma centers nationally and across payer types. As of April 18, 2023, a total of 38 percent of US trauma centers published trauma activation fees. These fees varied widely by payer type. The minimum fee charged was $40 (for a Medicaid contract); the maximum fees charged were $28,356 (self-pay) and $28,893 (commercial payers). Trauma centers that were larger, metropolitan, located in the West, and associated with proprietary (investor-owned, for-profit) hospitals had higher trauma activation fees. Proprietary hospitals posted fees that were 60 percent higher than those published by public, nonfederal hospitals. Unmerited variation in trauma activation fees may suggest that the current funding strategy is equitable neither for trauma centers nor for the severely injured patients who rely on them for lifesaving care.

Sources of specialist physician fee variation: Evidence from Australian health insurance claims data.

This study explores the variation in specialist physician fees and examines whether the variation can be attributed to patient risk factors, variation between physicians, medical specialties, or other factors. We use health insurance claims data from a large private health insurer in Australia. Although Australia has a publicly funded health system that provides universal health coverage, about 44 % of the population holds private health insurance. Specialist physician fees in the private sector are unregulated; physicians can charge any price they want, subject to market forces. We examine the variation in fees using two price measures: total fees charged and out-of- pocket payments. We follow a two-stage method of removing the influence of patient risk factors by computing risk-adjusted prices at patient-level, and aggregating the adjusted prices over all claims made by each physician to arrive at physician-level average prices. In the second stage, we use variance-component models to analyse the variation in the physician-level average prices. We find that patient risk factors account for a small portion of the variance in fees and out-of-pocket payments. Physician-specific variation accounts for the bulk of the vari- ance. The results underscore the importance of understanding physician characteristics in formulating policy efforts to reduce fee variation.

An area-based analysis of general practice fees in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Introduction The pursuit of health care equity is a fundamental objective for Aotearoa New Zealand, and patient co-payments in primary care challenge this goal. Aim This study aimed to investigate the relationship between primary health care co-payments and the sociodemographic variables in areas where general practices provide health care. Methods Using census data, facilities information from the Ministry of Health, and socioeconomic deprivation indices, linear regression models were used to explore the relationship between weighted average fees charged by general practices and various sociodemographic variables in statistical area 2 regions. Results The study finds that areas with higher proportions of males and economically deprived individuals are associated with lower weighted average fees. Conversely, areas with higher proportions of retirement-aged and European individuals are linked with higher weighted average fees. The inclusion of the Very-Low-Cost-Access variable, indicating a subsidy scheme at the general practice level, made all the sociodemographic variables practically insignificant, suggesting Very-Low-Cost-Access practices are in the right geographical location to target high needs groups. Discussion The findings affirm the complexity of health care inequities in Aotearoa New Zealand, influenced not only by financial factors but also by demographic variables as they play out geographically. While subsidy schemes like the Very-Low-Cost-Access scheme appear to reach groups with greater need, a high level of unmet need due to cost suggests that the fees are still too high. Policymakers need to consider disparities in the on-going health care reforms and make further changes to subsidy schemes to reduce unmet need.

Financial barriers to attending international cardiology conferences: 2022-24 analysis of registration fees.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiology conferences represent a major avenue for learning, career advancement, and professional networking. Yet, costs of attending these conferences represent a major barrier, particularly for trainees and participants from low-middle-income countries (LMICs). Our study aimed to analyze the registration fees of major cardiology conferences worldwide. METHODS: We included conferences organized by international cardiovascular societies and those representing global regions. We did not include individual national or institutional conferences due to inability to systematically identify them. We collected 2024 registration fees from official conference websites, taking 2023 or 2022 fees if unavailable, and categorized them according to career stage and society membership status. Where specified, we chose 'early-bird' fees. All fees were converted to US dollars according to currency exchange rates per the International Monetary Fund on December 4, 2023, or if unavailable, per the last reported US Treasury Data. Other data collected included host country, virtual option availability, and LMIC discounts. RESULTS: 30 (65.2 %) conferences provided discounts for medical students, regardless of membership status, while 1 (2.2 %) provided discounts only for student-members. 36 (78.2 %) conferences offered discounts for residents/fellows, while 2 (4.3 %) offered discounts only for resident/fellow-members. Median fees for students and residents/fellows with membership were $255 and $287 (in US dollars), respectively while median fees for non-members were $303.5 and $397, respectively. 31 (67.4 %) conferences provided discounts for staff- members. Median fees for staff were $701 and $800 for members and non-members, respectively. Only 12 (26.1 %) conferences mentioned a virtual component, with 11 offering discounted registration compared with in-person rates. 7 (15.2 %) conferences had special in-person fees for LMIC-based registrants. 5 offered the same discounted rate regardless of training stage, while 2 offered additional discounts for trainees. CONCLUSION: We found that conference registration costs were substantial, including for trainees, with only a minority of conferences providing discounted rates for LMICs. Professional societies must reduce registration costs, potentially by implementing a tiered system based on training stage and country of origin. Further, to augment LMIC participation, dedicated scholarships and mentorship programs for LMIC-based registrants are needed.

Guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits with high-water mark fee structure.

The Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB), an adjunct incorporated within variable annuities, commits to reimbursing the entire initial investment regardless of the performance of the underlying funds. While extensive research exists in financial and actuarial literature regarding the modeling and valuation techniques of GMWBs, much of it is founded on a static fee structure. Our study introduces an innovative fee structure based on the high-water mark (HWM) principle and a regime-switch jump-diffusion model for the pricing of GMWBs, employing numerical solutions through the Monte Carlo method for solving the stochastic differential equation (SDE). Furthermore, a companion piece of research addresses the risk management of GMWBs within the same analytical framework as the pricing component, an aspect that has received limited attention in the existing literature. In assessing the necessary capital reserves for unforeseen losses, our methodology involves the computation of two risk metrics associated with the tail distribution of net liability from the insurer's perspective, Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Conditional-Tail-Expectation (CTE). Comprehensive numerical results and sensitivity analyses are also provided.

Time is money: general practitioners' reflections on the fee-for-service system.

BACKGROUND: Fee-for-service is a common payment model for remunerating general practitioners (GPs) in OECD countries. In Norway, GPs earn two-thirds of their income through fee-for-service, which is determined by the number of consultations and procedures they register as fees. In general, fee-for-service incentivises many and short consultations and is associated with high service provision. GPs act as gatekeepers for various treatments and interventions, such as addictive drugs, antibiotics, referrals, and sickness certification. This study aims to explore GPs' reflections on and perceptions of the fee-for-service system, with a specific focus on its potential impact on gatekeeping decisions. METHODS: We conducted six focus group interviews with 33 GPs in 2022 in Norway. We analysed the data using thematic analysis. RESULTS: We identified three main themes related to GPs' reflections and perceptions of the fee-for-service system. First, the participants were aware of the profitability of different fees and described potential strategies to increase their income, such as having shorter consultations or performing routine procedures on all patients. Second, the participants acknowledged that the fees might influence GP behaviour. Two perspectives on the fees were present in the discussions: fees as incentives and fees as compensation. The participants reported that financial incentives were not directly decisive in gatekeeping decisions, but that rejecting requests required substantially more time compared to granting them. Consequently, time constraints may contribute to GPs' decisions to grant patient requests even when the requests are deemed unreasonable. Last, the participants reported challenges with remembering and interpreting fees, especially complex fees. CONCLUSIONS: GPs are aware of the profitability within the fee-for-service system, believe that fee-for-service may influence their decision-making, and face challenges with remembering and interpreting certain fees. Furthermore, the fee-for-service system can potentially affect GPs' gatekeeping decisions by incentivising shorter consultations, which may result in increased consultations with inadequate time to reject unnecessary treatments.

Enterprise innovation and audit pricing: An evidence study from China's A-share listed companies.

Driven by innovation strategy, Chinese enterprises' innovation investment, and research and development capability have been continuously improved, and the audit risk caused by this has attracted widespread attention from the academic community. This study takes China's A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2021 as samples to empirically test the relationship between innovation input and audit pricing of Chinese enterprises. Research shows that the higher the innovation investment, the higher the audit cost. High-quality corporate governance, sufficient research and development personnel, research and development subsidies, and operating cash flow can all play a negative moderating role. A good innovation environment will weaken the positive influence between innovation input and audit fees. This study theoretically confirms the risk-oriented audit pricing mechanism, which is of great significance for optimizing enterprise innovation risk management and improving audit service levels.

Graphical Association Analysis for Identifying Variation in Provider Claims for Joint Replacement Surgery.

