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Is Our Country Still Capable of Finding Solutions To Big Problems
Posted: Apr 19, 2011
We've done it before. I think we can do it again.
The deficit is a gigantic problem, but solving it by putting hungry people out on the street isn't an acceptable solution, is it?
So the problems I would want us to solve would be
Health Care For Everyone - Including The Elderly So We Can Be Smart About The Way We Dismantle and Redesign or Do Away With Medicare
Defend The Country
Feed those who can't feed themselves
---I need to think about this before I go any further.
;
No, it's not - see message
[ In Reply To ..]It' sad to say, but no there are no solutions. When it got this bad is hard to say, but the country is so divided politically and the hatred that both sides show (just look at this board) I believe is beyond repair. People are tearing other people apart just because of their party affiliation. There could be some answers, but if you don't belong to the right "club", nobody will even listen to the ideas.
I believe - sm
[ In Reply To ..]that it is not necessarily party vs party, but rich vs poor. Yes, it seems people associate pubs with the rich and dems with the poor. It does seem that everything in this country is to make the rich richer or give to the poor and nobody cares about the backbone of this country, the middle class. The reason this country is in such bad shape is because of sheer greed and I don't think we can stop that. Nobody cares about "people" anymore, just making big bucks and taking advantage of anyone to get it.
Really need to think about this one. - Zville MT
[ In Reply To ..]I think we can solve the big problems, but I think the politicians and the country will need to be in a different place than they are now - everyone's so divided and only concerned with partisan politics. Republicans don't want to raise taxes, but they don't understand that everyone's going to have to pay more to cover the deficit. Democrats don't want any cuts in spending, but they don't understand we can't keep spending like we have been - there are just too many takers and not enough makers. I just hope that we can come together to make things right before all the fighting creates problems that would take a lot more sacrifice and hurt a lot more than they would at this point.
A good place to start would be cutting fraud, waste, and shrink the government, starting with areas that overlap or are redundant. I'll have to think about it more before I go on.
Please do come back and post more. I like your approach to these problems - nm
[ In Reply To ..]nm
Here is the contradiction in what I see - sm
[ In Reply To ..]We want to eliminate fraud and waste and we blame government. In the case examples above, the waste and fraud is perpetrated not by the government, but private companies or individuals. Yet, on the other hand, everyone always wants to defund the government administration of the programs. (Lately the IRS who brings in revenue). The administration dollars are where the funding needs to be to provide the regulators/auditors to do the job. Seems like everyone then wants to complain about the lousy job the government does. Dogs never quite succeed at chasing their own tails, I have observed.
Can you specify the overlap, redundancy, fraud and waste? - sm
[ In Reply To ..]Do not read any "nastiness" into my next remarks, because I really do want to know. I am so tired of people making general comments, and then using the "welfare queen across the street" as the example. I have seen federal and state moneys combined to more efficiently provide service. I have seen coordination of services to help people living in poverty. I have seen DNR and law enforcement work together to fight crime and rescue people. I have seen private corporations and individuals "match" funds that have been provided through government. I have seen the IRS, Medcare auditors, State auditors audit books and services, and people being prosecute for fraud. So please tell me where all this waste is going on. I really do want to know.
not the OP, but it might be a tall order. - Both sides of congress
[ In Reply To ..]say it is there, none of them can really put a handle on it. Maybe that is an excuse they want to trot out as to why Medicare is going broke. That much they KNOW. Something has to be causing that. Perhaps the waste is so widespread they don't know where to start. Probably why the Repub said it needed to be replaced with something else. Makes sense to me. When fraud is so ingrained, start over with stricter guidelines in place that are monitored. That is the problem with most programs. They are not monitored. Maybe if we get a flat tax we can repurpose all those displaced IRS agents to monitor programs to make sure money is going where it should and being used like it is supposed to be.
So the answer is because we KNOW it? - So it could be a myth.
[ In Reply To ..]I think it is like "taxes are too high". Taxes are less than they have ever been (for the rich anyways). Get rid of the waste, and by the way, anything I don't use is waste!
I am quoting your congress, both sides. - if it is a myth, it is a
[ In Reply To ..]bipartisan myth. You think the deficit is a myth too?
A myth perpetuated by catch phrases, slogans, and easy targets. - yup - nm
[ In Reply To ..]Just with anything "human" there is always individual waste. That is not going to stop. I am wasting my time on this board when I should be working. I do get paid on my production, unfortunately for me, though. There is always time wasted around the water cooler, etc. Doesn't matter if it is government or small business, fortunately only we "ICs" work in sweat shops.
If what you say is true and the waste is - not going to stop then
[ In Reply To ..]I would very much like to see tax dollars not dropped down a dry well anymore and going toward the deficit.
MY congress? What about your congress? - Which one is mine?
[ In Reply To ..]
Sorry. Did not realize you were stuck on - semantics. THE
[ In Reply To ..]Congress. Is that better, dear?
