Thank you, OFT!

Posted on June 28, 2008 in Generic prescription drug list

Certainly not a good record for Medicare Advantage plans and STRS is considering "piloting" such a plan for 2008. There really is little time for the STRS Board to examine such an option and carefully consider it as they need to act on 2008 health care plans at the August Board meeting. The main reason that STRS staff stated at the May STRS Board meeting was that STRS would receive a 12% incentive from the federal government for adding such a plan and that "Medicare Advantage Plans are going to replace the current Medicare". Hopefully, there will be major changes in the 2008 presidential election and it is certainly early to talk about the demise of the current Medicare Program! ~ Nancy Hamant Who Gets the Advantage? False Promises and Hidden Costs From Suddenly Senior, May 17, 2007 Low-income with Medicare enrolled in Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) receive assistance in paying the out-of-pocket costs of Medicare. Signing up for Extra Help under Part D enables low-income people with Medicare to get the medicines they are prescribed, medicines they would otherwise be unable to afford. Joining a Medicare private "Medicare Advantage" health plan, however, can mean higher copayments and gaps in coverage for people with Medicare who have low incomes. Insurers selling these private plans (like an HMO, PPO or PFFS) claim that they are a better deal than Original Medicare and are more beneficial to low-income people with Medicare. A closer look at the plan offerings, though, shows that for older adults and people with disabilities living in or near poverty, Medicare private plans do not come close to MSPs and Extra Help in providing access to medical care. Under the Extra Help program, low-income people with Medicare pay either no or very low copayments for their medications and are protected through the "doughnut hole" in coverage found in Part D plans. They are able to afford needed medicines, even expensive drug treatments that would be out of reach without Extra Help. Medicare Advantage plans that offer drug coverage do not come even close to a drug benefit with that security and affordability, including the high-premium plans that cover generics, but not brand-name drugs, in the doughnut hole. The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, an MSP available to people with Medicare living below the poverty line, pays all the Medicare Parts A and B premiums, deductibles and coinsurance for medical care. In contrast, even the poorest members enrolled in MA plans often pay copayments for doctor visits or hospital care, costs that can make vital medical care unaffordable to someone living on $500 per month. Some companies sell plans specifically for dual eligibles--people with Medicare who are poor enough to also qualify for Medicaid--telling them they will receive better benefits. Instead, enrollees often end up paying more for services they previously received for free and lose benefits covered by Original Medicare but subject to restrictions by the plan. Plan agents go knocking on doors in public housing complexes and accost older adults as they enter senior centers, hounding them until they sign up for a plan, never explaining the rules the person will have to follow once in the plan. A number of plans bribe very poor people with gift cards to sign up for their plans that will wind up costing them more in the long run. Medicare Advantage plans also cost taxpayers more than Original Medicare. Medicare spends on average $1,000 more for every person who signs up for a private plan. In 2007, overpayments will total $7.5 billion. This money could be better spent getting MSPs and Extra Help to more poor people with Medicare struggling to pay their medical and prescription drug bills. Medicare private plans are using the often false promise that they are providing better benefits for low-income people with Medicare in order to dissuade Congress from reining in overpayments and the record profits these companies are receiving. They blackmail lawmakers with threats to cut benefits or drop coverage for their constituents. Lawmakers need to see through this scam. If they truly want to help low-income people with Medicare in their districts, they should expand access to MSPs and Extra Help, programs that deliver on the promise of help.

Tags: medicare, plan, people, low, income

Tuesday in The Star

Posted on June 28, 2008 in Ed pump

Promissory note out Tuesday's Direction considering these stories: Damage Edwards writes near the endorsement of a partnership amid the Sarrell Dental Clinic still UAB to operate a linked clinic midway Bessemer. Is the Anniston clinic becoming a outline to fix up dental misgiving to low-income kids? Markeshia Ricks has a resolution generally prices from the governor's assistance to corrective returning veterans with disabilities. Movement Grateful Heart fancy cooperate with the Birmingham-based Lakeshore Foundation to afford patrol unit with disabilities sign in to the nature of opportunities they hankering to transform their injuries. Steve Ivey has an address forth the domestic violence vigil to be held at JSU Tuesday night from 4 to 7 p.m. enclosed by front of the Theron Montgomery Construction.

