My Side of the Fencepost
September 17, 2009
Tort Reform discussion needed
By Jim Dickerson
I was asked the other day about my opinion on health care reform. It’s not an easy issue. I believe we could reach consensus on some changes in the American health care system that could benefit our society, but we can’t rush through the process.
I would agree that, overall, we have excellent health care in the United States. However, health insurance costs are shooting past the affordability level for many businesses and individuals. That is a primary reason for considering reform.
If we’re looking at comprehensive reforms in the system, and we’ve come to the conclusion that rapidly increasing cost is a big problem, then we should take a detailed look at all factors contributing to those costs. Malpractice cases, and malpractice insurance costs, are among those factors.
Dealing with the tort reform issue will take considerably more time than President Obama originally had in mind, but now the door has finally been opened. Debate seems to be getting started on this complex issue.
Personally, I believe that health care costs have been influenced over the years by the cost of malpractice insurance, the threat of malpractice suits and the high cost of settlements.
Aside from the possibility of setting limits on malpractice judgements, which has always been part of the discussion, there are some other interesting proposals making the rounds.
One of those would establish special “medical courts” — judges with medical expertise — to hear malpractice cases and determine settlements. Another proposal would use medical experts (or panels of experts) to weed out possible frivolous malpractice cases. Of course, adding another layer to the court system will likely increase health care costs.
Since tort reform is just one of a long list of related issues, I can understand why reforms have been slow in coming.
Like many other Americans, I have some trouble sorting through the rhetoric to determine truth and fiction. I have my doubts about some of the president’s statements in last week’s speech to Congress — especially his statement that his health care reform “would not add one penny” to insurance premium costs, to federal taxes, or to the federal deficit.
With all the details yet to be determined, and based on the track record of every federal program that has been signed into law in the past 80 years, I just can’t believe that.
We are proposing to add more than 30 million currently uninsured Americans to the system, make sure all pre-existing conditions are covered and pretty much guarantee that health coverage is available to all citizens. I don’t believe the federal government can accomplish this without increased cost to taxpayers and ratepayers, or increasing the national debt.
A lot has been said and written about the “public option” of government health coverage within the president’s reform proposal. There is legitimate concern that a public option would remove any profitability for private insurers and take them out of the picture, which would leave average Americans with one insurance option — the government plan.
Various proposals have been made to allow for both the private and public options, including cost “triggers” that would give citizens the option of using the government plan.
If the whole thing boils down to a public plan that is the most practical for the most Americans, it isn’t a large stretch to call that “Medicare for all.” Some have taken the next step and dubbed it “socialized medicine.” Hardly anyone likes the sound of that. It could mean rationed care and long waits for treatment.
At the same time, I believe there is an ongoing misinformation campaign on the internet. It has already played a large roll in convincing many people that “death panels” would be established to “pull the plug” on elderly people.
Various fact checking organizations have discredited this claim. This simply isn’t part of the legislation, but many people continue to believe it.
There is a provision for Medicare to pay for VOLUNTARY end of life counseling sessions for people who are facing terminal illness.
In conclusion, I don’t see the need for a big rush to pass a reform bill within the next month or two. Congress and the Obama Administration need to think this whole thing through, build consensus and come up with a workable plan. It’s too important to rush.
Notes from a Vagabond
July 21, 2009
Remembering ‘Uncle Walt’
By Steve Fox
Friday night word came out that Walter Cronkite passed away. For those of you who may not remember him, he was not a news anchor, he was THE news anchor.
He came across avuncular and trustworthy. My mother called him “Uncle Walt” and the name suited him well. At our house, we got our news from him every night at 5:30 p.m. That’s when news was only a half an hour. Imagine only thirty minutes of news at the end of the day, and yet we managed to stay up on all of the current events.
That is thanks to “Uncle Walt.” He managed to get this out and I mean news, not commentary that passes as news, in a short concise manner. When there was commentary, they told you it was commentary. I have a lot of respect for Walter Cronkite in that regard. I don’t remember him slanting the news.
Walter Cronkite may have been the first and last of his kind. He was the first anchorman, and he did the job well. After his retirement, nobody else had what he had. No one was able to capture the trust of the American people. Walter Cronkite may have been the first and probably the last of the great anchormen.
So, it is kind of ironic that Walter Cronkite died so near the anniversary of the first walk on the moon. One of the big stories he covered was the space program. I remember spending many hours in front of the television captivated by what was going on. I remember watching Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra as they brought the moon shots to us through the use of live video, live audio and animation.
One of the few times I remember Cronkite interjecting personal feelings into a story was during his coverage of the Apollo program. You just knew by the way he talked that he was excited about the program, and his enthusiasm was infectious. I remember the wonder and awe of it all. I couldn’t imagine what it was like being in space but, like any other boy of that era, I wanted to find out.
