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Patient care to end over insurance impasse
You could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford....
This is a case where the hospital and the insurance company were unable to reach a payment agreement. The hospital and insurance companies have mutually agreed not to do business with each other.
The patients in the hospital who are receiving treatment will have to leave before the deadline set in the agreement, although a clause has been left saying that those with the insurance can still receive emergency room services such as trauma or child birth. I think it's outrageous that you could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford. This makes room for patient discrimination. Here's the article:
Temple University Health System's doctors are notifying patients that they've reached an impasse in contract negotiations with Keystone Mercy Health Plan.
The contract expires Aug. 31. "Based on the expiration of these contracts, [Temple University Physicians] can no longer provide primary care, specialty care or hospital outpatient testing at Temple University Health System facilities for patients covered by Keystone Mercy," the university said in a written release this week.
Keystone Mercy is a Medicaid-managed care plan operated by Mercy Health System and Keystone First, a subsidiary of Independence Blue Cross.
Keystone Mercy subscribers will still be able to receive emergency care and treatment for ongoing health conditions, such as pregnancy or chronic illness.
The contract dispute involves about 350 physicians and the health plan. The contract expired on Dec. 31, 2007 and it has been extended four times.
Temple estimates that nearly 12,000 patients are affected by the contract problems. It says the doctors receive $8 million a year from Keystone Mercy - $12 million less than it costs to provide care to the company's subscribers.
The health system itself has extended its contract with Keystone Mercy until Nov. 30, according to Rick Buck, a Keystone spokesman.
"It is Keystone Mercy's intention to maintain its business relationship with Temple University Physicians and Temple University Health System," Buck said.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Let others know and join the conversation by commenting below. You could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford.... ... more -
Are you on the list?
U.S. terrorism watch list tops 1 million and growing by an average of over 20,000 records per month.
From twelve cavemen being trained in secure Naval Air Force bases to anyone who speaks out about their Government. Are we all terrorist in our own right, Or just a threat to the Establishment?
The laws and practices designed to be used against terrorists are being used against every day citizens. Speak now or forever be Oppressed!
http://www.aclu.org/privacy/spying/watchlistcounter.htm...
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN14476751200...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barry-steinhardt/terroris...
http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/counterrorism/faqs.htm U.S. terrorism watch list tops 1 million and growing by an average of over 20,000 records per month. ... more -
Kucinich to investigate police surveillance of protest groups
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who has figured prominently in recent political news for his attempts to begin impeachment hearings against President George W. Bush, today announced that the congressional subcommittee he chairs will look into reports of peace groups being surveilled by police and private investigators.
"[M]ost people would be upset to know that police were spying on lawful citizens and infiltrating peaceful organizations, rather than chasing down real criminals," said Kucinich in a press release delivered to RAW STORY. "At a minimum, such police spying is clearly a waste of taxpayer dollars and a diversion from the mission of protecting and serving the people.
"I want the subcommittee to determine how widespread these activities are and who ordered them," the Ohio Democrat and former presidential candidate said.
Kucinich chairs the House Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The press release referred to reports that Maryland state police officers infiltrated peace and anti-death penalty groups and that private investigators working on behalf of "several large corporations" had surveilled environmental groups.
Such surveillance is apparently not limited to law enforcement and private investigators. In January 2007, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a report showing "widespread Pentagon surveillance of peace activists."
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who has figured prominently in recent political news for his attempts to begin impeachment hearings again... more -
Early activists for civil rights to be honored with memorial
"It's ironic that the civil rights monument is being placed in the middle of all those Confederate heroes"
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Reason Magazine - Strip for the Principal
How could anyone think a strip search for Advil was reasonable? Zero Tolerance means Zero Common Sense.
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John McCain and Martin Luther King
John McCain received many kudos for addressing the NAACP, but unfortunately the gap between words and actions are vast for the candidate. Check out his voting record on civil rights issues in this video. John McCain received many kudos for addressing the NAACP, but unfortunately the gap between words and actions are vast for the candida... more
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FBI Documents Aiming at Civil rights Groups in the 1960's
For those of you have heard of the Coin Tel Pro here are the actual documents that targeted and took down civil rights groups and aimed at disbanding the black community.
Read it before you make any assumptions For those of you have heard of the Coin Tel Pro here are the actual documents that targeted and took down civil rights groups and aime... more -
City forces TG woman to dress in men's room
A city swimming pool has told a transgender woman that she must sign in as a man and use the men’s locker room to change into her swimsuit.
