Hands to Help Seniors
Monterey, CA Veterans Cemetery On Old Fort Ord Site Continues To Fight Uphill Battle
by Richard Kuehn on 04/23/13
View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California Attempts to get a cemetery approved for Veterans in Monterey County continue to face setbacks. After years on the drawing board it looked like a shoe-in but now the Monterey County Business Council and the United Veterans Council of Monterey are having to fight yet another battle, this time against the Fort Ord Access Alliance. The so-called "open space advocate" is trying to get residents to sign a petition which could stall efforts to open the cemetery, and I would urge you not to sign it. I personally would rather see a place that honors veterans and lets them rest in peace than having more open space at Ford Ord. There is no reason to keep this space vacant, it is not by the beach, there are decrepit buildings which aren't being maintained, and in fact much of it is just an eye sore. What better use could there be than a cemetery? The open space group disputes that they are trying to stop the cemetery from breaking ground. Jason Campbell, a spokesman, told the Monterey Herald that getting rid of the cemetery was completely contrary to what was written in the petition and he wants to speak to the two councils to try and explain what they are trying to achieve. I hope this can be worked out. The truth is that the clock is ticking on getting funding for the cemetery and any efforts which are seen as a hindrance, regardless of whether they are well meaning or not, could cause it to lose funding. The United Veterans Council of Monterey represents 32 veterans groups and they are adamantly opposed to the petition. I hope you are too.
Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.
Salinas, CA Retired Military Having A Tough Time Finding Doctors Which Take Tricare :
by Richard Kuehn on 04/19/13
View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California It's extremely difficult finding a physician which takes Medi-Cal because the government reimbursement rates are so paltry. But now veterans are finding that they are in a similar situation as Medi-Cal recipients. Their medical plan is called Tricare, and many who are on this plan are complaining they can't find a doctor because most don't see enough military families to get familiar with the system. There are over 600,000 people that are on Tricare, everyone from military retirees to the National Guard and reservists as well as children with a parent away on active duty. Although some physicians aren't taking the insurance because they aren't familiar with the billing, others are complaining about the low reimbursement rates, similar to the problem that we have with Medi-Cal. According to the General Accountability Office (GAO), the number of private doctors accepting Tricare is trending downward. This is a disturbing trend and one, unfortunately, that we have already seen with Medi-Cal. Doctors in California and Texas are most likely to turn away Tricare patients, according to a recent report. I feel terrible for the military retirees (70% of Tricare recipients are in this category) who have worked hard to serve their country and are now being abandoned by many doctors because the government isn't paying sufficient reimbursement rates. Sadly, this is only likely to get worse as we go through more budget cutting.
Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.
Monterey, CA Prosecution Possible For Southern California Hospital On Possible Bogus Workers Compensation Claims
by Richard Kuehn on 04/17/13
View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California In another black mark for the medical industry, The U.S. attorney for the Central District of California has announced it's investigating another surgery center, believing some hospital executives have received kickbacks for sending patients to Pacific Hospital of Long Beach. Most of the patients were filing workers compensation claims, and the FBI has already raided the local hospital and another company owned by the same person as Pacific Hospital. The owners allegedly paid doctors thousands of dollars for each patient which was sent to the hospital for spine surgery. This begs the question whether all of the surgeries were needed or whether some were just done to back up bogus workers comp claims. The hospital has done 5,138 spinal surgeries from 2001-2011 and billed $533 million to workers compensation insurers, more than any hospital in California. It's unfortunate. We've had some allegations regarding improprieties at local medical centers in Salinas, but nothing on this massive scale. Workers compensation for many companies serving senior citizens have skyrocketed in recent years, and some of this is due to fake workers compensation claims. I'm glad to see this type of enforcement but it's unfortunate that it comes only after more than half a billion dollars has been billed to workers comp. insurers.
Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.
Monterey, CA FTC Frowning On Companies Trying To Keep Generics Off Of The Market
by Richard Kuehn on 04/16/13
View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California There are huge dollars at stake when a patent is expiring and a drug is about to become generic. The U.S. Supreme Court is now hearing a case regarding whether big pharmaceutical companies can simply pay off competitors to stay out of the market. This is very lucrative for the drug companies, but at the end of the day it costs insurance companies, Medicare and consumers billions of dollars each year. It seems as if drug companies have several tricks up their sleeves to continue cornering the market on major brand name drugs which have patents expiring. The New York Times reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing to stop one tactic. They filed suit against drug company Actelion, charging that the company (like many others) had refused to sell samples of its drugs to competitors so that they can develop generics. Actelion has refused to turn over samples of its key drug Tracleer (a lung disorder treatment), which is not surprising given that the company is heavily reliant on that pharmaceutical and Zavesca. The Tracleer patent expires in 2015 and given that the company is charging $79,000/year for each patient taking the drug, it's using desperate tactics to keep its hold on the market. Zavesca, at $229,000/year, costs even more and its patent expires later this year. Pharmaceutical companies have even come up with their own lingo for trying to extend a patent's time on the market dubbed "Life Cycle Management." Legislative efforts to require drug manufacturers to sell samples to generic drug companies have failed twice, after huge lobbying dollars from pharmaceutical companies poured into Washington D.C. It's a sad situation when companies with the most lobbying dollars win, but maybe the FTC can prevail in Federal Court.
Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.
Monterey, CA Stressed Out Hospital Residents Are Making More Mistakes Despite Rules Implemented To Make Their Jobs Easier
by Richard Kuehn on 04/15/13
View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California Conventional wisdom is that residents training in hospitals become too tired to adequately treat patients, causing many errors. Two recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, however, have found the opposite. There have been recent workplace regulations implemented which limit the work hours that doctors in training can work. These were designed to enhance safety for both patients and residents. Both studies say that these rules need to be analyzed and perhaps redesigned. Formerly, a resident could not work more than 30 hours without taking a break. In 2011, this was changed to "protect patients from errors made by sleepy doctors," one study by the University of Michigan Medical School said. The rules have not reduced depression rates or increased how many hours per day the doctors sleep, the report says. In addition, patients harmed increased by a hefty 15-20%. Those conducting the studies say that these perplexing results are due to the fact that teaching hospitals haven't increased the staff needed to comply with the new work rules. Essentially, the residents are forced to do the same amount of work in less time. These results are disturbing, and the easiest solution seems to be to increase staff at these hospitals so the residents are under less stress.