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House of Representatives passes the Self Drive Act
 On Wednesday, the House of Representatives did something that’s woefully uncommon these days: It passed a bill with bipartisan support. The bill, called the SELF DRIVE Act, lays out a basic federal framework for autonomous vehicle regulation, signaling that federal lawmakers are finally ready to think seriously about self-driving cars and what they mean for the future of the country.

“With this legislation, innovation can flourish without the heavy hand of government,” said Representative Bob Latta, the Ohio Republican who heads up the Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, in a floor speech just before the SELF DRIVE Act passed by a two-thirds majority. (And no, I’m not shouting at you—it’s an acronym, for Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution.) The Senate will need to pass its own bill before the legislative framework can become law.

This seems like a good time for Congress to step in, and the famously regulation-averse tech industry has actually welcomed the legislative clarification. Self-driving vehicles have been testing on public roads since 2010, when Google hit the streets near Mountain View, California. And in the absence of congressional oversight, states have stepped in to regulate them, creating a patchwork of at least 21 different state laws and guidelines with different purposes, definitions, and priorities. This is a serious pain for the growing self-driving industry, which aspires to build cars permitted on all public roads.

The industry wants the flexibility to experiment, and it says there’s a lot at stake. This came up in every congressional floor speech on Wednesday: Nearly 40,000 people died on American roads in 2016, and the National Highway Traffic Administration says 94 percent of fatal crashes can be attributed to human error. Let’s get rid of the human, and quick, goes the logic.

But the robocar industry also argues that it’s way too early for Congress to demand strict, particular rules for the vehicles. Companies certainly aren’t selling these vehicles to the public yet, and even the largest AV player, Google’s self-driving spinoff Waymo, only has about 100 Chrysler Pacifica minivans on the road (though that number is growing). In other words: There aren’t that many of these vehicles to regulate, and companies are still figuring out how they should work.

Lawmakers, for their part, hope the legislation strikes a balance between allowing tech and car companies to test whatever, wherever, and giving them enough leeway to try stuff out, collect some data, and determine the best way to operate vehicles without a driver.

“We need to give Congress credit for being both strategic and specific,” says Mark Rosekind, who headed up the National Traffic Safety Administration during the Obama administration and now oversees safety at the self-driving startup Zoox.

So what’s in the bill? And what’s next? Strap on your seatbelt, and say hello to the robot at the wheel:

One Reg to Rule Them All

First, the legislation works out a way for the federal government’s rules to trump state laws and rules. It officially gives the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration power to regulate vehicle design, construction, and performance—the way it does with, well, normal cars. States still have authority over vehicle registration and licensing, but they’ll have a harder time making demands about what goes on inside the car.

Now that NHTSA officially has the power to regulate these things, the legislation gives it a set of deadlines. It has 24 months to come up with rules about what automakers need to submit to the agency to certify they're serious about safety. And it has a year to figure out what features of a self-driving car will need performance standards. How will you know that a car’s sensor configuration—the combination of lasers and cameras that help it “see”—is safe? What about its cybersecurity fail-safes? Or the way it ensures there’s a passenger in the car before taking off? Quoth NHTSA: TBD.

Privacy

Second, the legislation requires autonomous vehicle manufacturers be deliberate about the way they share their passengers’ data. Think about how much a self-driving car company could know about you: where you work, where you live, where you drop your kid off each morning, that you used to go to the gym a lot but stopped about five months ago. Some companies would like to customize these self-driving things to your driving style or preferred nondriving activity. Maybe you like a cautious approach, or to watch a certain kind of show while rocketing toward work. Consumers will probably want that info protected.

Under this bill, these companies must have “privacy plans” describing how they'll collect, use, and store data. They’ll also have to lay out how customers will be informed about what’s happening to their data and what they can do if they don’t want it shared with anyone.

Exemptions

Finally, the legislation makes it a lot easier for self-driving cars to hit the road. Today, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS, for those who are hip with it) govern how vehicles are designed. And because humans drive the vast majority of cars today, the standards are created with humans in mind. Steering wheels are necessary, as are brake pedals. But a car driven by a computer wouldn’t have those features—in fact, allowing humans to intervene by grabbing the wheel could be dangerous.

Today NHTSA has the power to grant 2,500 FMVSS exemptions each year. This legislation will gradually up that number—by a lot. In year one, the federal agency could grant up to 25,000 exemptions; by year two, 50,000; and by years three and four, 100,000. Meaning: More self-driving cars testing on public roads. It’s about to get much more robot-y up in here.

What’s Next?

Well, this is just the first half of this process. Now the Senate has to pass its own bill. Then both houses will work together to come up with compromise legislation that the president can sign. Perhaps easier said than done: A top Senate Democrat told Politico that “there are a number of differences” between the Senate’s draft and what the House just passed.

And then the biggest job of all: NHTSA will need to implement the thing. If the bill passes in its current state, the Department of Transportation and the transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, will have to hit a bunch of deadlines: They have two years to come up with exactly what companies must do to get certified. They’ll have 18 months to kick off the rule-making process for privacy. They have to issue those FMVSS exemptions. And they’ll have to withstand pressure from a bunch of bickering car and tech companies to do it. It’s a big job for a department that doesn’t yet have a nominee for NHTSA administrator—but the future's coming at it, fast.

1UPDATE 6:46 PM ET 9/6/2017: This story has been updated to clarify the legislative process.

Output: The United States's House of Representatives passed the Self Drive Act on 6 September, laying out the basic federal framework for regulating autonomous vehicles. The legislation gives the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rather than states the right to regulate the design, construction and performance of autonomous vehicles. The bill also places limits on self-driving vehicle manufacturers' use of customers' data, requiring the companies to accept "privacy plans". Autonomous vehicles must also have anti-hacking software to prevent them being used in terrorist attacks. The Senate will need to pass its own bill before the framework can become law.


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House of Representatives passes the Self Drive Act
 Self-driving vehicles will need to be equipped with cybersecurity technology to prevent them from being used in terrorist attacks, according to legislation passed by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.

With substantial bipartisan support in a voice vote, the House approved the so-called Self Drive Act, which seeks to speed the introduction of self-driving vehicles on US roads by streamlining the regulatory process.

A new law does not appear to be imminent, however, as corresponding legislation is yet to be introduced in the Senate.

Recent terror attacks in Charlottesville,, London, Nice and elsewhere have involved vehicles being driven into crowds.

Under the House bill, self-driving or autonomous vehicles would need to be equipped with defenses against hacking, “unauthorized intrusions and false and spurious messages or vehicle control commands”.

“I am pleased that proper cybersecurity protections are in place in this bill … to prevent and tackle potential hacks and/or terrorism,” said Yvette Clarke, a Democrat from New York, in a floor speech.

Proponents of autonomous vehicles say they will reduce highway deaths, provide greater mobility for seniors and disabled people and cut fuel consumption.

Critics point out that truck driving is one of the most common occupations in the US. According to a May report from Goldman Sachs Economics Research, an estimated 300,000 driving jobs could be lost each year to self-driving technology.

The House bill asserts federal regulatory authority over “highly automated vehicles” and limits state-by-state oversight. Preventing a patchwork of state regulations from cropping up before mass production of self-driving vehicles gets under way will help the market for the vehicles take hold, industry observers say.

Consumer advocates have expressed concern about constraining the states.

“The main concern is that it does away with the states’ ability to have any safety standards in place,” John Simpson, spokesman for the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, told the Mercury News. “All we’ve gotten is some loose guidance.”

Safety on US highways under current rules is poor and deteriorating. Deaths in motor vehicle accidents in 2016 rose by 6% to 40,200, according to National Safety Council estimates.

The legislation also requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to “identify elements that may require performance standards” including “human-machine interface, sensors, and actuators”.

The conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute has criticized the bill, saying that the NHTSA is not equipped to write and enforce cybersecurity standards.

Output: The United States's House of Representatives passed the Self Drive Act on 6 September, laying out the basic federal framework for regulating autonomous vehicles. The legislation gives the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rather than states the right to regulate the design, construction and performance of autonomous vehicles. The bill also places limits on self-driving vehicle manufacturers' use of customers' data, requiring the companies to accept "privacy plans". Autonomous vehicles must also have anti-hacking software to prevent them being used in terrorist attacks. The Senate will need to pass its own bill before the framework can become law.


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Licensed-via-acquisition? Taxify's ride hail under scrutiny in UK
 Uber rival Taxify is being investigated by Transport for London TfL says Taxify doesn't have a licence. Taxify agrees, but says it bought a company that does.

Unlike other world cities, London is a pretty supportive place when it comes to transport innovation. Transport for London (TfL) has attempted to keep the peace as traditional taxi companies battle it out with private hire challengers like Uber, imposing new rules that ensure service levels remain high no matter what vehicle members of the public choose to ride in.

Earlier this week, Uber's London division found itself in new company thanks to Taxify, a private hire firm that has already made waves across Europe. It promised lower fares and higher payments for drivers, but its arrival has been marred by controversy. City A.M reports that TfL is now "urgently investigating" Taxify because it isn't a "licensed private hire operator" and could be operating in London without the necessary clearance.

