Too often, the board of a nonprofit organization is little more than a collection of high-powered people engaged in low-level activities. But that can change, the authors say, if trustees are willing to discover and take on the new work of the board. When they perform the new work, a board's members can significantly advance the institution's mission and long-term welfare. Doing the new work re...

This article summarizes the current financial condition and actuarial status of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, as shown in the 1987 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees. The Trustees note that the assets of the OASI and DI Trust Funds, on a combined basis, will be sufficient to permit the timely payment of OASDI benefits for many years into the future, on th...

DSM-5 is on the market and found an enormous amount of attention in the media but also critique from scientists and clinicians. In the focus of the debate are reservations against establishing new disorders and lowering the threshold to diagnose mental disorders with the danger of mislabeling normal people [1]. The ambitious goal of the DSM-5 Task Force was to produce a shift of paradigm in psy...

This article summarizes the current financial and actuarial status of the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) program, as shown in the 1985 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees. The Trustees note that the combined assets of the OASI and DI programs will be sufficient to pay OASDI benefits on time well into the next century based on all four sets of economic and demographic as...

This summary presents an overview of the information contained in the annual reports of the trustees required under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, Health Insurance for the Aged and Disabled, commonly known as Medicare. There are two basic programs under Medicare: Hospital insurance (HI), which pays for inpatient hospital care and other related care of those 65 years of age and over and...