| Sen. Mel Martinez wants to double Medicare fraud penalties
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez on Tuesday trumpeted his proposal to stiffen criminal and civil penalties for people who abuse the nation's health-care system, bringing his message to South Florida, the nation's worst haven for Medicare fraud. ''In Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties we probably have three of the busiest counties in fraud in the United States by a large measure,'' the Florida Republican told reporters at Miami Dade College. He said the federal government estimates about $60 billion in Medicare fraud claims a year, including about $12 billion in Florida. ''Four million Floridians and 47 million Americans that are uninsured could all be amply insured if we just took the fraud out of the Medicare system,'' he said. Martinez, who also met with U.S.
Perry Brown: Sali's vote shows lack of compassion for uninsured ...
Congress recently once again failed to stand up for children. On Jan. 23, U.S. Rep. Bill Sali joined with 151 other U.S. representatives to uphold President Bush's veto of legislation that would have provided health care coverage for millions of children across the United States, including 12,479 children in our own state (2005 census), who have no health insurance at all. For these million-plus families across the United States, the new year doesn't bring new opportunities. For them, 2008 is beginning to look a lot like 2007. Sali's vote to uphold the veto, means these families - our neighbors, our children's friends - will continue to hope daily that their children won't become ill or get injured, and that even a minor illness won't spiral their family into financial disaster.Just today, I cared for an uninsured child whose family could not afford asthma medications that cost $100 per month; as a result of not having these medications, the child is now hospitalized, at the cost of several thousand dollars.
Utahns' top issue is U.S. economy
The future of the economy is of utmost concern to Utah Republicans and Democrats. A Deseret Morning News poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates shows that 51 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of Democrats who planned to vote in the primary election last week believe the economy is the No. 1 concern facing a new president of the United States. The war in Iraq was ranked No. 2 in importance to both parties, while national security issues and terrorism ranked third among Republicans polled and health care ranked third among Democrats. None of the 317 Republican voters polled ranked the environment, taxes or global warming as a concern facing the next American president. Only 1 percent of the 288 Democrats polled said they believed global warming, energy/oil issues, the budget deficit, environment and immigration were the most important national issue.
David Hendricks: State law hinders health-care clinics
As a new kind of family-friendly and affordable medical clinic pops up in bunches across the nation, Texas waits like a flu patient sitting in a crowded doctor's office. The barrier is state law, which urgently needs updating to keep up with new trends in health-care delivery. Although a dozen or more of the retail clinics, also called convenient-care clinics, have opened in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin, only one operates in San Antonio. The RediClinic at the H-E-B Plus store at 6818 S. Zarzamora St. opened in January 2006. About 800 retail clinics were operating in the United States as of last November. The total likely will reach 1,500 by the end of 2008. Five retail clinic chains are active in Texas. None have plans to move into or to expand in San Antonio, including the chains that operate inside Walgreens and CVS drugstores.
Geriatrician Care Guards Against Risk of Inappropriate Meds
FRIDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly Americans taking prescription medications face a lower risk for being given an inappropriate drug or dosage if they receive care from a geriatrician, new research reveals. The finding is based on a large, national review of mostly male veterans who sought care at VA facilities across the United States. The analysis indicates that roughly one in four vets were inappropriately prescribed medications, while those few who had visited with a geriatrician in the past year had reduced exposure to such critical mistakes. "Geriatric care seems to help protect patients who are receiving prescription medications," said study author Mary Jo V. Pugh, a research health scientist with the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, and an assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
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