As it stands, Taxify doesn't have direct approval from TfL. However, it has navigated around the issue by purchasing City Drive Services, a private hire service that already operates in London and has its own licence until 2019. Taxify says it provides its "app-based booking service" to City Drive Services, which "legally" owns the contracts with drivers, according to Taxify CEO Markus Villig.

Taxify's driver terms clearly state that City Drive Services trades under the Taxify name. They also state that the Taxify platform "enables users to compare, select from and/or reserve vehicular transportation directly from and with a variety of participating suppliers."

Wired reports that union representatives aren't happy about the arrangement, either. In a letter to Transport for London and London's deputy mayor for transport, GMB secretary Steve Garelick said that Taxify's decision to acquire its way into London and not advise TfL of a change to licencing conditions appeared "incompatible with the law" and questioned whether the startup was "fit and proper" to hold a licence in the capital.

TfL's investigation comes shortly after it reissued licences for Uber and Addison Lee to continue their operations. In the past, the authority has issued five year extensions but this time cut them to six months as it mulls over whether to increase licencing costs in order to cover the increasing amount of resources it needs to regulate private hire companies. That won't be good news for Daimler and US ride-hailing company Via, which are set to launch a city-wide shuttle service later this year.

Output: Taxify, which has recently launched its app-based minicab service in London, is facing investigation from the city's transport authority. Transport for London (TfL) has not approved a licence for the company, which is competing with Uber across European cities. Instead, Taxify has acquired an existing licensed minicab company, which now trades under the Taxify brand. Union leaders have complained about the arrangement, which they say is in breach of the law. TfL recently renewed licences for Uber and Addison Lee to operate in the city, but reduced their terms from five years to just six months.


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Tunisian solar project aims to power millions of European homes
 An enormous solar park in the Sahara could soon be exporting electricity to Europe if Tunisia’s government approves an energy company’s request to build it.

The 4.5GW mega-project planned by TuNur would pipe electricity to Malta, Italy and France using submarine cables in the grandest energy export project since the abandoned Desertec initiative.

Kevin Sara, TuNur’s chief executive said: “If European governments take the Paris accord seriously and want to meet the less than two degrees target for global warming, we need to start importing renewables.”

“60% of Europe’s primary energy is currently imported from Russia or the Middle East. Does the EU really want to be investing in infrastructure that lasts 50 years but which just enables more fossil fuel use?”

The EU is already considering awarding priority status to an underwater cable linking Tunisia with Italy, and TuNur expects construction work on a €5bn plant to begin by 2019 in southwest Tunisia.

“We would target delivering power to the European grid via Malta by 2021,” Sara said. The following year, the first of two cables to Italy could be laid, with a French connection up and running by 2024, he added.

The resulting solar complex would sprawl over an area three times the size of Manhattan, harnessing the power of the Saharan sun with several towers up to 200m tall.

Hundreds of thousands of parabolic mirrors would reflect sunlight onto these towers, heating molten salts within them that would in turn broil water, generating enough steam to power turbines that could electrify 2m European homes.

Map of the planned TuNur solar project. Photograph: Handout TuNur

Up to 20,000 jobs could be created by the private sector initiative, which unites the London-based solar developer Nur Energie with Tunisian and Maltese developers.

But Chafik Ben Rouine, a spokesman for the Tunisian Economic Observatory, questioned whether the mega-project’s gold would match its glitter.

“Our biggest concern is with TuNur’s credibility as their website says they only have experience with two small solar projects,” he said. “We have big concerns about their capacity to deliver this project and their financial ability to leverage it.”

Four years ago, the €400bn Desertec initiative imploded, leaving dreams of a Saharan power battery for Europe in the dust – and a lasting regional wariness.

“It seems that a familiar ‘colonial’ scheme is being rolled out in front of our eyes,” said Hamza Hamouchene, War on Want’s North Africa and West Asia officer.

“Projects like TuNur deny local people control and access to their land, rob them of resources and concentrate the value created in the hands of domestic and foreign predatory elites and private companies.”

TuNur says that it agreed to lease the project’s land from a local tribe which remains “extremely positive” about the project.

Water usage will be restricted to wastewater from a local date tree plantation that would not otherwise be recycled, Sara said. The company also remains willing to supply electricity within Tunisia, which is itself facing power shortages.

Output: A huge new solar energy park in the Sahara Desert could provide electricity to mainland Europe by 2022 if it is given approval by the Tunisian government. The project is being proposed by TuNur, a company owned jointly by UK-based solar power developer Nur Energie and investors in Tunisia and Malta. It would generate 4.5 GW of electricity from a solar thermal plant three times the size of Manhattan and channel the electricity via undersea cables to Malta, Italy and France. TuNur expects construction work to begin on the €5bn ($6bn) project in 2019, which will create around 20,000 jobs.


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My physician isn’t in my Medicare Advantage network. What can I do?
 Editor’s Note: Journalist Philip Moeller is here to provide the answers you need on aging and retirement. His weekly column, “Ask Phil,” aims to help older Americans and their families by answering their health care and financial questions. Phil is the author of the new book, “Get What’s Yours for Medicare,” and co-author of “Get What’s Yours: The Revised Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security.” Send your questions to Phil.

Karen: I recently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, partly because a physician that is part of a university-affiliated practice was listed in the network directory. I was a patient of a doctor in the university practice who is not in the network, but I wished to stay in the university practice for continuity of care. The day my coverage began, I attempted to make an appointment with the physician, but was told by the insurance billing office that none of the physicians in their office is in the network! I spoke with a customer service representative from the MA plan and explained the inaccurate, discrepant information in its online directory. When I inquired about disenrolling, I was told I would have to write a letter with my reasons and, further, that if I switched coverage to another plan, I would have to pay a penalty for a lapse in my Part D drug coverage.

I do not trust the information I am receiving. Is this information accurate? How do I avoid penalties? How do I avoid a lapse in coverage? I don’t want to pay out-of-network charges to continue seeing a physician in the university practice. Is this grounds for changing to another MA plan? It seems unfair that when you enroll in an MA plan you can face a penalty or even lack of any insurance due to the plan’s mistakes.

READ MORE: How do I get the Medicare coverage I want with the lowest out-of-pocket cost?

Phil Moeller: Karen’s letter describes the kind of problem that has given MA plans a bad public image. The plans are increasingly popular, and now serve a third of all Medicare enrollees. They often provide more complete coverage than basic Medicare and usually cost less than having basic Medicare, a stand-alone Part D drug plan, and a Medigap supplemental plan.

The accuracy of provider directories has been a problem for some Medicare Advantage plans. They have been criticized for this problem and are taking steps to improve the directories.

A goodly amount of their cost savings stems from their requirement that plan members use doctors and hospitals in their provider networks. Here, the accuracy of provider directories has been a problem for some Medicare Advantage plans. They have been criticized for this problem and are taking steps to improve the completeness and accuracy of the directories. Unfortunately, it’s very hard if not impossible for consumers to know ahead of time which plan networks are likely to be inaccurate. For that reason, I urge people to call their preferred health care providers ahead of time, and ask them if they are in a plan’s network.

As to your exposure to late-enrollment penalties, I don’t have enough information from you about the timing of your application for the MA plan to be able to comment with certainty on whether the MA plan was justified in what it told you.

If your enrollment in Medicare was the result of you turning 65, your initial enrollment period should have been seven months, including the three months before your birthday, your birthday month, and three months after your birthday. If your enrollment was the result of leaving a job after you had turned 65, you should qualify for a special enrollment period lasting eight months after the end date of your employer health coverage.

I mention this because your window for getting a Part D drug plan might still not have closed, meaning you would not face late-enrollment penalties if you could get a new Part D plan before your enrollment period ended. Part D penalties begin kicking in once your enrollment windows are closed and you’ve gone 63 days without Part D coverage. So, even if your enrollment window has closed, disenrolling from your current Part D plan might not trigger a late-enrollment penalty if you can obtain new coverage within 63 days of disenrolling. Of course, I don’t know if any of this is relevant to your situation.

This still leaves you with the broader issue of how to hold the plan accountable for misrepresenting the information in its provider directory. In the pro-consumer world I wished we all lived in, this would be a snap. In the real world, it is anything but that. Plans have a lot of leeway in avoiding accountability for these kinds of decisions. I’ll get to possible remedies in a moment.

If seems to me that your first order of business is to find a better package of Medicare coverage. This would include finding a stand-alone Part D drug plan that will take effect quickly and thus allow you to avoid the late-enrollment penalty. The penalty, by the way, is only 1 percent a month tacked on to your Part D premium. So, it’s not a lot of money. But it lasts the rest of your life and would be nice to avoid.

I would also call Medicare (1-800-MEDICARE) and find out how quickly your basic Medicare coverage would kick in, and thus how soon you could see your preferred doctors and be covered. Get ready for some frustration here, as it can take a while for this coverage to take effect.

In the interim, you may face the unpleasant choice of either paying out-of-network rates or going without care.

Once you’ve attended to these needs, you can explore remedies for your plan’s mistakes. I work with several nonprofits that provide consumer Medicare advice, and might be able to work with you to redress the problems you’ve encountered. The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is often the first place to go, although it is more focused on explaining how Medicare works than dealing with private insurance companies. The other two are the Medicare Rights Center and the Center for Medicare Advocacy.