A city swimming pool has told a transgender woman that she must sign in as a man and use the men’s locker room to change into her swim... more -
The dark side of the Toyota Prius
The National Labor Committee (NLC), a New York-based human rights group, has been investigating working conditions at Toyota Motor Corp., and the labor used to produce its best-selling Prius hybrid cars.
In its 65-page report released in June, NLC includes first-hand testimony of factory conditions in “Toyota City,” outside of Nagoya, Japan — less than 200 miles southwest of Tokyo — where the largest auto company in the world employs some 70,000 people.
The report alleges that Toyota exploits guest workers, mostly shipped in from China and Vietnam. According to the NLC, these workers are “stripped of their passports and often forced to work — including at subcontract plants supplying Toyota — 16 hours a day, seven days a week, while being paid less than half the legal minimum wage.” Workers are forced to live in company dormitories and deported for complaining about poor treatment, the report finds.
Low-wage temporary workers make up one-third of Toyota’s Prius assembly-line workers, mostly in the auto-parts supply chain. They are signed to contracts for periods as short as four months, and are paid only 60 percent of a full-time employee’s wage.
Parts plants run by subcontractors advertise standard, nine-hour, five-day-a-week jobs. But according to the NLC, “the typical shift was 15 to 16.5 hours a day, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. or 1:00 a.m.”
In 2002, Kenichi Uchino, 30, died while working at the “green” Tsutsumi plant that assembles the Prius. During the 13th hour of a routine 14-hour day, Uchino collapsed on the shop floor of the internationally lauded “sustainable” factory, which uses sulfur-oxide-eating paint and boasts 5 percent emissions reductions. A Japanese court ruled that Uchino’s death was caused by exhaustion from overwork.
His wife, Hiroko Uchino, described a grueling lifestyle that included an 85-hour workweek prior to his death. The NLC published his time cards, which reveal that he was “putting in 106.5 to 155 hours of overtime … in the 30 days leading up to his death.” The National Labor Committee (NLC), a New York-based human rights group, has been investigating working conditions at Toyota Motor Cor... more -
Individualism vs Collectivism
"An animated [6 part] series exploring the substance behind the political terminology used in contemporary debates.
The research of Mr G Edward Griffin reveals how all viewpoints can be stripped down to 2 basic positions.
Discover how the different approaches of Collectivism and Individualism impact on all aspects of our lives, from human rights, governmental authority and the use of force.
INTRO
P1. The Nature and Origin of Human Rights
P2. Group Supremacy
P3. Coercion vs Freedom
P4. Equality and Inequality under the Law
P5. Proper Role of Government"
(End of excerpt)
Videos produced by YouTube user ST0PandL00K "An animated [6 part] series exploring the substance behind the political terminology used in contemporary debates. ... more -
The 10 Worst Corporations of 2007
Neither Honest Nor Trustworthy: The 10 Worst Corporations of 2007
by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman
The U.S. public holds Big Business in shockingly low regard.
A November 2007 Harris poll found that less than 15 percent of the population believes each of the following industries to be "generally honest and trustworthy:" tobacco companies (3 percent); oil companies (3 percent); managed care companies such as HMOs (5 percent); health insurance companies (7 percent); telephone companies (10 percent); life insurance companies (10 percent); online retailers (10 percent); pharmaceutical and drug companies (11 percent); car manufacturers (11 percent); airlines (11 percent); packaged food companies (12 percent); electric and gas utilities (15 percent). Only 32 percent of adults said they trusted the best-rated industry about which Harris surveyed, supermarkets.
With the 10 Worst Corporations of 2007, we aim to show - again - that Big Business is out of control and to connect comparable abuses to the failure of government overseers, regulators and enforcers.
Presented alphabetically, here are the 10 Worst Corporations of 2007:
http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/mm2007/112007/mokhi... Neither Honest Nor Trustworthy: The 10 Worst Corporations of 2007 by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman ... more -
ZAP! Ep. 3 - "PARENTS"
In this ZAP! episode, I discuss "coming out." I explain how I pulled it off, and - as always - I inject the discussion with a joke or two. Or seven. In this ZAP! episode, I discuss "coming out." I explain how I pulled it off, and - as always - I inject the discussion with a joke or... more
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Hightower on Marijuana Reform
Watch the Marijuana Policy Project's Profiles in Marijuana Reform interview with author and national radio commentator, Jim Hightower in the video to the right. This is a project of MPP.tv. Watch the Marijuana Policy Project's Profiles in Marijuana Reform interview with author and national radio commentator, Jim Hightower ... more
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20,000 added to terror-watchlist each month
The government calls its watch list one of the most effective tools in its fight against terrorism. It was created after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to consolidate 12 existing lists and make sure no terrorists slipped through the cracks - whether when entering the country or if otherwise stopped for questioning. Last year, congressional investigators found "general agreement that the watch list has helped to combat terrorism."