Another thing I remember is Walter Cronkite’s sign off. It was comforting hearing that every night coming from the same person, and in tribute to Walter Cronkite I will end this column the way he ended his broad cast. “And that’s the way it is, Wednesday July 22, 2009.”
My Side of the Fencepost
July 21, 2009
Fair was more than just fun
By Jim Dickerson
Last year at about this same time, I complimented the Boone County Fair Board on using its collective imagination to stage a fair with great variety that appealed to a large number of Boone County area residents.
This year, I’m doing it again.
It seems the fair board is on a roll with featured events like school bus races, two-car chain races, WDRL racing, combine demolition derbies, ATV motocross races, miniature late model racing and a quality carnival midway.
I attended most of those events and attractions. I enjoyed them all. It was an outstanding county fair.
Some of the other events, though, might not get the attention they really deserve. Those included the Grill Off (great food and a lot of fun), the Little River Band concert, the Native American programs last Monday afternoon, historical programs last Wednesday, 4-H competitions and heritage displays.
These events were part of a great overall program that included opportunities for education along with the fun.
I know very few people have time to experience every single aspect of the fair over a busy five-day run, but the afternoon and early evening events this year were well worth attending. Those who missed them this year (including me) would be well advised to put them on their schedules for next year.
In looking back at Boone County’s fair this year, it should be noted that there were times it was in direct competition with fairs in larger area counties — including both Madison and Platte Counties. Still, the Boone County Fair managed to attract sizable and enthusiastic crowds for most events. That is due both to the loyalty of area residents and the innovative approach to fair entertainment exhibited by the fair board.
The cooperation shown and ultimate success of the county fair each year is an obvious source of pride for Boone County — as well it should be.
Perspectives
May 19, 2009
Extra special graduation
By Paul Hosford
It doesn’t seem possible: our little boy just graduated from high school. Everybody warned us this would happen — you blink and they’re grown. But it was so hard to believe during those first sleepless nights. To paraphrase a famous line from Gone With The Wind, “we didn’t know nothin’ ‘bout babies,” and the learning curve for first-time parents is steep.
We learned that you can live without much sleep, but it isn’t much fun. It did, though, give life a sort of surreal quality. It’s recently been revealed that the CIA used sleep deprivation to get information from prisoners at Gitmo. I’m sure they got some sort of information for their efforts, but I can’t think it had much connection with reality. I have to wonder, though, if it was a new parent who devised this technique. In any event, it is a reminder that having a new baby is in some ways akin to a CIA torture session.
Only worse. Baby boys pee on you. The first time I attempted a diaper change I was literally “baptized” into fatherhood. Maybe being sleep-deprived tempered my response — I just cleaned us up and warmed a bottle.
Being a parent of a child of any age is a guarantee of losing sleep. I have never slept soundly since William was born. I wake at the slightest noise, always ready to deal with whatever problem has gotten a child up in the night.
As they get older, the problems at night change from things requiring direct parental involvement — like throwing up in the crib — to more mundane things like wanting a drink of water. But as they grow and become more self-sufficient, a parent’s nights begin to fill with worries about the future.
I couldn’t sleep at all the night before William started school, worrying about how it would go, thinking about all the implications. I remember Lori cried when we left him at Kindergarten. Another mother, who couldn’t conceal her joy, asked if we’d just left our first child. We nodded. She replied “My last!”
William had a tough time in school. We struggled as he struggled. His teachers soon noticed that William didn’t think and act exactly like the other kids. He didn’t cause trouble; he wasn’t disruptive. But he wasn’t the same. We consulted professionals, filled out huge questionnaires, attended meeting after meeting. Finally, in fifth grade when bullying by certain classmates exacerbated some of William’s behavioral differences, we consulted a developmental pediatrician in Omaha.
She spent more time telling us about her children than examining William, but by the time it was all said and done we were told that William had “autism spectrum disorder not otherwise defined.” Autism either became more common or else more frequently diagnosed starting around the time William was born. But even here, William was unique. He was autistic, but not in a “defined” way.
William’s autism isn’t like Rainman or the more severe cases we see on TV. He’s blessed to be “high functioning.” But it affects everything from his physical coordination to his communication skills. He tends to take everything literally and has problems reading body language and making eye contact.
His mother and I have put in a lot of sleepless nights worrying about him. There were times when his challenges made it seem he’d never make it to graduation. We thought about home-schooling but realized that he had to learn to interact successfully with others.
We have met regularly with his teachers, the school counselor and various administrators from early elementary school through high school. We honestly believe that the willingness of the school to work with us made it possible for him to overcome many of his challenges. He communicates far better than he used to, and his high school teachers often remark about how he “blossomed” from an introverted freshman into a confident senior who would not only talk but joke with them.