Please let me know how things go. If you discover an effective way to deal with the errors in your plan’s provider directory, I’d like to share that knowledge with other readers.

Deborah: I know that parents can get Social Security benefits for their children in certain situations. But what about grandparents? My husband and I are raising our grandson because his mother and father have abandoned him. He is 8 years old and has only seen his father maybe three times, and I think that was around 2012. He doesn’t call or write him. His mother lives in the same town as us, a tiny town of about 300 people. But everyone else comes before her own son. Ultimately, we would like to adopt him but we don’t have the money to do so right now.

Phil Moeller: I am so sorry you and your grandson are having to go through this. If you can demonstrate that your grandson is living with you and that you are his primary caretaker and pay for his needs, he should qualify to file for benefits based on one of your earnings records, presumably that of the higher earner. In order for him to file, the person on whose earnings record he is claiming must already have filed for their own retirement benefit. I suggest you call Social Security and find out specific requirements to establish your eligibility for benefits for your grandson. You and your husband also should determine the best Social Security filing strategy – one that reflects your longer-term needs as well as those of your grandson. If you run into any obstacles, please let me know.

Bob – Ga.: I’m unclear on the dental work that Medicare covers. We are retired and have traditional Medicare and a letter F Medigap policy. We have believed that we could easily pay out of pocket for what we consider routine dental work such as regular cleanings and fillings, so we did not get dental insurance when we retired. Recently my dentist became concerned about a precancerous spot on my tongue. Suppose I need surgery to remove a benign growth on my tongue or for oral cancer? Would that be covered by Medicare? I know the work must be done by someone who accepts Medicare. But does it matter whether a dentist or physician performs the surgery? Or where the surgery is done? In general, what diseases of or injuries to the mouth/teeth/jaw area would not be covered?

Phil Moeller: You are correct that Medicare does not cover routine dental care. Further, while Medicare generally does cover medically necessary care, this is not always the case with dental work. So, I would urge you to work carefully with your health care providers to get prior approval for any indicated procedures before proceeding.

I wish I could give you a nice and neat list of what “dental” diseases or injuries Medicare does not cover, but its explanation of what is covered is hardly a model of clarity.

I wish I could give you a nice and neat list of what “dental” diseases or injuries Medicare does not cover, but its explanation of what is covered is hardly a model of clarity. The agency does have an online form to ask if a procedure is covered. I did not find it useful but perhaps you will have better luck.

It should not make a difference whether a procedure is done by a DDS or MD, but, as you note, you need to make sure the surgeon accepts Medicare rates for his or her work. You also should make sure the facility where the procedure is performed accepts Medicare, and that any doctors assisting your own do as well.

If Medicare does cover a procedure, your Medigap plan should operate normally, paying for covered expenses that weren’t fully paid by your basic Medicare.

Michael – Calif.: I’m retired military and married. We currently have Tricare Prime, and will not turn 65 until 2019. When we do, will we need to apply for Medicare and pay for both Tricare Prime and Medicare? Also, will my wife qualify for free Part A benefits under my Social Security number? The last thing, do we both have to pay for Medicare Part B, or is it a family thing? We are just starting to plan ahead, and don’t understand Medicare.

Phil Moeller: When you turn 65, your Tricare Prime will convert to Tricare for Life, which requires you to get Part B of Medicare. The good news for you is that Tricare does a better job than Medicare of explaining how it works! The bad news is that Part B premiums are $134 a month, and there is no Medicare family plan, so each of you will have to pay. If your wife does not qualify on her own work record for premium-free Part A, she does qualify on yours.

READ MORE: Social Security says I owe money for Medicare coverage I didn’t get. How do I appeal?

Lastly, even if your wife does not qualify for her own Social Security benefits, she can file for a spousal benefit on your record. She can collect up to half of the benefit you would have been entitled to at your full retirement age, even though you filed for retirement earlier than this and received what’s called a reduced benefit. She will get her maximum spousal benefit if she waits until 66 to file for it, which will be her full retirement age.

Output: I recently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, partly because a physician that is part of a university-affiliated practice was listed in the network directory. I was a patient of a doctor in the university practice who is not in the network, but I wished to stay in the university practice for continuity of care.


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Private payments for hospital care in Indiana are high relative to Medicare, study finds
 The prices that large employers pay for hospital care in Indiana are high relative to national norms and are increasing over time relative to the prices that Medicare pays for the same services, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

The price of hospital care varied widely among groups of hospitals and hospital systems, ranging from less than two times the rate Medicare pays for the same services to more than 3.5 times what Medicare pays, according to the analysis. The state's largest hospital systems generally command the highest prices.

The study found the prices paid for hospital outpatient care in Indiana averaged 3.5 times what Medicare would have paid for the same services. Although there are no studies that benchmark the cost of such care nationally, other research has suggested that Indiana has high outpatient hospital costs.

"The prices that employer-sponsored health plans pay for hospital services in Indiana are unreasonably high, especially for outpatient services," said Chapin White, the study's author and a senior policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "With this information, employers can develop strategies over the next several years to gradually rein in the high prices they pay for hospital services."

While previous studies have examined the relative cost of hospital care, the RAND study is the first to include details about the prices paid to individual hospitals and health systems rather than reporting results in an aggregated or blinded fashion.

RAND was asked by the Employers' Forum of Indiana to analyze insurance claims data to provide insight into the prices employers pay to hospitals. The goal was to provide information to help employers become better-informed purchasers of health care and stronger advocates on behalf of their employees.

Despite spending more than half a billion dollars on hospital care over a three-year period, the employers that participated in the study previously had only limited information about the prices they pay hospitals for their workers' health care, limiting their ability to negotiate lower prices.

The RAND study calculated the average prices paid for hospital services in Indiana by analyzing insurance claims data provided by a group of employers that chose to participate in the study. Participating employers provide coverage to 225,000 people, representing about 7 percent of the Indiana population with employer-sponsored health coverage. The study is based on claims for services provided from July 2013 through June 2016.

The study includes details about the payments to hospitals and hospital systems relative to the payments made by Medicare for the same services. Parkview Health system had the highest prices at 3.7 times the rate paid by Medicare, with Deaconess Health System at the low end with prices at 1.2 times the Medicare rate.

The overall average price for inpatient hospital care in Indiana was 2.17 times the Medicare rate. A recent study using national data on payments for inpatient hospital care found the average price paid by private plans was 1.75 times the Medicare rate.

The RAND study found that the relative price of hospital care in Indiana rose over the three-year study period, with particularly steep increases for two hospital systems—Parkview Health and Community Health Network.

"By itself, increased price transparency will not bring down prices, but it can enable employers and other purchasers to change their health benefit design in ways that reduce costs," White said.

The report suggests two approaches that employers in Indiana can take to reduce the amount they pay for services at the state's hospitals.

One would be to move away from agreements where employers pay a discount of the charges billed by hospitals. Paying hospitals discounted charges encourages hospitals to aggressively inflate charges, according to the report. A better approach is to contract with hospitals to pay a prospectively determined amount for each procedure, which could be accomplished by paying a fixed multiple of the prices set by Medicare.

A second approach might be to use benefit design to move patients away from high-priced hospitals and health systems to lower-priced providers.

"Employers play a key role in the U.S. health care system, but to be smart shoppers they need solid information on the care they are buying and the prices they are paying," White said. "Alternative payment models, like shared savings or bundling, get a lot of attention. But this study shows that we also need to focus on the basics, and do more to rationalize prices in existing fee-for-service payment systems."

Output: The prices that large employers pay for hospital care in Indiana are high relative to national norms and are increasing over time relative to the prices that Medicare pays for the same services, according to a new RAND Corporation study.


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Vital Health Officials You’ve Never Heard Of: Insurance Commissioners In The Hot Seat
 With insurance premiums rising and national efforts at health reform in turmoil, a group of 50 state bureaucrats whom many voters probably can’t name have considerable power over consumers’ health plans: state insurance commissioners.

As insurers threaten to exit state markets and voters at town halls complain about unaffordable prices, the state commissioners are central characters in the unfolding drama that is America’s health coverage.

“What’s the worst job to have right now? Insurance commissioner,” said Christopher Koller, a former commissioner from Rhode Island who is president of the Milbank Memorial Fund, a foundation that works to improve health. “They’re trying to keep the market stable.”

Most are wrestling with how to take on this task amid ongoing political rancor over the fate of the Affordable Care Act. Several commissioners are slated to testify Wednesday before the Senate health committee to talk about market stability and how to ensure patients have affordable health care.

The political debate highlights the role of this crew of wonk-ish administrators who sometimes preside over underfunded, understaffed offices and whose range of duties usually spans well beyond health care and its myriad complexities.

In all but one state, the commissioner regulates all types of insurance, and in several he or she might hold other jobs — such as lieutenant governor (Ohio), state auditor (Montana) and fire marshal (Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia).

Most commissioners have the authority to reject premiums or modify rates they deem excessive. They also have the power of their bully pulpit. Though California Commissioner Dave Jones, for example, lacks the statutory muscle to override insurers’ rate increases, he often uses his position to publicly call out insurers’ premium hikes.

But critics worry that in some states the position is a revolving door with industry, moving them to do less than they could.

