ARTICLE: "In South Africa, Insurer Gives Points For Healthy Living: Frequent-Flier-Style Program Rewards Diligent Members; Model for U.S. Overhaul? (A Diabetic Wins Elite Status)," by Ron Lieber, Wall Street Journal, 21 February 2006, p. A1.

ARTICLE: "How the Amish Drive Down Medical Costs," by Joel Millman, Wall Street Journal, 21 February 2006, p. B1.

Fascinating pair of articles. In first, South Africa shows an interesting, carrot-laden way of improving the behavior of its medically-insured population. People love freebies, and they love point systems. Same basic drill as frequent flier accounts: the system rewarding those who give it the highest profits.

I know, I know, South Africa's New Core status seems thin to some, and how could America ever take any tips from such a public health basketcase as that?

But that's the essential point of my notion that the New Core sets the new rules: it's the countries experiencing the most growth and rapid development that tend to come up with the most innovative solutions for all sorts of social stress issues. So China is becoming a global center of innovative research on cancer (all those smokers), whereas India pioneers medical tourism (flying to Mumbai or New Delhi for that heart bypass at one-quarter the cost--flight included!).

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the New Core countries experience the bulk of necessity right now.

The second article would seem a Gap-within-the-Core argument, until you read far enough: turns out those Amish are winning their demands for cheaper care from U.S. providers by threatening to abandon them completely for long trips to Mexico for cheaper care. The Amish are basically trading their time, which they have in abundance, to threaten switching to New Core medical providers in Mexico in order to win price concessions from Old Core providers in the U.S.

Seems like the Mexican tail wags the American dog again!