Other audits of the watch list over the last several years, however, have concluded that it has mistakenly flagged innocent people whose names are similar to those on it. More than 30,000 airline passengers had asked the Homeland Security Department to clear their names from the list as of October 2006. Additionally, as many as 20 suspected terrorists were left off the list as of last year due to a technology glitch.
Chad Kolton, a spokesman for the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center that maintains the list, said the government is working to fix the gaps.
"We strive to have the watch list contain all appropriately suspected terrorists who represent a threat to the U.S., but only appropriately suspected terrorists," Kolton said.
The ACLU predicted the watch list would include 1 million names as early as Monday. The civil liberties group reached that number by citing the 700,000 records on the watch list as of last September and adding 20,000 names each month, as forecast by the Justice Department's inspector general. The government calls its watch list one of the most effective tools in its fight against terrorism. It was created after the Sept. 11,... more -
Turkey charges 86 for 'coup plot'
BBC: A top Turkish prosecutor has brought charges against 86 people allegedly involved in a coup plot.
Aykut Cengiz Engin said those charged included leading figures from the army, business and the secular press.
The charges follow speculation about a shadowy group of hardline nationalists determined to act in what they see as defence of Turkey's secular values.
Tensions have been rising in Turkey amid efforts to close the ruling party over alleged anti-secular activities.
The Constitutional Court is considering a case against the AK Party, in which it is accused of aiming to introduce Sharia law in Turkey, in contravention of the strictly secular constitution.
The Turkish prime minister and president - both AKP members - are named in that case and could be barred from office. They and the party reject the charges, which they say are part of a campaign against the party. BBC: A top Turkish prosecutor has brought charges against 86 people allegedly involved in a coup plot. ... more -
There Is No Fourth Amendment
FOURTH AMENDMENT [U.S. Constitution] - 'The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.'
"Skull and Bones member, war criminal and traitor George W. Bush recently signed HR 6304 or the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 into law that effectively makes the Fourth Amendment null and void. The new law disregards the protections guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment and allows the government to spy on people without a warrant so long as the government reasonably believes that they are gathering information on somebody from a foreign country.
The government can reasonably believe whatever they want and not have to provide probable cause supported by an oath or affirmation to obtain a warrant before they engage in spying activities. It gives them a blank check to spy on whoever they please. It also eliminates any sort of oversight in the intelligence gathering process, and this is a dangerous proposition.
The law also gives immunity to telecommunication companies from lawsuits pertaining to their prior cooperation in the unlawful spying programs implemented by the government. As expected, Bush and the supporters of this newly passed law are using the bogus excuse of the war on terror to undermine civil liberties. The terror war as has been documented time and time again is a fraud designed to setup a police state, justify illegal foreign wars and destroy the rule of law. The only reason there has been such a hurry to get this legislation passed into law is so Bush’s buddies in these Fortune 100 companies won’t get sued over their felonious activity." FOURTH AMENDMENT [U.S. Constitution] - 'The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against un... more -
Why Bush Should Not Attend Beijing Opening Ceremonies
President Bush's announcement that he will attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics came in the wake of brutal crackdowns in Tibet and during a week when seven peacekeepers were murdered in the Darfur region of Sudan, where China continues to underwrite the carnage.
It also came at a moment when a growing group of U.S. and international politicians have taken a stand by eschewing the opening ceremonies -- the only component of the Games geared not toward celebrating the athletes but entirely toward burnishing the Beijing regime's political image. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper were joined recently by European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering in deciding not to attend. Barack Obama and John McCain have indicated that if they were president they would not attend unless they saw a significant improvement in China's human rights record.
Bush has squandered an enormous opportunity. Beijing has been notoriously indifferent to traditional diplomatic pressure, but it has leaped into action to protect the Games. Early efforts by human rights activists to link Darfur to the Games prompted Beijing to hastily appoint an envoy to the region, to soften its veto threats on the U.N. Security Council and, most significantly, to sign last year's U.N. resolution authorizing a protection force for Darfur.