“It a double-edged sword,” said Sabrina Corlette, research professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. “Knowledge of industry … is very important in the job. [But] … if someone is coming from and going back to industry, it does raise some red flags about where their interests really lie.”

Sometimes a past résumé draws increased public scrutiny of a regulator’s actions on issues under the department’s purview.

Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade, who was a Cigna executive before being named commissioner, was fined $500 in June after the state’s Freedom of Information Commission ruled that she improperly withheld documents related to a proposed merger between Aetna and Humana. She is appealing the ruling, her office said, seeking clarity on what they see as a conflict between insurance laws, which require confidentiality for some information, and the freedom of information statutes. The proposed merger was called off in February after a federal court blocked the deal, but not before a state review of Connecticut-based Aetna’s plan drew criticism because of Wade’s past employment.

Eleven commissioners are elected and the remainder are appointed and — as such — face new political pressures in a highly partisan health care debate.

When Julie Mix McPeak, commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of Commerce and Insurance, persuaded Blue Shield to return to areas of the state that it had pulled out of last year, she recalled: “Some critics said I was going out of my way to prop up Obamacare. Others said I wasn’t doing enough because I’m from a red state and that must mean we want Obamacare to fail. But I just want access to coverage.”

Historically, insurance commissioners have stayed out of political battles, said Tim Jost, emeritus professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law who also serves as a consumer advocate with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). They see “themselves as civil servants more than politicians,” he said.

But, he added, “at least for the moment, it’s more politicized than it has been in the past.”

The individual insurance market, where about 17 million people purchase their own plans because they don’t get it through their jobs, is the focus for much of this drama.

GOP repeal-and-replace talking points have hammered a message that the individual market — including these government exchanges — are imploding. But Democrats counter that though they face difficulties, this is not the case. The insurance commissioners are caught in the middle and have the power to make either narrative come true.

Many had to scramble this summer — negotiating, offering incentives or just downright pleading — to get insurers to stay in their markets.

At one point, there were more than 40 counties nationwide with zero insurers for next year. As of Aug. 24, when insurer CareSource agreed to provide coverage in Ohio’s Paulding County, no more of these so-called “bare counties” remained.

McPeak and other commissioners also say that cost issues need to be tackled, but there’s no bandwidth to take on these thorny issues because they have to deal with the more immediate problems.

“We can’t get to affordability if I don’t have a policy for people to buy,” said McPeak. For next year, “I’m telling consumers there will be problems and they will see rate increases. But at least they have an option.”

These efforts are made more complicated by President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to eliminate subsidies used to lower deductibles for some ACA policyholders, which would raise premiums. Payments are currently being made on a month-to-month basis. It will likely be a topic during the upcoming Senate hearing.

“We would all like to know what the rules are. When there is uncertainty, it’s difficult to make short- or long-term decisions, said Al Redmer, who was appointed Maryland’s insurance commissioner in 2015 by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.

And the subsidies aren’t the only point of contention, with the partisan divide also reflected among some commissioners.

Trump and Congress are causing uncertainty that is “sabotaging the progress we’ve made,” Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler wrote in June. His state strongly embraced the ACA.

Kreidler, a Democrat who formerly was a member of Congress, was first elected commissioner in 2000.

In contrast, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak, whose state opposed the ACA from the start, has made it no secret that he supports repeal of the law, calling it “this disastrous experiment.” Doak, a Republican who was elected to the position in 2010 after working for various insurance companies, blamed ACA regulations for “so many insurers dropping out of exchanges or resorting to double digit premium increases.”

Commissioners’ regulatory powers vary by state, depending on the rules state legislators have put in place for them to enforce.

“Some states have comprehensive protections for consumers … while others have limited protection,” said Claire McAndrew, director of campaign strategy at Families USA.

But if they are so motivated, consumers can always find means to take an activist role.

Past commissioners, for instance, talk of using the regulatory process itself — pushing the boundaries in drafting the rules or using a “slow walk” toward their implementation — to work around these boundaries.

Even so, they face other limits. For instance, staffing levels for their departments are down nearly 6 percent since 2008, according to the most recent NAIC statistics.

That’s a big disadvantage when contrasted with the “strength of insurance industry lobby,” said J. Robert Hunter, a former Texas commissioner and now director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America.

And some fail to counter industry influence in legislatures and even inside their own offices, he added.

He recalls that when he took up his post in Texas, he met with lawmakers in the Statehouse, some of whom were “unabashed” in their support of the insurance industry, warning “we’ll hurt your budget” if he went too hard on industry.

He didn’t play ball.

“If insurers are always happy, something is wrong,” said Hunter. “Insurance commissioners’ jobs are to hold them to account.”

Correction: This story was updated on Sept. 6 to correct the spelling of Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade. It also adds a description from her office of the dispute she is appealing. The interactive map was updated Sept. 6 to reflect the appointment of a new insurance commissioner in Pennsylvania.

Output: With insurance premiums rising and national efforts at health reform in turmoil, a group of 50 state bureaucrats whom many voters probably can’t name have considerable power over consumers’ health plans: state insurance commissioners.


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Work Toward Bipartisan Fix for Health Markets Begins in Senate
 WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate health committee said Wednesday that he hoped the panel would reach a consensus by the end of next week on a small, bipartisan bill to stabilize health insurance markets and prevent prices from skyrocketing next year under the Affordable Care Act.

“The blame will be on every one of us, and deservedly so,” if senators fail to reach agreement, said the chairman, Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee.

Mr. Alexander laid out elements of a possible compromise at a hearing on Wednesday: Republicans would agree to continued payment of subsidies to insurance companies to compensate them for reducing deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for low-income people. Democrats would agree to give states freedom to relax some insurance requirements in the Affordable Care Act.

“To get a result,” Mr. Alexander said, “Democrats will have to agree to something — more flexibility for states — that some may be reluctant to support. And Republicans will have to agree to something, additional funding through the Affordable Care Act, that some may be reluctant to support. That is called a compromise.”

Output: The chairman of the Senate health committee said Wednesday that he hoped the panel would reach a consensus by the end of next week on a small, bipartisan bill to stabilize health insurance markets and prevent prices from skyrocketing next year under the Affordable Care Act.


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A decade later, older Americans are still going hungry
 Hunger does not respect age. A recent report comparing data from 2007 to 2015 finds 5.4 million people age 60 or older in the U.S., or 8.1 percent, are food insecure. Although this percentage went down from 2014 to 2015, it's still unacceptable, according to a University of Illinois economist.

"After six consecutive years of increased hunger in seniors since the Great Recession began, the slight drop in 2014 is good news, but not good enough," says Craig Gundersen, who coauthored the report. "And it's important to remember that the decrease is in hunger on the national scale. Some individual states saw an increase."

The report identifies the top 10 states in terms of senior food insecurity rates. "Seven of those 10 states are in the South, plus New Mexico, New York, and Indiana," Gundersen says. The report states that when seniors who experience marginal food security are included, the rates vary from 6.1 percent in North Dakota to 24.3 percent in Mississippi.

Gundersen says seniors who reported a disability were disproportionately affected, with 25 percent reporting food insecurity and an additional 13 percent reporting marginal food security.

"Food insecurity is known to adversely affect a person's health, and the implications can be particularly problematic for seniors," Gundersen says. "Compared to food-secure seniors, food-insecure seniors consume fewer calories, vitamins, and other key nutrients. They are also more likely to experience negative health conditions, including depression, asthma, and chest pain."

Gundersen says the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) has been demonstrated to reduce food insecurity. He recommends that policymakers and program administrators pursue efforts to increase participation in SNAP, with a particular emphasis on older adults.

Output: Hunger does not respect age. A recent report comparing data from 2007 to 2015 finds 5.4 million people age 60 or older in the U.S., or 8.1 percent, are food insecure. Although this percentage went down from 2014 to 2015, it's still unacceptable, according to a University of Illinois economist.


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How robots could help bridge the elder-care gap
 Everett Rosenfeld | CNBC

Personal robots

Round-the-clock care

While some tasks remain out of reach of today's robots, such as inserting IVs or trimming toenails, mechanical caregivers can offer clear advantages over their human counterparts. The most obvious one is their capacity to work around the clock. Machines, unlike people, are available 24/7. When used in the home, they can support aging in place. Another plus: Relying on technology to meet day-to-day needs like mopping the floor can improve the quality of time elders spend with family and friends. Delegating mundane chores to robots also leaves more time for seniors to socialize with the people who care about them, and not just for them. And since using devices isn't the same as asking someone for help, relying on caregiving robots may lead seniors to perceive less lost autonomy than when they depend on human helpers.

Interacting with robots

This brave new world of robot caregivers won't take shape unless we make them user-friendly and intuitive, and that means interaction styles matter. In my lab, we work on how robots can interact with people by talking with them. Fortunately, recent research by the Pew Research Center shows that older adults are embracing technology more and more, just like everyone else. Now that we are beginning to see robots that can competently perform some tasks, researchers like Jenay Beer, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of South Carolina, are trying to figure out which activities seniors need the most help with and what kinds of robots they might be most willing to use in the near term. To that end, researchers are asking questions like: Do robots need to understand and convey emotion to be accepted?

How can robots provide social support?