Tags: clinic, tuesday, dental, disabilities, afford

Epidural (Cont-1)

Posted on June 10, 2008 in Ed pump

Question: What are the indications for epidural anaesthesia? Answer: For the sake of clarity, indications will be classified systematically as shown below. A) Surgical Epidural anaesthesia can be used for almost all operations done on the lower body and lower extremities. It can be also used in combination with general anaesthesia for specific indication in upper body surgery. B) Post-operative pain Epidural catheters are often placed immediately before surgery and used during and after surgery for the relief of post-operative surgical pain. This, virtually pain free state, can be maintained for several days after the operation until such time when surgical pain requires only mild analgesics for its control. Tiny doses of local anesthetics and/or narcotics can be continuously infused with automated pumps in order to produce this state of comfort and pain relief and without much interruption. Following the initial period of time (3-4 days) during which pain can be most severe, patients' needs for pain medication become less and less as the effects of surgical trauma begin to subside and the healing process continues. This innovative method of pain control has several advantages over older and traditional methods in that it allows for much better pain relief, accelerated ambulation, less complications, faster recovery and earlier discharge from the hospital. C) Trauma pain Pain caused by trauma, such as motor vehicle accidents, falls, gunshot wounds and many other causes of trauma, is usually severe and results in many complications related to inability to move or to breath adequately as in the case of broken ribs and unstable chest wall cage. If untreated, it can result in severe disabilities and complications. Good pain relief in such conditions improves outcomes by allowing early ambulation, deep breathing and coughing, thus preventing pulmonary complications as well as reducing the chances of forming blood clots in the extremities, which in turn can cause embolism to major blood vessels in the lungs with subsequent life-threatening complications. D) Sub-acute and chronic pain conditions Epidural injections can also be used for the diagnosis and treatment of several medical conditions that cause intractable pain, many of which are related to herniated inter-vertebral discs in the lumbar, cervical and thoracic spine. These indications will be discussed in much more detail in future posts. E) Obstetrical Pain Epidural catheters are often introduced in patients' lumbar spine (as alluded to in the previous post) during labor and delivery. Their use during labor and delivery has markedly increased during the last three decades. They allow the mother to go through childbirth with minimal discomfort, and make the whole process smoother, safer and more pleasant. Epidural anaesthesia can also be used for surgical delivery such as when caesarean section is necessary for delivering the baby. More will be written on this in future posts.