Identifying potentially fraudulent or wasteful medical insurance claims can be difficult due to the large amounts of data and human effort involved. We applied unsupervised machine learning to construct interpretable models which rank variations in medical provider claiming behaviour in the domain of unilateral joint replacement surgery, using data from the Australian Medicare Benefits Schedule. For each of three surgical procedures reference models of claims for each procedure were constructed and compared analytically to models of individual provider claims. Providers were ranked using a score based on fees for typical claims made in addition to those in the reference model. Evaluation of the results indicated that the top-ranked providers were likely to be unusual in their claiming patterns, with typical claims from outlying providers adding up to 192% to the cost of a procedure. The method is efficient, generalizable to other procedures and, being interpretable, integrates well into existing workflows.

International accounting network memberships and audit fees: Evidence from China.

This paper investigates the international accounting network memberships' impact on audit fees. We find that, firstly, the audit fees charged by the member audit firms are significantly higher; secondly, if the revenue, ranking or audit and accounting business share of the international network the audit firm join is higher, the charge is also higher. Additional results show that economic policy uncertainty will intensify this positive relationship, and member audit firms charge higher fees by improving their overseas expertise. We also find that international network memberships will reduce abnormal audit fees, and improve the quality of financial reports.

Physician responses to insurance benefit restrictions: The case of ophthalmology.

This study examines the impact of social insurance benefit restrictions on physician behaviour, using ophthalmologists as a case study. We examine whether ophthalmologists use their market power to alter their fees and rebates across services to compensate for potential policy-induced income losses. The results show that ophthalmologists substantially reduced their fees and rebates for services directly targeted by the benefit restriction compared to other medical specialists' fees and rebates. There is also some evidence that they increased their fees for services that were not targeted. High-fee charging ophthalmologists exhibited larger fee and rebate responses while the low-fee charging group raise their rebates to match the reference price provided by the policy environment.

Going the extra mile? General practitioners' upcoding of fees for home visits.

General practitioners' (GPs') income often relies on self-reported activities and performances. They can therefore 'game the system' to maximize their remuneration. We investigate whether Danish GPs game their travel fees for home visits. Combining administrative and geographical data, we measure the difference between GPs' traveled and billed distances. We exploit a rise in the fees for home visits. If there is a link between the rise in fees and upcoding, we interpret this finding as indicative of gaming behavior. We find that upcoding occurs slightly more often than downcoding (16% vs. 13% of visits) for visits that can be both upcoded and downcoded. Using linear probability models with GP fixed effects, we find that the fee rise is associated with a reduction in upcoding of 0.6% of home visits (2.8% for visits where upcoding is feasible) and no change in downcoding. Importantly, we find no statistically significant differences in the reduction in upcoding across distance bands despite large differences in their fee rises. We therefore conclude that there is no causal evidence of GPs gaming their fees.

Pratiques de prise en charge de l'hypertension artérielle au Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire d' Abomey-Calavi au Bénin / NA

L'hypertension artérielle est une maladie à forte progression reste un problème de santé publique. Mais, les pratiques de sa prise en charge se heurtent à différents obstacles. Cette recherche questionne les problèmes qui caractérisent les pratiques de prise en charge de l'hypertension artérielle au Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire d'Abomey-Calavi au Bénin. Pour y parvenir, nous avons opté pour une analyse basée sur les méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives. L'échantillon est constitué de 130 personnes enquêtées. De l'analyse des résultats collectés, des difficultés éprouvées entre patients et agents de santé dans la prise en charge de l'hypertension artérielle, se caractérise par le manque de relation soignant-soigné. De même, 90% des enquêtés estiment avoir peu de ressources humaines qualifiées et du faible pouvoir d'achat des patients pour faire face aux coûts élevés du traitement de l'hypertension (86,75%). Ainsi, le manque de plateau technique et les frais de consultations spécialisées posent problèmes y compris les suivis de l'éducation hygiéno-diététique. Cet état de fait compromet les pratiques de prise en charge et les formations globales que le système soin est supposé assurer aux usagers qui le fréquentent. Ces résultats suggèrent l'urgence de formations pour le renforcement des capacités pour repérer la précarité et la réorganisation des mesures de prise en charge de l' hypertension artérielle dans le périmètre sanitaire béninois.