Is it best when machines simulate eye contact with us?

Does it help if they can converse? But the fact is we don't need all the answers before robots begin to help elders age in place.

Looking ahead

Output: Despite innovations that make it easier for seniors to keep living on their own rather than moving into special facilities, most elderly people eventually need a hand with chores and other everyday activities.


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Egyptian green energy projects boosted by $210m financing
 The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has announced as much as $210 million in debt financing in order to "tap" the renewable energy potential of Egypt.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Beijing headquartered AIIB said the project would comprise 11 solar power plants with an "aggregate" capacity of 490 megawatts and would help the country to meet its pledges under the Paris Climate Agreement.

"Investing in clean, renewable energy is a big part of our strategy to promote a sustainable and low-carbon future for Asia," D.J. Pandian, the AIIB's vice president and chief investment officer, said.

"We are supporting this project because it contributes to Egypt's renewable energy capacity, and it will help position the country as a regional energy hub, which will have economic benefits for the entire region," Pandian added.

In terms of its environmental benefits, the AIIB said the solar plants would help avoid over half a million tons of CO2 annually.

Worldwide, the potential of solar is significant. The World Energy Council has said that solar energy has a "big part to play" in cutting future carbon emissions and "ensuring a sustainable energy future."

Output: Eleven solar power plants with a capacity of 490 MW are to be built in Egypt, following $210m debt financing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, based in Beijing.


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Public Health Emergency Declared In San Diego County Over Hepatitis A Outbreak
 The Board of Supervisors Wednesday unanimously ratified a declaration of a public health emergency in San Diego County related to an outbreak of hepatitis A that has sickened nearly 400 people, 15 fatally.

The emergency was declared by the county's public health officer, Dr. Wilma Wooten, on Friday to gain further public awareness of the problem.

In a presentation to the supervisors, Wooten said about two-thirds of the cases have been among people who were homeless and/or illicit drug users. Laboratory testing traced the first cases to last November, and county health officials recognized the outbreak in March, she said.

RELATED: Officials Fumbled With Permits, Pilot Project As Deadly Hepatitis Outbreak Surged

Since then, around 19,000 hepatitis A vaccinations have been given, including more than 7,300 provided to people considered to be at-risk of contracting the disease, which attacks the liver, according to Wooten.

Vaccinations for hepatitis A are a two-shot regimen, separated by six months, so it will be a challenge to locate members of the at-risk groups to give them their second inoculations, she said.

Supervisor Greg Cox said the outbreak is just a symptom of the much larger issue of homelessness, which has worsened considerably in San Diego County in the last few years.

"By taking this action today, we will hopefully be in a position to work with the city of San Diego and other 17 cities to make sure that they're taking the steps that they need to take, that we will be taking the steps we need to take in the unincorporated area, to try to make sure that we provide clean and sanitary facilities for people to wash their hands," Cox said.

"It just kind of re-emphasizes the fact that we need to do a better job as a region — and I include the county and all 18 cities — in dealing with the homelessness crisis that we have," Cox said.

Over the weekend, the county installed 40 hand-washing stations around San Diego, including in downtown, Balboa Park and near the San Diego River. City officials are putting together a sanitation plan for streets and sidewalks in areas where the homeless congregate.

RELATED: Number Of Hepatitis A Cases In San Diego County Continue To Rise

San Diego City Councilman David Alvarez urged the supervisors to help open public facilities, and especially restrooms, to the homeless.

Alvarez, who plans to run for supervisor in 2020, criticized city officials for a lack of urgency on the hepatitis A matter.

Wooten said health officials were talking with counterparts in El Cajon and planned to meet with officials in other localities where a significant number of people have been sickened with the disease — Escondido, National City and Vista.

Additionally, information about sanitation procedures have been sent to food facilities, and fitness and recreation centers that have public pools. She said the disease spreads through contact with microscopic amounts of fecal matter and by sexual contact.

The county has also distributed 2,400 hygiene kits, she said.

County health officials said the number of those sickened by the outbreak is likely to grow because the disease has a long incubation period. Another 44 cases — including an August death — are suspected of being hepatitis A, but haven't been confirmed by laboratory testing.

Output: The Board of Supervisors Wednesday unanimously ratified a declaration of a public health emergency in San Diego County related to an outbreak of hepatitis A that has sickened nearly 400 people, 15 fatally.


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Hacker group 'Dragonfly 2.0' penetrates US power companies
 A sophisticated hacker group has successfully penetrated dozens of utility companies responsible for supplying power in countries including the U.S., Turkey and Switzerland, a renowned cybersecurity firm warns in a new report.

Symantec said Wednesday that a hacker group being called “Dragonfly 2.0” has infiltrated power companies in the U.S. and abroad at an unprecedented scope and poses the risk of potentially sabotaging the Western energy sector.

A hacker group known as Dragonfly began targeting the energy sector as early as 2011 but significantly scaled back its activities after being detected in 2014, according to Symantec. It remerged in late 2015, however, and has ramped-up its operations in 2016 and 2017 as evidenced by recently breaching dozens of targets using the same hacking tools deployed exclusively in the initial attacks, Symantec said.

“This is the first time we’ve seen this scale, this aggressiveness and this level of penetration in the U.S., for sure,” Eric Chien, technical director of Symantec’s Security Technology & Response Division, told BuzzFeed News.

“What we’re seeing is them getting into dozens, as far as we know, likely more, of organizations who are basically energy companies. We’re talking about organizations who are supplying power to the power grid,” Mr. Chien added.

Dragonfly 2.0 launched its latest wave of attacks in December 2015 by sending malicious emails disguised as an invitation to a New Year’s Eve party to multiple energy sector targets, according to Symantec. The group conducted similar attacks in 2016 and 2017, the report said, and recipients who opened the malicious emails may have inadvertently allowed the hackers to glean sensitive network information useful in future attacks.

“The original Dragonfly campaigns now appear to have been a more exploratory phase where the attackers were simply trying to gain access to the networks of targeted organizations. The Dragonfly 2.0 campaigns show how the attackers may be entering into a new phase, with recent campaigns potentially providing them with access to operational systems, access that could be used for more disruptive purposes in future,” Symantec said in a blog post.

“There’s a difference between being a step away from conducting sabotage and actually being in a position to conduct sabotage … being able to flip the switch on power generation,” Mr. Chien told Wired. “We’re now talking about on-the-ground technical evidence this could happen in the U.S., and there’s nothing left standing in the way except the motivation of some actor out in the world.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is aware of the attacks and said there’s no indication at this time of any threat to public safety, BuzzFeed reported.

Symantec declined to attribute Dragonfly to any specific nation-state but said the group is “clearly an accomplished attack group … capable of compromising targeted organizations through a variety of methods.”

“What is clear is that Dragonfly is a highly experienced threat actor, capable of compromising numerous organizations, stealing information and gaining access to key systems. What it plans to do with all this intelligence has yet to become clear, but its capabilities do extend to materially disrupting targeted organizations should it choose to do so,” Symantec said.

• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.

Output: Hacker group Dragonfly 2.0 has gained access to the systems of several utility companies from the US, Switzerland and Turkey. The power companies have been hacked in a large-scale attack, in a first for the US sector. Security firm Symantec revealed it has also found evidence of sophisticated attacks in Europe and the US targeting national electricity grids and utility companies. There are concerns that Dragonfly 2.0 could potentially gain access and control over power stations.


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Google and Bertelsmann open 75,000 tech scholarships via Udacity
 How to choose a Pos system for your business?

Whether you are starting a new business or expanding an existing one, choosing the right POS system can make all the difference. In the past, your POS system was a cash register and a credit card machine. Now, however, POS systems contain much more than basic transaction functionality.

Determine Your Needs

Honestly, assess the size of your business and how large you plan to grow it over the next few years. If you own a small restaurant and never plan to open a second location, then you don’t need multi-location support and you also likely do not need an inventory system that can handle 500,000 unique identifiers. If you are running a small restaurant, chances are, you would be just fine with a POS system that provides basic inventory functionality, timesheet integration, and a table map in addition to basic transaction functionality.

The reverse is also true; if you own a local chain of restaurants, then you will need multi-location support if you want to be able to manage all of your locations together, rather than running all of the sites separately.

What Are The Main Differences Between Small and Large Business POS Systems?

First, price is going to be a factor to consider. A POS system designed for a medium or large business is going to demand a premium that is often more than a small business owner can afford or is willing to pay. For larger companies, this cost is worth the extra functionality that these systems offer.

POS systems designed for small businesses are often robust enough to manage your daily needs, but they are also simple enough that you will not have to dedicate several hours a week to just maintaining your POS system. When you start getting into POS systems for medium and large scale businesses, the initial setup, as well as maintenance, complexity grows immensely. The main sectors for POS systems are Retail and Restaurant business.

Output: Google is teaming up with German mass media firm Bertelsmann to fund 75,000 scholarships with online education platform, Udacity. Bertelsmann will fund 15,000 specialising in data science while Google will open 60,000 places on programmes aimed at Android and web development, following the success of a similar initiative last year. The scholarships are targeted at bridging the skills gap in Europe, and into Egypt and Israel, as demand for digital skills and IT expertise in continues to grow.