A presidential boycott of the opening ceremonies might have proved to be a powerful additional point of leverage with an otherwise intractable regime. A boycott limited to the opening ceremonies also would have had the advantage of not targeting the athletes. And it would have sent a strong symbolic statement to Beijing at little substantive cost to U.S.-China relations.
Instead, Bush has made a powerful statement tacitly approving China's behavior. His decision is regrettable.
It was a missed opportunity for the United States to stand strong in support of the anguished people of Darfur as well as the Tibetans in their long struggle.
It was an opportunity to express solidarity with those Chinese citizens whose human rights are being denied, to demonstrate moral leadership and to represent the values and principles our nation was founded on.
It was a golden opportunity now lost.
Originally Published in the LA Times
authors: Actress Mia Farrow has made nine trips to the Darfur region. Ronan Farrow, a student at Yale Law School, has worked on human rights issues in Darfur and South Sudan and on U.S.-China relations for the House Foreign Affairs Committee. They are mother and son.
President Bush's announcement that he will attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics came in the wake of brutal crackdowns... more -
John Dean: Congress is "a bunch of wusses"
John Dean's take on Congress immunizing telecoms with the passage of FISA amendments was refreshingly, honestly coarse; "Well, it looks like we have a bunch of wusses up there on Capitol Hill, not much interested in civil liberties and very interested in C.Y.A."
Dean contends that the immunity given to telecoms by the bill is "merely civil immunity" which does not immunize anyone from criminal prosecution, including telecoms. But he says, "Whether a Democratic administration would have the guts to ever prosecute anybody for any of this is another story."
Mr. Dean said he also questions whether Congress' immunization of telecoms for past crimes is even Constitutionally permissable. He says, "It's possible that a court could rule that Congress doesn't have the power, in the middle of a case that's being litigated to take away jurisdiction from the federal courts." Which makes a lot of sense. I can envision a judge having some objection to Congress changing the rules in the middle of the game and telling him that the judicial branch has no say in a case that he is currently hearing. That just might piss a federal judge plum off.
When Rob Kall asked about Dean's thoughts on law professor Johnathan Turley's statement on Olberman that President Bush has committed felonies 30 times by reauthorizing the illegal surveillance programs, Dean said he hadn't heard of Turley's remarks, but he made it very clear where he stands on Turley's judgement compared to George W. Bush's:
"If he says that Bush has violated the law 30 times, I'd put my money on Turley."
Rob then asked a question that I had suggested for Mr. Dean: What about the illegal wiretapping that occured before 9/11? Dean said he didn't know whether there was evidence of that. "Who knows if we'll ever know what they were doing?" Dean asked rhetorically.
But there is evidence. And lots of it. John Dean's take on Congress immunizing telecoms with the passage of FISA amendments was refreshingly, honestly coarse; "Well, it look... more -
TSA vs. passenger tussle caught on tape, now focus of lawsuit
A New York woman has filed a $10 million lawsuit stemming from her arrest at Washington's Reagan International Airport last year, an arrest she says was unwarranted and abusive A New York woman has filed a $10 million lawsuit stemming from her arrest at Washington's Reagan International Airport last year, an a... more
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Jury awards $11 million payout to neighborhood denied water
Imagine one family with 10 children sharing two tubs of water between them on bath night. Imagine a neighborhood where residents either pay for private wells to be dug, haul water from cisterns, or collect rain water to be able to drink, cook, and bathe.
In your mental image, what year is this happening? What country is this taking place?
Did you say Columbus, OH, up until 2003? No!? Oh, yes, it's true — and the 67 plaintiffs denied public water service from 1956 up until five years ago have just been awarded $15,000 to $300,000 after civil rights attorneys sued and won a discrimination case in which residents of a mostly black neighborhood were denied public water service. The award totals $11 million.
The residents of the Coal Run neighborhood went without public water for decades. One resident says, "As a child, I thought it was normal because everyone done it in my neighborhood. But I realized as an adult it was wrong." The money will compensate the plaintiffs for pain and suffering as well as monetary losses. To see the defense's argument, read more.
The defense that the plaintiffs were offered water years ago but refused services and that the case was a chance for out-of-town lawyers to make money from what they knew would be a generous cash settlement. And because many county residents — including commissioners, judges, and other local officials — are also not tied into the public water system, race played no part in the lack of services.
The Ohio Attorney General says, "this decision speaks firmly about the importance of treating citizens with equal respect, regardless of race." Imagine one family with 10 children sharing two tubs of water between them on bath night. Imagine a neighborhood where residents eithe... more
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Civil Rights
