Letters to the Editor
To the editor: “There are three kinds of lies,” quipped Mark Twain, “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” My son, a math and statistics whiz and ConVal valedictorian in 1998, and I have been quoting this back and forth now for…
News
Signs of the times
After about 10 years in business, Mike Couturier is closing Hi Fi Exchange, a shop specializing in old record albums and vintage stereo equipment. Couturier’s is one of numerous small businesses that run along the Amherst stretch of Route 101A…
Flotsam & Jetsam
Wanna bet that plenty of people in the Legislature paid close attention to the recent news from Maine that 475 slot machines at the racino in Bangor took in more than $60 million over their first 57 days of operation?…
‘Hospitalist’ trend grows in N.H.
As the new year began, The Memorial Hospital in North Conway and Parkland Medical Center in Derry both joined a growing number of hospitals throughout the country that have introduced a new approach to patient care - the “hospitalist,” an…
Off the Clock: New Hampshire winters are for the birds
It’s often said that in order to love winter in New Hampshire you have to be a winter sports enthusiast — you have to have a reason to get bundled up and face the frigid air and snowdrifts head on.…
Patient-choice bill gains support in Concord
Rep. Neal Kurk, R-Weare, architect of last year’s GraniteCare law, has introduced another major health-care bill, — House Bill 1723 — which is designed to give patients the kind of information that he hopes could drive down medical costs. The…
Response to CCT layoffs a case study in cooperation
When Car Component Technologies shut its plants in Bedford and Merrimack and filed for bankruptcy in November, nearly 600 workers — the majority of whom are non-English speaking — were laid off with no advance notice. Rolling up their sleeves…
Bill could put private case managers out of business
A House bill calls for a study to see whether counties should provide case management for disabled and elderly Medicaid clients living at home - a change that might put four large case-management firms out of business and shake up…
N.H. ‘Wal-Mart bill’ under scrutiny
Should large employers in New Hampshire be required to provide health-care coverage for their employees, and pay the state if they don’t? And should they be required at least to report the coverage they do provide? That is the question…
House tackles business-related measures
The New Hampshire House went through a flurry of bills left over from last session at its Jan. 4 meeting, the first of the New Year. One of the business-related bills considered but killed after a short debate was one…