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Lyft to offer self-driving rides in San Francisco area
 If Uber's scandals, lawsuits, and federal investigations haven’t already driven you into the backseat of its competition just yet, maybe this will: Lyft is launching a fleet of self-driving cars and select customers in the San Francisco Bay Area will be offered free rides in autonomous cars developed and operated by self-driving outfit Drive.ai. (With a human at the wheel for backup, per California law. And common sense.)

Lyft and Drive.ai haven’t revealed certain key details about the pilot program—like when it will start (“soon”), how long it will run, how riders will be selected, or how the time of day, weather, and location will determine when to deploy the AV—but the new service provides an opportunity for Lyft to explore how it could fold this new way of moving into its existing service, and secure its place in the future of transportation. “We really want to understand, what are all the pieces that need to come into place?” says Taggart Matthiesen, Lyft’s product chief. For Drive.ai, a two-year-old self-driving startup, it's a chance to test out its tech and see how real customers interact with its product. “We’re excited to utilize Lyft’s network of customers,” says Carol Reiley, Drive.ai’s co-founder and president.

To start, the program will include about a dozen AVs (drawn from Drive.ai’s mixed fleet of Lincoln MKZ and Audi A4 sedans), but that number will grow as the company starts spending the $50 million it recently raised in a Series B funding round led by VC firm New Enterprise Associates. Both companies will collect data from customers (mostly through in-app reviews) about their experience, in the hopes of making sure they’re comfortable, or at least not terrified.

Drive.ai isn't the first autonomous driving developer to start testing with real live customers. Uber started a pilot program in Pittsburgh last year, which it has since expanded to Tempe, Arizona. Google spinoff Waymo launched 100 self-driving Chrysler minivans in Phoenix in April. Nutonomy, a startup that spun out of MIT, is testing cars in Singapore, via a partnership with ride hailing company Grab. Last month, Cruise, a GM-owned company, launched a robo-taxi service in San Francisco for its own employees.

Drive.ai also isn't the first autonomous driving developer to partner with Lyft. The company announced in January 2016 it would work with General Motors to develop self-driving cars. It also hooked up with Waymo and landed a $25 million investment, plus a fleet of cars for self-driving testing from Jaguar Land Rover. In June, the Uber rival partnered with Nutonomy. And in July, it revealed it is developing its own self-driving software and hardware.

Missing out on the shift away from human drivers could easily cripple its future, so Lyft is likely wise to throw an egg into every basket it sees. “We don’t think a single provider is going to win here,” says Matthiesen. “We want to work with the best, and work their tech into our platform.”

And for San Franciscans tired of their Lyft drivers missing turns and chatting too much, that may be good enough.

Output: Ride-hailing firm Lyft is partnering with self-driving start-up Drive.ai for a pilot programme to put a fleet of autonomous vehicles – including human back-up drivers at the wheel – on to the streets of San Francisco. Although no details about precisely when or exactly where the self-driving cars would take to the roads, it was confirmed customers using them would be offered free rides. The pilot will begin with about a dozen vehicles, before being scaled up, and both Lyft and Drive.ai would collect customer data via in-app reviews.


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New York-based finance firms must now have cybersecurity policy
 New York State’s “first-in-the-nation” cybersecurity regulation became effective on August 28, 2017.

The New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) cybersecurity regulation requires banks, insurance companies and other institutions regulated by the DFS (“covered entities”) to implement a cybersecurity program to protect consumer data (see previous coverage). A covered entity is required to have (i) a written cybersecurity policy or policies approved by the entity’s board of directors or a senior officer, (ii) a “Chief Information Security Officer” in place to protect data and systems, and (iii) other relevant “controls and plans” intended to fortify the safety of the financial services industry.

Firms also will be required to submit a Certification of Compliance annually that concerns the firm’s cybersecurity compliance program. The first such Certificate must be submitted by February 15, 2018. The DFS now requires covered entities to submit notices of certain cybersecurity events to the DFS Superintendent within 72 hours of any occurrence. Covered entities will be able to report cybersecurity events through the DFS online cybersecurity portal. Institutions also will be able to use the portal to file notices of exemption.

DFS Superintendent Maria Vullo commented on the program:

Output: Banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions in New York state now have to comply with pioneering cybersecurity regulations, which took effect on 28 August. The laws, which are the first of their kind in the country, require firms covered by the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) to have a board-approved, written cybersecurity policy or policies and a chief information security officer in place. In addition, companies must submit an annual Certification of Compliance, with the first due in February 2018. The DFS also requires companies to submit details of cybersecurity events within 72 hours of them happening.


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Tesco deducts £3.4m from plastic bag charity funds
 Millions of pounds in administration costs were deducted from the charitable donations made by Tesco using funds generated from the plastic bag tax, government data has revealed. No other major supermarket made any such deductions, leading senior MPs to urge Tesco to follow their lead.

The 5p charge for plastic bags was introduced in England in October 2015 and has led to an 83% reduction in their use, equivalent to 9bn fewer bags. It is also credited with a drop by nearly half in plastic bags found littering beaches.

The government is clear that it expects shops to donate the proceeds of the 5p plastic bag tax to good causes. The latest official statistics, covering the year to March 2017, show that Tesco sold 637m carrier bags, raising £31.9m in proceeds. But the supermarket giant deducted £3.4m to cover the “cost of administering donations”, equivalent to more than 10% of the total.

Tesco topped the list of plastic bags sales but no other company in the top 10 made administration deductions, including Asda, Morrison, the Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Aldi, Iceland and Waitrose.

“The legislation for the 5p plastic bag charge is clear that the money raised should go to good causes,” said Mary Creagh MP, chair of the environmental audit committee. “Five years after the horsemeat scandal and three years after a false accounting scandal, Tesco finds itself again in the spotlight for doing the wrong thing. They should drop this ridiculous charge immediately.”

Neil Parish MP, chair of the environment, food and rural affairs select committee, said: “As much money as possible from the plastic bag tax should be going to charitable causes. It would be great to see Tesco follow the lead of other retailers and not deduct admin costs. That would be a very positive step for Britain’s biggest supermarket to take.”

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “There is clear expectation to donate the proceeds of the plastic bag charge to good causes. We know that £95m raised has been donated to good causes so far and by publishing the data on donations, along with the number of bags distributed, this has the added effect of encouraging retailers to donate to good causes.”

Tesco’s spokesman said: “Since launching in 2015, our Bags of Help initiative has provided more than £33m to over 6,400 local community projects. A small proportion of the money raised is used to run and administer the scheme in partnership with the charity Groundwork, who help distribute the money to good causes.”

Companies can deduct a portion of the revenue to cover “reasonable costs” of administering the donations. The spokesman said Tesco’s administration costs included customer communications and the provision of voting tokens and booths which customers use to choose the charities that are supported. The spokesman said Tesco did not profit from money retained for administration.

Tesco stopped selling 5p “single-use” plastic bags on 28 August, instead offering a “reusable” 10p bag, which will be replaced free of charge if damaged. The company said the proceeds of the 10p bag sales would continue to fund community projects.

All employers with more than 250 staff are required to charge customers in England for disposable plastic bags. Legally, retailers can choose whether to donate their bag tax revenue to charity. The government data lists the revenue of some, including Poundstretcher (£250,000), as “retained by company”. Companies can deduct a portion of the revenue to cover “reasonable costs” of administering the donations.

England was the last nation in the UK to implement a plastic bag tax following Wales (2011), Northern Ireland (2013) and Scotland (2014), all of which subsequently saw big declines in bag use.

Output: UK supermarket Tesco deducted £3.4m ($4.5m) in administrative costs from the funds for charitable donations raised through the plastic bag tax introduced in England in 2015, according to government statistics. The deductions equate to over 10% of the £31.9m raised from bag sales in the year to March 2017. No other supermarket in the top ten such companies made deductions. The tax has led to an 83% reduction in plastic bag use, equivalent to 9 billion fewer bags. Tesco ended the sale of 5p bags in August and is now offering only reusable 10p bags.


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Tesco deducts £3.4m from plastic bag charity funds
 These datasets provide the information submitted to government about single use carrier bag charging in England, including the number and proceeds of single-use plastic carrier bags issued/charged by retailers. It includes mandatory data on bags sold under the charge and voluntary data on submitted by retailers.

Output: UK supermarket Tesco deducted £3.4m ($4.5m) in administrative costs from the funds for charitable donations raised through the plastic bag tax introduced in England in 2015, according to government statistics. The deductions equate to over 10% of the £31.9m raised from bag sales in the year to March 2017. No other supermarket in the top ten such companies made deductions. The tax has led to an 83% reduction in plastic bag use, equivalent to 9 billion fewer bags. Tesco ended the sale of 5p bags in August and is now offering only reusable 10p bags.


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Researchers develop catalyst to improve synthesis of amines
 Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a new catalyst to improve the synthesis of primary amines (derivatives of ammonia).

It is claimed that in the future the newly developed ruthenium based catalyst could also impact the development of biofuels and bio-oils.

