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Medicare Reimbursements
Tracking Health Care Spending
It is commonly known that health care spending is on rise, but does that necessarily translate to better patient outcomes? The Dartmouth Atlas Project helps provide insight into whether health care spending is utilized wisely by using data provided by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Medicare is the federally provided health insurance program offered to special population groups that include people 65 years of age or older, younger individuals with disabilities, and those with end-stage renal disease. Beneficiaries...
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Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Tracking the diversity index
What is the diversity index? It’s a set of numbers that measures the probability that two people chosen at random will be from different race or ethnicity groups. Values for the diversity index range from zero to one. The visualization seen here, published by United States Census Bureau, shows the diversity index converted into percentages. An index value of one, for example, would mean that two randomly chosen people would have a hundred percent chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic background. A zero value...
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The Worldview Upgrader
Fighting misconceptions though data
The Worldview Upgrader is fun educational tool that wants to tell you what you are probably wrong about. It was created by Gapminder, a well-known Swedish organization with no political, religious, or economic affiliation. Their mission is to fight global misconceptions through the use of reliable data. They accomplish this by asking questions to people all over the world and compare their answers to trusted data sources like the UN. This helps visitors consider that their opinion of the world might differ from reality...
Read MoreTrends In Action
Share of Electricity Consumption by Type
High Electricity Consumption Here – A Puzzle Explained
Measured by electricity source, the greater Wenatchee area is one of the greenest in the state. As Trends indicator 4.3.2 reveals, nearly all of the electricity consumed in the two counties comes from hydro. For the most recently available year, 2020, data compiled by the Washington State Department of Commerce show that 99.7% of all electricity consumed was hydro based. For the state overall...
Read MoreNet Jobs Created in the Info/ Pro/Tech Sector
Technology-based Jobs Here Suffered During the Pandemic
Communities covet jobs we once called “white collar.” The reason largely lies in the relatively high salaries earned by workers in those industries. But they bring other benefits: more vibrant downtowns due to office-based work, greater support for arts and culture, and more parental engagement with schools. Our Valley Our Future (OVOF) has highlighted the development of a technology “ecosystem” in its recent...
Read MoreRegistered Voters Voting in November Elections
A Divergence in Election Trends Provides Challenges
An engaged electorate is vital to ensuring that elected officials at the local, state and national levels are responsive to and reflective of the communities they serve. On the other hand, waning participation rates in elections could suggest lack of efficacy or frustration with the political process. So, the conundrum is: How do we interpret a divergence in voter participation that is increasing in presidential...
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