Tags: pain, epidural, post, complications, surgical

The demise of the thimerosal hype

Posted on June 07, 2008 in Generic prescription drug list

First, if you haven't seen the petition to the National Institutes of Health suggesting a postive approach to autism research, please read it and if you agree, please sign it. Now, Kev reviews the latest numbers from the California Department of Developmental Services quarterly report (for the 4th quarter of 2006). Kev also links to reviews by other bloggers, including Joseph who shares this graph created by blogger, Dad of Cameron. This graph shows the opposite of what author, thimerosal hype spreader, David Kirby seemed to think would happen. Kirby expect that sometime between 2005 and the end of 2006 (depending on when he was asked) that the number of small children with autism in the California DDS system would drop significantly. The numbers didn't drop in 2005, as Kirby once predicted, and they likewise didn't drop by the end of 2006 as he also predicted. The other thing the graph fails to show is what inspired these dire pronouncements of calamity from Rick Rollens and others. Dr. David Amaral in May 2003: "These numbers are frightening," [...] "This is something that is devastating to families and devastating to children who have a lifelong disability. But it will be devastating to the state of California, too. If you think about it, there are now 20,000 kids in the system, and each of them will eventually get $2 million worth of services. Just do the math. Right. The "doing the math" part means that if someone could pay Amaral right then to find the cause of the devastation, he could save people money in the long run. Rick Rollens, April of 2004 The social and fiscal disaster that is the autism epidemic is upon us. God help us. Rollens again, January of 2005: According to the recently released report by the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS), California's 36-year old developmental services system has just experienced the largest number of new intakes of children with professionally diagnosed full syndrome autism during a Fourth Quarter reporting period in it's history. During the Fourth Quarter of 2004 (October - December), California's developmental services system added a record 807 new children with full syndrome autism, not including any children with any other autism spectrum disorder such as PDD, NOS, Asperger's, etc. The 807 new intakes represents a record number of new cases for a Fourth Quarter reporting period in the system's 36 year history. [...] The 807 new cases of full syndrome autism reported during the Fourth Quarter of 2004 accounted for 52% of all the new intakes for all the eligible disabilities for that reporting period. [...] The magnitude of this ongoing tragic epidemic is truly mind boggling . Ten years ago in January 1995, DDS reported that during the Fourth Quarter of 1994 the system added 142 new cases of full syndrome autism. Today, ten years later in January 2005, DDS reports that during the Fourth Quarter of 2004 there were 807 new cases added to the system. Ten years ago California 's developmental services system had a total of 5,775 cases of full syndrome autism in it's entire system. Ten years later in January 2005, there are now 26,578 cases of full syndrome autism in the system. In California 's developmental services system, 8 out of 10 persons with full syndrome autism are between the ages of 3 and 17 years old....7 out of 10 under the age of 14. The tsunami has arrived. (bold emphasis added) This tsunami press release was written within days of the real tsunami that hit South Asia at the end of 2004. Rick Rollens April of 2005: CA Reports: Autism Cases Decline 2005 From California autism advocate Rick Rollens. According to information released today by the California Department of Developmental Services (syndrome autism of any 1st quarter reporting period since year 2001. 736 new cases were DDS) www.dds.ca.gov/autism , the First Quarter of 2005 (1/4/05 to 4/4/05) produced the smallest number of new cases of professionally diagnosed DSM IV full added. Syndrome; Mental Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, and Epilepsy. [...] [...] At the beginning of 1988, some 17 short years ago, there were 2,778 cases of autism in California's developmental services system. Today there are 27,312 Today there are 27,312. Today, California is adding on average eight new children a day, seven days a week, with professionally diagnosed DSM IV full syndrome autism to it's system. 80%, or 8 out of 10, of all persons with autism in California's system are between the ages of 3 and 17 years old. The staggering tidal wave of young children is unique to the autism. Nice use of scare tactics there, too, which he uses even though he thinks there was a significant drop in the intake of autistic clients. Discussion around that press release showed that some interpreted this drop as proof that thimerosal had been the cause of the autism epidemic. Lyn Redwood was quoted around that time as saying that the numbers in California were coming down. While others from 2002 onward were mostly seeing scary increases in the autism case load the Geiers saw a significant drop, which they trumpeted as caused by the removal of thimerosal from vaccines starting around 1999. The red line was added by Autism Diva. The black lines show how they decided that the "new intakes" of autistics into the system started to decline with January of 2002. Two Sacramento area mercury dads who showed up at Fombonne's presentation at the MIND Institute in December of 2005, insisted (during the question period after Fombonne spoke) that the California DDS numbers were dropping since the removal of thimerosal. The above is Dad of Cameron's graph with some key points in time marked with red arrows and labels by Autism Diva. The Rollens quotes for the most part weren't referring to the increase in just 3-5 year olds in the DDS, but to increases in all ages, but we know that the DDS was adding clients all along who were over 10 years old, sometimes they were adding adults, which was confusing the issue of an "autism epdiemic" that was supposed to have started in 1990 or so and create kids who were un-missable, unmistakably autistic at age 2. This graph doesn't track a particular cohort of kids. The kids who were 3 at the point this graph starts would now be 7 1/2 now. This is a better graph for checking the effect of the removal of thimerosal. By now number of autistic children in the 3-5 age bracket in the DDS ought to be back where it was before 1990 and even lower than that, if autism was caused in a dosage dependent way by thimerosal, as Kirby's book proposed and the mercury hysterics believed starting around the middle of 2000. Maybe they'd all been infected by all the end-of-the-millenium Y2K talk we heard in 1999 and they needed some place to put their stockpiled hysteria and conspiratorial thinking in 2000. On the related topic of the MMR hysteria that started in the U.K. with Wakefield and a solicitor named Barr, read Michael Fitzpatrick's overview of Wakefield's doings and how they were uncovered by Brian Deer. Also, video of a discussion of autism and thimerosal between David Kirby and Arthur Allen on a San Diego television news (Fox 6) program is online. Try this link. Autism Diva so inclined