Primary amines are industrially important compounds which are used in the preparation of a wide range of dyes, detergents and medicines. Many attempts have been made to use platinum, nickel or palladium catalysts to improve the synthesis of amines, but few have been successful in reducing the formation of tertiary amines and other undesired by-products.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the team from Tokyo describe how they’ve developed a ‘highly selective’ catalyst consisting of ruthenium nanoparticles supported on niobium pentoxide (Ru/Nb 2 O 5 ). The team have demonstrated that the catalyst is capable of producing primary amines from carbonyl compounds with ammonia (NH 3 ) and dihydrogen (H 2 ), with negligible formation of by-products.

After discovering the ruthenium based catalyst consistently produces yields of over 90% when converting furfural to furfurylamine in a process known as reductive amination1, Michikazu Hara of Tokyo Tech's Laboratory for Materials and Structures and his team explored how effectively the catalyst could break down biomass in the form of glucose into 2,5-bis(aminomethyl)furan, a monomer for aramid production.

Output: Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have made a major breakthrough in the large scale production of biofuels and bio-oils, according to a study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The researchers used a ruthenium-based catalyst to improve the synthesis of primary amines. The team found the ruthenium-based catalyst produced a yield of 93% from a glucose biomass, with virtually no by-products observed.


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Basketball highlights account wins 6.8m Instagram followers
 A week after the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics, the popular Instagram sports account House of Highlights posted an NBA clip featuring Irving and then-teammate LeBron James with the caption: “When Kyrie got the first flagrant foul of his career defending LeBron.” Irving’s trade ended a tense summer during which the point guard had demanded a trade, reportedly due to a desire to not play with James anymore. And yet, shortly after the clip was published, James endorsed it himself.

Naturally, people noticed. It’s a testament to how popular House of Highlights, a professional and amateur sports highlights factory run by 22-year-old Omar Raja and owned by Turner’s Bleacher Report, has become on Instagram. House of Highlights’ 6.8 million followers include big names such as James, fellow NBA superstars Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul, and even Drake — who probably wishes he played in the NBA.

Those big-name followers, along with the views and engagement House of Highlights gets, are exciting, said Doug Bernstein, vp of social for Bleacher Report. “LeBron, Westbrook, Chris Paul, people in hip-hop, they engage with this account, which is impactful,” he said. “It’s curated cool, a place where you can collect interesting and cool sports videos and put them in one spot. That’s what’s creating culture.”

House of Highlights aligns with Bleacher Report’s push to become a lifestyle brand, as CEO Dave Finocchio said on the Digiday Podcast.

House of Highlights netted more than 400 million views on Instagram in July, according to CrowdTangle, a social analytics tool owned by Instagram parent Facebook. In the past 12 months, House of Highlights has accrued 3.5 billion views, surpassing competitors such as the individual accounts for ESPN, Fox Sports and Bleacher Report.

The account got 500 million interactions in the past 12 months and gets an average of 225,000 engagements per post today, making it one of the top 40 most-engaged accounts on Instagram, according to CrowdTangle.

Bleacher Report acquired House of Highlights 18 months ago, but Raja still runs the account. He gets as many as 400 submissions daily from users showing off their latest trick shots and impressive athletic feats. Raja also has access to NBA, MLB, college basketball and college football clips that Bleacher Report — through Turner — has digital rights to.

“Bleacher Report has a highlights team that’s ready to cut clips whenever we see them during the games,” Raja said. “So if I see something I like, I message the highlight room and ask them to cut a specific clip for me from the game. I do not have to clear with anything with Bleacher Report first. They let me be me.”

If Raja wants to use a highlight clip that wasn’t submitted directly to him by a user or one that Bleacher Report doesn’t have the rights to, Bleacher Report seeks permission from the clip’s owner before posting, Bernstein said.

Some of House of Highlights’ popularity can be tied to the fact that the NBA is huge on Instagram, something Bleacher Report and ESPN have cashed in on for well over a year. According to Bleacher Report, 60 percent of House of Highlights posts this year have been NBA-related, with these posts averaging roughly 150,000 more video views and 15,000 more engagements per post than NFL posts. (This could partially be because the volume of NBA-related posts far exceeds NFL-related posts on the account.)

“NBA players all have their own personal brands,” said Raja. “Russell Westbrook could have a normal dunk, but the videos perform well because they’re active on Instagram.”

In the past 12 months, Bleacher Report has also started to make money off House of Highlights, distributing sponsored videos by brands such as Netflix (for its football documentary “Last Chance U”) and Jordan Brand. Here, Raja decides which footage makes the most sense for the account.

Editorially, House of Highlights remains distinct from the Bleacher Report brand and tends to reflect Raja’s own perspective and can be less polished, owing to its user-submitted content.

The accounts do share content, though. Bernstein estimated that 25 percent of House of Highlights clips make their way to the main Bleacher Report Instagram account, and House of Highlights shares roughly 5 to 10 percent of Bleacher Report posts.

The distinction between the two accounts has helped Bleacher Report reach a younger audience through House of Highlights. Fifty-two percent of House of Highlights’ followers are 24 and under, compared to 43 percent for Bleacher Report’s main Instagram account, according to Bleacher Report.

“At Bleacher Report, we always want to be the upstart to ESPN, and I’ve always worried about who the upstart to Bleacher Report would be, and to me, that was House of Highlights,” Bernstein said. “That was the main impetus in acquiring the account.”

We’ll recognize the best multi-platform video campaigns at this year’s Digiday Video Awards. Learn more about entering here.

Image via A.RICARDO / Shutterstock.com

Output: An Instagram account that shares US basketball highlights has become one of the most popular on the sharing platform, with 6.8 million followers. House of Highlights, which was acquired by Turner Sports' website Bleacher Report 18 months ago, has attracted 3.5 billion views in the past year, making it one of the top 40 most-engaged-with Instagram accounts, beating Fox News and Bleacher Report itself. It posts a combination of professional basketball highlights and footage submitted by users of their own trick shots. It enables Bleacher Report to reach a younger audience and now carries sponsored videos.


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US studies offer empirical support for personalised learning
 Third grade students study on computers using online learning in the lab at Rocketship SI Se Puede, a charter, public elementary school, on February 18, 2014 in San Jose, California. Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images

Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates has said repeatedly that one of his favorite ways of teaching kids is by letting them guide their own education, typically with laptops or tablets, and moving the teacher more into the role of coach.

The style is known as "personalized learning," and a study involving 36,000 students just upheld it as a major driver of improvement in reading and math skills.

Since personalized learning has had scant formal evidence showing its success as a teaching method, the new study also adds some empirical support that Gates and many other techies have been on the right track in their endorsements.

Conducted by the education consulting company Education Elements, the study spanned five districts across the US for 2-3 years, tracking how students performed on the NWEA MAP test. On average, personalized learning led to 130% growth in reading and 122% growth in math.

Certain districts saw outsized improvement from the new method. In Alabama's Piedmont City School District, for instance, 72% of students in grades 3-8 hit their target scores on the ACT Aspire standardized test compared to 28% in the 2014-2015 school year.

Personalized learning has won favor with Silicon Valley types because it blends traditional education with cutting-edge technology. Schools often use both hardware and software to help kids learn at their own pace and in the style they prefer most.

There's the literacy app Newsela, which is in 75% of US schools and helps kids build reading skills by automatically adjusting the difficulty of the language on each kid's tablet, depending on their reading level. There's also DreamBox, the math education tool backed by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings that performs a similar function for multiplication and division and is used by 2 million kids nationwide.

Both have research behind them suggesting that kids make noticeable gains in proficiency when they don't feel rushed to keep up with their peers.

Kids who use Newsela for four months jump up to 12 percentile points on in-app reading quizzes, regardless of the student's initial ability. DreamBox, in use by 2 million kids, helps kids make bigger improvements in math the longer they use it, a 2016 Harvard study found.

Personalized learning more generally has seen early validation from researchers.

One study from the RAND Corporation found that among 62 schools using personalized learning, the majority of kids scored higher in math and reading comprehension compared to kids with teachers who stood at the head of the class and lectured to students all at once. Many who were below-average scorers ended up above-average.

The study offered evidence that teachers seem to be adjusting to the new style, too, as 70% of teachers said they were more effective having adopted the method. And district leaders seemed to be noticing: 92% of them said teachers were more effective in helping students grasp new material.

But most importantly, the study found personalized learning helped students: 90% of district leaders said students were more engaged with their education.

Output: A study of 62 US schools by Rand Corporation showed personalised learning improved most students’ maths and reading levels, and 90% of district leaders said it helped with engagement. On average, personalised learning contributed to growth of 130% and 122% in reading and maths respectively in the NWEA MAP test performance, according to separate study by Education Elements, which involved five US districts and 36,000 students over 2-3 years. Alabama’s Piedmont City School District stood out, with 72% of grade 3-8 students achieving target scores on a standardised test, compared to 28% the previous academic year.


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GSK and Propeller collaborate further to help asthma sufferers
 Propeller Health, which provides a digital solution for respiratory medicine, and pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are expanding their collaboration, which started in 2015, to prepare for and undertake commercial activities using the Propeller clip-on sensor and software platform for use with GSK’s ELLIPTA Inhaler. Said sensor automatically records medication use, which the Propeller platform analyzes and presents to patients and physicians through its data-driven digital interfaces, providing an in-depth view into adherence.

The two companies will continue ongoing R&D efforts to collect evidence from the Propeller clip-on sensor and software platform used in conjunction with GSK’s respiratory medicines for asthma and COPD.

