Congress will once again put off a huge cut in Medicare payments to physicians, but that will not solve the underlying problems of fee-for-service payment.  

There may be some efforts to slow down IPAB implementation by refusing to feed it with funding. So the likelihood is that this may die a slow, quiet death over several years, as opposed to the great horrors that people are imagining.

Somali pirates have evolved from a small group of bandits into a sophisticated global organization with hijackers, investors, guards, professional negotiators and money laundering agents working in tandem. This efficiency has made it very difficult to counter the threat of piracy but targeting financers and negotiators is part of a more proactive strategy being adopted by the United States.

The cases of Representatives Maxine Waters and Charlie Rangel reveal the corruption that is almost inevitable when any politician is given a job for life and the scandalous lack of accountability in the Congressional Black Caucus.

There has not yet been sufficient global policy coordination to ameliorate global payment imbalances. Such coordination is badly needed to protect the global economy.

The Obama health reform plan, embodied most clearly in a bill now before the Senate, rests on a fiscal deception when it comes to the way Medicare pays America's doctors.

Does Congress need IPAB?

The sustainable growth rate legislation should be replaced with sensible policies to reduce unnecessary spending and improve incentives for better health care.