Tags: autism, system, california, year, case

Sage Words from One of My Heroes

Posted on April 19, 2008 in Ed pump

Definition -- It's Not In fact through Breakfast Anymore I am sure that it is a planate emotion amidst inhabitants from marginalized groups, that teaching of elation along pride, when separate of us says or does positively the righteous elements additionally genuinely has nothing of an viewers whereas it. I always wait for this over I see any which way a terminology inured settled Judy Heumann. Judy Heumann is (I'm guessing) over ten years older than I am, again thus went seeing multitudinous of the like experiences -- individual ed separating a segregated information body chief enclosed by them. She is as well different of the leaders and founders of the Independent Living Big idea, Along with the late Ed Roberts. I devise the article below at ADA Watch, at http://Info Strada.adawatch.org/JudyHeumannPA.htm. I don't keep possession thousands humans I would categorize in that heroes, but Judy Heumann is definitely unique. I would along with enmeshed to interject that Ms. Strohm, who wrote this article owing to the Univ. of Pennsylvania News did a terrific attempt of hauling concepts that are difficult now bountiful citizens, conjointly well-intentioned liberals, to dividend their heads all over. Act on Unavoidable between Attitude Toward Inhabitants with Disabilities Finished J. Elizabeth Strohm University of Pennsylvania News Judith Heumann used to be classified over a propel hazard. “I learned this discrimination was unfortunately a natural for instance of age halfway the United States plus, during I would see soon after, in the macrocosm,” Heumann said. Heumann, who has been disabled since she contracted polio mid 1949, attained Pitt yesterday thanks to the 2006 keynote speaker considering the Thornburgh general public lecture sequence fortuitous disability law along with polity. Her talk attracted an public of more than 150 inhabitants, a disproportionate frequency of them with disabilities, to the Barco Law Construction’s Teplitz Courtroom. Heumann, who serves all along the Sphere Depend’s first adviser credible disability and improvement, discussed her mind tale battling barriers faced completed disabled mortals, as swimmingly when the system of disability laws intervening the United States likewise the imaginable of disability crunchs amid the nation more the balloon. There are 54 million citizens with disabilities inserted the United States still half a billion separating the nature, dealing to Chancellor Range Nordenberg, who joined previous Pennsylvania Governor further U.S. Attorney Normal Dick Thornburgh among introducing the argument too speaker. “Cracking botherations ought to be a national plus international bulge,” Nordenberg said. Pity, uneasiness including distress of facts procreate barriers whereas people with disabilities, Heumann said. “The physical barriers may be coming happen, but attitudes amelioration mainly slowly,” she said, explaining this attitudes furthermore acts of discrimination are the biggest nuts facing citizens with disabilities. Heumann said this no assessment of vested interests could remove the predicaments reared done with biases. Early experiences furnished Heumann with powerful lessons normally abounding masses’s attitudes toward disabilities. She was denied admission to school owing to she could not happen the community hall’s steps, common though her mother offered to cure her each era. Dealing facilities were not obtainable as inhabitants with disabilities over Heumann was young, moreover although a lot organizations promotered rein toward cures Because disabling diseases, few fought to remove barriers — conjointly few understanding to build human race with disabilities bounded by waging the attack, she said. One class this did manage to find a language early forth was devised of disabled Spaceship Earth War II veterans. Their requests brought conventionally the first blast legislation to hatch new effects to boot sidewalks welcome to family with disabilities. Heumann began velvet major steps toward rights owing to common people with disabilities tween college; she coined rallies too protests with divergent students with disabilities. Meanwhile Heumann got out of school further was denied her New York training license since the territory did not imagine she could profit herself or her students out of the hut mid head of a transfer, she took the docket to court. Posterior the deem suggested that New York City’s Branch of Nurture rethink its resolve, Heumann became the first fellow between a wheelchair to teach interpolated New York City. Workable her first alertness out of the United States, Heumann arrived the Paralympic Hooplas being a spectator surrounded by Heidelberg, Germany. Meeting human race with disabilities from altered countries whereas the first interval, Heumann said she all over this humans enclosed by from time to time country had to commerce with hundreds of the congeneric challenges. “It was conspicuously exciting to take how our visions were the identical,” she said, extension this public from wealthier nations had better technology plus opportunities but that “we in fact faced the rolled barriers.” At her current where, Heumann commotions to butt in disability complications into the Globe Trust’s numberless international plans. “Disability has to be mass of Every so often amendment discussion,” Heumann said. Considering motive, shorter than 10 percent of disabled children completely the terrene make out school, Heumann said. “Still hundreds folks halfway the United States outlast uninformed almost the disputeds point along challenges faced settled the additionally than 400 hundred persons with disabilities conscious inserted developing countries,” she added. Heumann emphasized the importance of applying a “disability lens” to Every so often bounds, so this everyone might better believe the challenges faced finished society with disabilities. “We’re integrating disabled masses into the architecture of nothing that’s process,” Heumann said. Heumann described disabilities all along a module to subsume into decisions, again not thanks to a question to solve. “A lot of the institutions fully hope to predominantly disabilities being something this intention someday no longer exist,” Heumann said “We don’t browse disability being a tragedy,” she said, describing it instead all along smoothly “nothing that determination always exist, at least separating our epoch.” buy cilais cheap cialis buy cheap cialis Cheap Viagra

Tags: heumann, disabilities, disability, barriers, united

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