I won't use the welfare queen across the street, but... - Zville MT
[ In Reply To ..]I will use an example of a patient I did dictation for just yesterday who admitted that he lied to his doctor about hearing voices so that he could get disability. Or the patient a few months ago who was on disability (maybe for a very good reason) who admitted he continued to smoke marijuana and drink, had no plans of stopping, and refused any kind of rehab. Now, I understand that hallucinations are a hard thing to disprove, but there should be some kind of medication trial guidelines that prevent this kind of thing from happening, as well as drug tests and enforced rehab for those with substance abuse problems. Most agencies say they can't afford to follow up on everyone, but my question is how can they not afford it? Seems to me it would be more cost-effective to root out those that are taking advantage of the system than just to continue to pay them month after month.
Here's a link to the report from the GAO listing areas of government duplication: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11318sp.pdf
I admit I haven't read all of it yet, but the 50 programs to make sure there is financial literacy in our country I'm pretty sure can be cut, it not eliminated - should the feds really be the ones in charge of this?
Not a Welfare Queen but an RN who bragged to me she faked hospital visits - The MD let her do it
[ In Reply To ..]I wasn't in a position to fight it, but I was shocked to know that kind of thing is going on.
She faked her own? How was she compensated? - I guess I am super naive.
[ In Reply To ..]
She, an RN, billed for visits she didn't make to hospital patients - :)
[ In Reply To ..]nm
Still confused. She is a private nurse? - sm
[ In Reply To ..]The hospitals I have been to employ nurses, and the hospitals, as a provider, bill the the insurance companies or whomever. But she, personally, is billing for herself? Or is she billing these phantom visits on the behalf of the hospital? (In which case, the hospital is the benficiary, so what is in it for her?).
She was billing for the doctor's clinic where she was paid for time worked - nm
[ In Reply To ..]nm
So, she also cashed the checks and pocketed the money? - Usually accountants/bookkeepers handle that
[ In Reply To ..]Also, the doc is obviously in cahoots, too. I wonder if this clinic is too small to show up on the "auditing radar". When I worked at a facility, we had Medicare auditors, state auditors, grant auditors, always going over everything. If a checkmark was out of place you got a deficiency. You need a whistleblower.
Do clinic nurses make paid hospital visits? - wondering-nm
[ In Reply To ..]
Yes, sometimes they can, if their patients are in the hospital - nm
[ In Reply To ..]nm
Really interesting. - The first thing auditors check
[ In Reply To ..]Is whether there are chart notes to back up the billed visit. It still seems highly unlikely that she is a "provider" (meaning she has a number set up, etc., establishing herself as an approved billing entity.) Why have you not reported this?
Whether it was reported or not is not the point of the discussion - nm
[ In Reply To ..]nm
Perhaps not your discussion, but certainly my discussion - if it involves fraud and solutions
[ In Reply To ..]Why would you be so sensitive? Hmmm.
There are so many holes in this story - I think it is baloney
[ In Reply To ..]same as the "welfare queen." Where is the fraud and waste!
No welfare queen for me either but the clinic in our town was closed - for Medicare fraud
[ In Reply To ..]The doctor who owned the clinic was fined and the clinic was closed. I think that's just the tip of the iceberg though. This kind of thing has gone on too long. We need to make an example out of some of these clinic owners, doctors, RNs, etc., and get this fraudulent behavior stopped.
This is a success story then. - Fraud found and punished!
[ In Reply To ..]Yay for our side! Do you support increased funding for fraud prevention and prosecution?
Yes, if the results are similar to the revenue brought in by IRS for tax evaders - sm
[ In Reply To ..]IRS agents bring in $10 worth of revenue for every $1 paid to them in wages. If the same is true for those investigating fraud and abuse, that would be a good way to cut costs of health care, just as with IRS it's a great way to bring in more revenue, which we sorely need.
So you are in favor of increased funding to "root out" patient fraud? - Interesting -sm
[ In Reply To ..]Are you in favor of more regulations? More funding for enforcement? Or any other areas?
I don't think it would take increased funding for this. - Zville MT
[ In Reply To ..]I think the money it would save across the board would more than make up for the extra time it would take to make sure the money went to those that really needed it.
This is one of the first steps I would have us take to reduce the cost of health care - SAM
[ In Reply To ..]If we can stop fraud and abuse, whether it's related to tax evasion or health care, we've done well.
In most cases I wouldn't throw them in prison either. Heavy fines would be more appropriate as a deterrent, and would bring in funds rather than costing us money keeping them in prison.
Sure, once you get the ball rolling perhaps it would be self-perpetuating. - however,
[ In Reply To ..]You have to have the regulations and regulators/auditors/case managers in place to start doing the job. You can't just wave a magic wand.
There are laws against fraud already in place - No magic wand or smoke and mirrors needed
[ In Reply To ..]There obviously are not enough investigators to ferret out all of the abuse, but the laws are already in place.
Apparently we need to protect those regulations and put some bite into them. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]It seems everytime I turn around the T-party Republicans are trying to deregulate and defund. Regulations without enforcement is equal to no regulation--just finger-pointing when the problems arise.
I would like to see that happen. Deregulation has caused many of the problems we have today - in my opinion
[ In Reply To ..]From banking to FAA to health care, there are people who will not do the right thing unless they are regulated and made to do it. In a perfect world everyone would act responsibly, but I think we're going to have to regulate and enforce some of these areas that have been ignored.
No. It's always used smoke and mirrors to solve problems. - Not much has changed.
[ In Reply To ..]x
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