Arterial hypertension remains a rapidly growing public health problem. However, management practices face a number of obstacles. This research questions the problems that characterize arterial hypertension management practices at the Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire d'Abomey-Calavi in Benin. To achieve this, we opted for an analysis based on quantitative and qualitative methods. The sample consisted of 130 respondents. From the analysis of the results collected, of the difficulties experienced between patients and health workers in the management of arterial hypertension, most of those surveyed claimed to have a complexity that characterizes the training of health workers. Similarly, 90% of respondents felt that they had few non-cardiologist practitioners, and that patients had little purchasing power to meet the high costs of treating hypertension (86.75%). As a result, the cost of specialized consultations and complementary examinations poses a problem, including follow-up health and diet education. This state of affairs compromises management practices and the comprehensive training that the healthcare system is supposed to provide for its users. These results suggest the urgent need for training to identify precariousness, and the reorganization of hypertension management measures within the Beninese health perimeter.

Etude du paiement électronique des agents de santé: cas de la campagne de vaccination contre la rougeole et la rubéole en Côte d'Ivoire / NA

La motivation des agents de santé à travers le paiement à temps et complet constitue l'un des éléments clés pour atteindre de bonne couverture vaccinale. Notre objectif était de décrire le paiement électronique utilisé lors de la campagne rubéole-rougeole et d'apprécier la satisfaction du personnel de santé. Nous avons réalisé une étude transversale à visée analytique qui s'est déroulée en Côte d'Ivoire du 15 janvier au 18 février 2019. La population d'étude était constituée des acteurs impliqués à la fois dans la campagne de vaccination contre la rougeole- rubéole en 2018 et dans le paiement électronique. Une recherche documentaire et des entretiens structurés ont permis le recueil des données. Les données ont été analysées à partir du logiciel R studio© version 2021. Le système assurant le paiement électronique se composait des autorités sanitaires, d'un opérateur privé de téléphonie mobile, d'un partenaire technique et financier et des agents de santé bénéficiaires. Un système de critères d'identification, des listes de validation et de vérification à plusieurs niveaux de la pyramide sanitaire a été mis en place. Un peu moins de trois quarts des acteurs du niveau primaire ont été satisfaits par ce mode de paiement. Le paiement électronique constitue un procédé pour améliorer le paiement des agents de santé durant les campagnes de vaccination. Des leçons d'un tel système de paiement devraient être tirées pour un déploiement à grande échelle.

Motivating healthcare workers through timely and complete payment is one of the key elements to achieve high vaccination coverage. Our objective was to describe the use of electronic payment during the measles-rubella campaign and assess the satisfaction of healthcare personnel. We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study in Côte d'Ivoire from January 15 to February 18, 2019. The study population consisted of individuals involved in both the measles-rubella vaccination campaign in 2018 and electronic payment. Data collection was done through documentary research and structured interviews. The data were analyzed using R Studio© software version 2021. The electronic payment system involved health authorities, a private mobile network operator, a technical and financial partner, and the beneficiary healthcare workers. A system of criteria for identifying lists, validation, and multilevel verification within the healthcare pyramid was established. Just under three-quarters of primarylevel actors were satisfied with this payment method. Electronic payment presents an opportunity to improve healthcare worker payment during vaccination campaigns. Lessons from such a payment system should be drawn for large-scale deployment.

BVA backs profession over fees, but says transparency is key.

As the profession gathered for London Vet Show, another media article (see box) unfairly characterising vets as prioritising profit over welfare landed. We know this is deeply frustrating for vet teams working tirelessly to deliver the very best care for their patients.

How a "Smart regulatory" platform can improve the property fee adjustment dilemma.

In the current process of social and economic development, the cost of living and property management is continuously increasing. In order to maintain the normal operation of property management and provide high-quality services, it is necessary to adjust the property fees reasonably. If the property fees cannot be adjusted for a long time, it will have a detrimental impact on the development of the community. However, the traditional regulatory model has failed to accurately define the quality of property services, leading to information asymmetry and a lack of trust between the two parties, resulting in a deadlock in property fee adjustments. With the rise of intelligent management, a new direction for property fee adjustments has been provided. This article first analyzes the pricing dilemma under traditional regulation through game theory. Then, based on the theory of "Smart regulatory", it proposes the idea of constructing a "Smart regulatory" platform and explores the feasibility of this model using game theory and Matlab simulations. The study found that the "Smart regulatory" platform can resolve information asymmetry and encourage both parties to cooperate in the game. After the establishment of the platform, property fee adjustments are influenced by government supervision, government penalties, and the magnitude of property fee increase.