And we also need to thank his fellow students who have — with a few notable exceptions — accepted William’s differences and considered him to be one of them.
At commencement, William’s classmates Jennifer Simons and Hilary Wolf both gave great addresses, and both stressed the importance of facing the inevitable changes the future holds with courage and a positive attitude. That’s good advice for people of any age. And especially good advice to the parents of “special needs” children. Even in those darkest nights, never forget wonderful things can and will happen. Our William is living proof.
Molly’s Musings
May 19, 2009
The help of a friend
By Molly Young
It’s difficult to describe the clamor my car creates. In reverse, it sounds like a cat is stuck in my wheel well, squealing for me to stop. It doesn’t sound much better in drive. Stopping and turning are even less harmonious. My friends tell me my car growls. But I tell them it purrs. It runs just fine, I remind the naysayers.
When I left my house in Lincoln for an early morning meeting Friday, I turned up my radio volume to deaden my car’s typical noise and drove along 17th Street toward downtown Lincoln.
A man stared at my vehicle. I stared back. He looked again, but this time a bewildered expression - a strange mix of shock and concern - was written across his face. Yes, my car makes noise, I wanted to tell him, but it runs just fine.
Then my steering wheel started to shake. I turned west on O Street, six blocks from my destination. A man on the sidewalk sent me the same look: pure shock. My car began to shake violently, and I decided it must be falling apart piece by piece. I parked it on the side of the street and ran to the passenger side.
The black rubber that was my front tire was twisted under its hubcap.
“I don’t know much about cars or tires,” I told my dad, “but I think this is flat. Really flat.”
I looked at the clock. It was 6:40 a.m., and the meeting was at 7.
“Well, Molly, I’m two hours away in Albion. What can I do?” my dad asked.
The next few hours passed in a blur. I called a friend. No answer. I called another. Again, no answer. I called my brother. He picked me up. I called a tire shop. They agreed to tow my car and replace the tire. I arrived at the meeting more than 30 minutes late. I asked a friend at the meeting for a ride to the tire shop. We found my car. It sat in the same spot I left it nearly three hours earlier.
“I’ll fix it,” my friend, Clay, said. “Call the tire place and tell them not to come.”
Forty-five minutes later, after a nice auto repairman stopped and loosened the deflated tire from its rusted hubcap, Clay secured the last lug nut on the spare. I stepped back to admire his handiwork, and he joined me. We looked at each other and said nothing.
The spare tire was flat.
Deflated and defeated, I stared at Clay, hoping the morning’s events weren’t a metaphor for my life. It’s ok, he said. We’ll fill it up.
And we - I should say he - did. I realized something as I drove to the tire shop filled with new air and new hope. Sometimes the ugliest of moments can have the best of outcomes. In a few years, I’ll forget about the initial panic and the twisted rubber. But my friend’s help — that’s something I’ll never forget.
Here’s Why God made Moms
May 5, 2009
Answers given by second grade school children to the following questions:
Why did God make mothers?
1. She’s the only one who knows where the Scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.
What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men’s bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We’re related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s moms like me.
What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don’t know because I wasn’t there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.
What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn’t have her thinking cap on.
Who’s the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn’t want to be boss, but she has to because dad’s such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
What’s the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power ‘cause that’s who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend’s.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don’t do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside, she’s already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Dye it. You know, her hair. I’d dye it, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I’d get rid of that.
2. I’d make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.
My Side of the Fencepost
April 14, 2009
What am I complaining about?
By Jim Dickerson
Doggone it, I’m getting older, and I’m beginning to understand why people get upset with health insurance costs.
I have a letter in front of me from our current health insurance company. It tells me that our health insurance premium is due to increase by 25 percent effective May 1, 2009.
We’ve been paying premiums to this company for about three years. The previous company had decided to take a 25 or 30 percent jump in one year, so we dumped ‘em and went with this one.
In three years, this insurance company has never paid a claim for us. I guess we’ve been lucky, because we’ve pretty much always enjoyed good health. About the only thing we do is sprain our ankles or stub our toes once in a while (knock on wood).
The other thing is that we stopped buying traditional health insurance a long time ago because of the cost. We started a health savings account and purchased insurance only for catastrophic illnesses. Our insurance carries a $5,200 per person deductible each calendar year. We have to pay all of our own medical expenses below that level.
We’ve had our health insurance set up this way for eight or nine years — saved a lot of money, too.
But now the age bracketing is catching up with us. We’re now 56 going on 57. I guess they figure the older we get, the better the chance that some “catastrophic” illness will hit and they’ll finally have to pay a claim.
Like everyone else, we’d like to beat the odds that the actuaries spend their time computing.