“We are excited to be working closely with GSK to make the sensor for the ELLIPTA inhaler available in our commercial programs, and for the first time, as part of commercial pilots with GSK outside the US,” David Van Sickle, CEO and co-founder of Propeller, said in a statement. “Companion digital experiences simplify and personalize the management of chronic respiratory disease, and help ensure individuals and their physicians realize the benefits of inhaled medicines.”

The Propeller platform has been used by patients and physicians in over 55 commercial programs across the United States, including major healthcare systems, payers, employers and other commercial partners. It is compatible with the majority of commonly used asthma and COPD inhaler devices including controller and reliever metered dose inhalers (MDIs), and other inhaler devices — including dry powder inhalers (DPIs) and soft mist inhalers (SMIs).

This latest announcement comes on the heels of recent successful CE marking and US FDA 510(k) class II clearance of the Propeller sensor and software program for the ELLIPTA Inhaler, in late 2016.

Output: Propeller Health, which makes sensors and digital software for monitoring respiratory illnesses, will deepen its partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Through the partnership, Propeller will make its sensor for GSK's Ellipta inhaler commercially available. Additionally, the companies will develop commercial pilots outside the US for the first time. Propeller has already launched more than 55 commercial programmes with major healthcare systems, payers, employers, and other commercial providers across the US. Propeller's sensor records medication use for illnesses such as asthma and COPD, helping doctors to monitor adherence to drug regimes.


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Cara raises $2m for digestive health 'poop-tech' app
 Cara, a Berlin-based digital health startup has raised $2 million in seed funding led by Atlantic Labs along with a group of undisclosed angel investors. Known as “poop-tech”, the company has launched the first precision medicine solution for digestive health.

In 2016, HiDoc Technologies launched the Cara app with the aim to help people with chronic digestive disorders. Today, more than 20% of the world’s population suffer from the Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), reflux and food intolerances. What most of these people have in common, is that they receive conventional one-size-fits-all treatments which only work in some cases or might be ineffective.

Sometimes they cause unnecessary side effects. This leads to frustration among patients who are already in a crisis. One-size-fits-all solutions fail because everyone responds differently to the treatments, due to differences in the individual gut microbial fingerprint, lifestyle and environmental factors. Hence, precision medicine is needed to make treatment more effective, reduce side effects and non-responder rates. Last but not least, it will also save costs.

The team of medical doctors and data scientists at Cara talked to hundreds of patients to figure out the best solution. Together with experts in the field of gastroenterology, some of which have joined the scientific advisory board, they started to understand what is missing in the current system. They launched the food and symptom diary Cara, an app that allows people to track their nutrition, symptoms and other factors like medication and activity. It also provides analysis and actionable insights which empower the user to understand their own body and regain control including a Cara probiotics solution.

By using the Cara App, the Cara algorithms know how your symptoms evolve and can adjust the probiotic formula. After knowing where the journey should go, Cara will see how an individual’s microbiome is adjusting with every bottle of Cara Biotics. Using symptoms and all other factors tracked in the Cara App, Cara can make an up to date personalized estimate if your microbiome is evolving in a healthy direction.

In June 2017, Cara was featured on the App Store in Canada, UK, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway in ‘Hot this week’ and ‘New apps we love’. Currently, Cara is featured on the App Store homepage in the US, Canada and the Netherlands.

During the last few months, the team have been preparing to bring Cara to the next level. Cara will match the right digestive remedies to the right patient by combining microbiome insights with AI and treatment response data.

“Poop tech is the next big thing. Digestive issues are still a taboo topic but we are now making them visible to the public. Digestive diseases are widespread. There are so many people out there suffering from bloating, diarrhea, constipation or stomach pain on a daily basis,” said Jesaja Brinkmann, medical cofounder at Cara in a statement. “Unfortunately, many health practitioners are not up to date with the state-of-the-art treatment options. Also, conventional treatments don’t work for everyone. None of our competitors combine the patient’s individual microbial, lifestyle, environmental and treatment response data as well as predictive treatment outcome algorithms which are needed to learn and offer individualized and appropriate digestive remedies for microbiome optimization and symptom reduction” added Brinkmann.

Output: Digital health start-up Cara has raised $2m in seed funding in a round led by Atlantic Labs, with participation from undisclosed investors. The Berlin-based company, which launched its Cara app in 2016, aims to help people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, reflux and food intolerances, ailments that affect 20% of the world's population. The app tracks and treats symptoms by analysing factors such as nutrition, physical activity levels and medication use. The data is used to adjust users' Cara Biotics remedy to suit their health needs. "'Poop tech' is the next big thing,” said Jesaja Brinkmann, a medical co-founder of Cara.


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Indian publishers rely on data and innovation to fend off rivals
 Publishers are already facing stiff pressure from media giants Facebook and Google in India but they have data and innovative new ad formats to woo brands, say experts.

Facebook recently hit the 2bn mark and India became it's largest market in Asia Pacific by share (32.6%) of users, according to an eMarketer report. According to Cisco, India’s internet users on a whole will rise from 373 million in 2016 to 829 million in 2021 as a result of digital transformation, which will further empower these companies. Publishers quick enough to adapt to digital transformation will be able to attract audiences and brands. This is, however, in the shadow of the omnipresent duopoly, as an IPG Media brands report stated that Facebook and Google are impervious to any advertising recession.

Therefore, to stay relevant, publishers are using technology to get better value for brands for the ads spent online. To find out how, The Drum spoke with Kabir Kochhar, managing partner and business head at The Glitch. He said: “In a mobile-first India, publishers must use two critical tools to gain a competitive edge - data and innovate ad units. Innovative ad units (such as those provided by companies such as m-canvas) help publishers garner branding budgets especially in a time where its tough competing on performance campaigns with the big boys.

Meanwhile, proprietary datasets can be pooled to better define high value cohorts. Combining this with innovative ad units can allow publishers to increase revenues by segmenting their customer base to best match this high-impact inventory with high value audiences. This allows them to better define their sales strategy splitting direct sales vs. programmatic allocation, efficiently to maximise revenues."

The Drum earlier spoke with Times Internet's Gulshan Verma who said that advertising will follow India's shift to digital. However, despite massive digital penetration, print, press and TV have been the mainstay for marketers in India for many years. It is mainly because of the mass reach they offer and the tried and tested effectiveness.

John Thankamony, head of programmatic at Mindshare India, said Indian publishers were using new strategies and technology, including the adoption of header bidding.

"On the end user front, publishers have been working on content personalization to improve and customize user experience and using tools such as AMP to ensure faster page loads.

On the adtech front, many publishers are rolling out header bidding, allowing better price discovery across all their buyers, compared to earlier methods. Using their own audience data collection and segmentation practices has allowed publishers to price existing media in distinctive tiers based on the value of these audiences to advertisers. On the operational end of things, programmatic execution, which is picking up in India, allows for streamlined execution, allowing for more efficiencies.”

Publishers are further using data to enhance the value of their inventory online. In the past, they would price their inventory based on the content section in which the ad is situated, and that section, be it sports, lifestyle or news, would attract a certain demographic of users.

Joe Nguyen, SVP of Asia Pacific at Comscore, said being more sophisticated allowed publishers to build up more valuable ad propositions.

"With technology, publishers can now link the user cookie to other data sources that can inform on other behavioural traits associated with that user cookie. Or they can enrich that ad unit with interest segments derived from the context of the article. These methods help publishers build more scalable, precise and valuable targets, and hence achieve higher cost per mile (CPMs) for their digital inventory. At the same time, advertisers are willing to pay higher CPMs to reach relevant audiences with more relevant messaging in a brand-safe context – to drive a stronger return on investment," he said.

Advertising expenditure in India is expected to grow at 10% to reach INR 61,204 crore in 2017 over 2016, according to a forecast by GroupM in its report 'This Year Next Year (TYNY)'. It further stated a steady 4.5% growth rate for print ad spends in 2017 which highlights its popularity among publishers.

According to Joy Chakraborthy, president of revenue at TV18 & CEO Forbes India, programmatic ads in digital and diversification of solutions, along with targeted ads and content, will lift ad value.

He said: "It’s not just the advertisers who are giving it greater attention, but also media owners and publishers. We can safely say that more variety of advertisers will be testing or diving deeper into digital and all round technological advances are and will continue to be the backbone for this. So a continued engagement with technical advances is the way to move ahead together. In the India context, digital will continue to be used as complement TV and print media, as these continue to dominate.”

While India's publishers share the same concerns as publishers globally; creating better value for its inventory and fighting increased competition, the potential for growth is still sizeable as more Indians go online. The key will be how quickly publishers can adapt to the digital needs of brands and create value from the data it has on its sought-after audiences.

Output: The number of internet users in India is set to hit 829 million in 2021, up from 373 million in 2016, according to Cisco, and insiders are warning publishers to be nimble in response to the digital revolution, lest they be edged out by Facebook and Google. Using a combination of innovative ad units and proprietary datasets to help target customers, publishers can more closely match inventory to audience. In addition, the increased use of programmatic ads will result in cost savings, with GroupM estimating total ad spend in India will grow by 10% to reach INR61,204 crore ($9.6bn) this year.