Two things bother me most, based on personal experience.
First, staying healthy doesn’t necessarily mean your health insurance premiums will be stable or even affordable these days.
Second, age seems to be a bigger factor than anything else in determining health premium rates.
The sad fact is that many older people can’t afford health insurance right now. As of 2007, 7.1 million people (13 percent of the U.S. population) in the 50 to 64 age group were uninsured. That is a 37 percent increase from 2000, according to a report from the AARP last month.
That number is expected to rise to 8.2 million by 2015.
AARP estimates that many of those in the 50 to 64 age group (one in four) spend at least 10 percent of their disposable income on health care. This includes both the insured and uninsured population.
There is reason to be concerned that, because of cost, these people won’t get the preventive care they need. If that happens, they could end up costing the Medicare system much more when they reach qualifying age (if they get there) than would otherwise be the case.
We 50-somethings are the tail-enders of the “Baby Boom” generation. We’re rapidly reaching Medicare age — bringing along with us special concerns, problems (and costs) for the next generations. We’re part of the nation’s fastest growing age demographic. We’ll have political power in numbers. If I know my generation, we’ll want benefits at least equal to those now available.
Heck, what am I complaining about?
It’s my children and grandchildren who should be complaining!
My Side of the Fencepost
March 17, 2009
By Jim Dickerson
Giant steps backward
It makes you just want to throw up your hands in disgust and say: “What’s the use?”
American International Group, the worldwide insurer of financial companies, has received four bailouts from the U.S. government in the past 18 months. They’ve gotten $173 billion in bailouts over the past six months.
And Sunday . . . the company said it was giving $165 million in bonuses to executives who are under contract in its financial products division! That’s the division that helped create the complex deals that eventually shook the foundation of the world economy.
And they’re getting bonuses!
This is the same company that threw a big party for its executives shortly after receiving the first round of bailout funds.
I don’t claim to understand big business or big government, but I do understand why the American people have lost considerable faith in their government and in “too big to fail” businesses during the past 18 months — and it doesn’t much matter which political party occupies the White House or holds the majority in Congress.
We ordinary citizens are being told we are in for some tough economic times and we’ll likely have to make do with less. At the same time, our government is in such a hurry to rescue the financial sector that it hands out billions with few if any requirements on how the funds must be spent.
Then, the “too big to fail” business is free to hand out bonuses to people who — in the real world — would be more deserving of a pay cut or firing. And it appears the bonuses were pre-arranged, with no basis on performance, which indicates the “too big to fail” company already knew it was too big to fail.
The absolute unfairness of this latest event makes our blood boil.
If trust in our government and trust in big business are keys to economic recovery, then we just took a couple of giant steps backward.
Time for wishful thinking: There is a moral high ground that could be taken by AIG executives. Even though their contracts apparently stipulate they’ll receive bonuses, they could refuse them. They could say: “Look, it’s obvious that the nation and the company could make better use of this money than giving us these bonuses. Here — take the money back and use it as it was intended.”
I know that probably won’t happen, but it would go a long way toward restoring faith in AIG and big business in general.
Far reaching impact
Water regulation will continue to be a big issue in Nebraska’s future, but access to water may change considerably.
The series of four public hearings have been completed, and it’s up to one man, Brian Dunnigan, director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR), to determine whether or not the preliminary “fully appropriated” designation will become permanent for the Lower Platte River and its tributaries.
At the final hearing last Thursday, a group of Natural Resources Districts issued the findings of their own review of the Lower Platte. Simply stated, the NRD study findings are contrary to those of the DNR. The NRDs say the finding of “fully appropriated” is not supported by the science used in its study.
This has been an interesting debate so far, and it could get even more interesting. A crossroads has been reached, and we’ll know in the next 30 days which road the state is taking.
On the one hand, a major decision rests with one man, Mr. Dunnigan. It is a tremendous amount of power and pressure to place on one person. Although Dunnigan appears to be well qualified as a professional engineer and manager with DNR over the past 23 years, he has only had this job on a permanent basis since December of 2008.
On the other hand, the NRDs have been attempting to deal with all the various water conservation issues within their own river basins for many years. Some, like the Lower Loup NRD, have taken a proactive approach and have already limited water appropriations. It is understandable that they would be very disappointed if the job of setting limits is taken entirely out of their hands. That would appear to be the case if the fully appropriated designation is made permanent.
No one wants to give politics too much play in this debate, but there are always political considerations about who stands to benefit and who will be forced to sacrifice.
In their statement concerning the designation, the NRDs have tried to take emotion and conflict out of the discussion. They have cited several differences of opinion on the science and methodology used. It will be up to Mr. Dunnigan to decide which study carries the most weight.
Much is riding on this decision.
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