NM health providers lose appeal

Behavioral health providers under investigation for possible overbilling, mismanagement and fraud have lost an appeal of a court ruling that allows New Mexico to continue to withhold Medicaid payments.

 The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Monday dismissed the appeal by eight nonprofit providers. A federal judge in Albuquerque last month denied the providers' request for an order stopping the state from freezing payments for mental health and substance abuse services.

 A lawyer for the providers said the lawsuit against the state remains pending in district court. 

A legislative committee last week sent a letter to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department seeking assurances that New Mexico won't lose Medicaid funding.

NM health providers lose appeal

Marita Noon: Please Don’t Frack

Commentary by Marita Noon - Regular readers of my weekly column may be shocked at my suggestion: “please don’t frack.” But, bear with me. The terms “frack,” “fracking,” or “frack job” have become a part of the vernacular. “Frack” is short for “fracturing.” It generally refers to the process used in drilling for oil and gas known as hydraulic fracturing—a process where pressure is applied to crack rock. Fracking is responsible for America’s newly found abundance of oil and natural gas—hence, the opposition from environmentalists. As the Sierra Club’s Beyond Natural Gas website states, this abundance “displaces the market for renewables.”
     Displacing the market for renewables is bad news for the Obama administration—which has allocated nearly 100 billion taxpayer dollars for so-called green energy projects. Obama’s EPA—under the direction of Lisa Jackson—has repeatedly, unsuccessfully, attempted to tie fracking to water contamination. If fracking can be found to be unsafe, and therefore banned, America’s domestic oil and gas will be kept in the ground, jobs will be lost, energy costs will soar—and renewables can come in as the solution with newfound cost parity.
     But, it is not just about oil and gas. Coal was the first target of the Obama administration’s attack on energy. Using the now discredited ruse of manmade climate change caused by CO2 emissions, the White House pushed for a cap-and-trade bill that would have artificially raised the price of energy. Even with Democrats in control of both houses, thanks to an uprising of the American public in the Summer of 2009, cap and trade never passed. Undaunted, the Administration has continued to push crippling energy policies through executive order, regulatory action, and bureaucratic bumbling. The result has been thousands of jobs lost in coal country where the real unemployment rate hovers around 20%.
     Americans are beginning to wake up. On July 10, Iraq war veteran and coal miner Jimmy Rose captured the national spotlight and became an overnight sensationon America’s Got Talent with his heartfelt song “Coal Keeps the Lights On.” Rose poignantly sings about the benefits of coal and in verse two brings it home: “They went plumb crazy in Washington. They’re talking about closing the mines. They’re gonna bleed us all dry from the inside out. They don’t care that much about the little man or the calloused hands. It’s a way of life ‘round here, just like it’s always been.” The crowd went crazy. The video went viral. Read full column

Marita Noon: Please Don’t Frack

Oh no, Balloon Fiesta loses world record

From KOB-TV.com - By: Jeffery Gordon, KOB.com - Albuquerque’s International Balloon Fiesta no longer holds a world record.The record for launching the most hot air balloons within an hour was set in 2011.
     That is when 345 balloons lifted off at Balloon Fiesta Park. The Lorraine Mondial Festival in France has set a new record with 408 balloons.
     Balloon Fiesta organizers are saying they might not try to break the record at this year’s upcoming fiesta. More

Oh no, Balloon Fiesta loses world record

Who really discovered Carlsbad Caverns?

NewsNM:Swickard - last week we were talking about the discovery of Carlsbad Caverns. August 4, 2013 the Carlsbad Current Argus came out with that story. - By Valerie Cranston

     Carlsbad Caverns, once known as Bat Cave, has been referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
Many claimed to be its discoverer, but no one knows for sure who really discovered this magnificent underground world. One fact no one will dispute is that the Indians who roamed this area many years ago knew of this huge hole in the ground long before any white man.
     In May of 1968, then Carlsbad Caverns park naturalist Neal R. Bullington compiled and edited a document of recorded claims and counterclaims of discovery of the Bat Cave. One specific account in the document titled "Who Discovered Carlsbad Caverns?" tells of unfolding events at a barbecue in the early 1920s at Washington Ranch.
      "For years many have credited Jim White with being the discoverer. To the best of our knowledge, Jim White made no active claim to discovery, although neither did he go out of his way to stop others from claiming it for him," Bullington wrote noting, in no way should any claims tarnish White's reputation as explorer and promoter. 

     Dr. Willis T. Lee, head of the National Geographic Expedition in the cave March 20 to Sept. 15, 1924, wanted to promote the cavern following his underground visit. He invited a crowd of newspaper people and dignitaries to join him in a free tour of the cave followed by an invitation to the barbecue."We are indebted to Carl Livingston (Lee's expedition assistant) for recording what followed," wrote Bullington.

     Livingston, cowboy, attorney, amateur archaeologist, geologist, public official and writer recalled and wrote about the barbecue events for the March 1934 issue of New Mexico Magazine. The title of his story was "The Eighth Wonder; A Saga of 'Baloney' told Link by Link in which Discoverers of the Great Carlsbad Cavern are Thick as Flies." Read full story

Who really discovered Carlsbad Caverns?

Swickard: Our lovable corrupt New Mexico

© 2013 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. We have lovable rogues in our state. One had a sign on his office, “If I ain’t in, shove the money under the door and go away.” Everyone looked at the sign and laughed. Me, I was pretty sure that the sign meant exactly what it said. I never saw anyone in the media print a picture of the sign. Go figure.
     New Mexico, known as the Land of Enchantment, is a land of corruption. Many New Mexicans are enchanted with our loveable corrupt rogues. The only thing we ask is that they act with panache. We do not like people who bash suckers in the head and scurry away with their wallets.
     No, we want great schemes that leave us breathless as to the audacity. We want to laugh at the way that these rogues shred the laws by knowing which Judges are up for a bribe and which Judges are not. These Robin Hoods make a good living and make us glad that they came to our little slice of heaven to enliven the environs.
     I do not know why people look surprised when they metaphorically turn over a government rock and find night creatures. That is just the way many New Mexico leaders operate. As is the habit of little dogs to bark and bite, many of our leaders enrich themselves as did their parents and their grandparents. Their cousins all have government jobs.
     The problem for most corrupt leaders involves the idea that the media is watching. Most of the time the media is only watching a little bit because there are too few journalists working in each organization to spend the thousands of hours it takes to bring down these corrupt politicians. Most media are just getting by financially. In fact, it is the great hope of many journalists to get a government job with a pension.
     As for the authorities who are supposed to catch the crooks, what of them? Many are political animals who know how far to go and which of the “Fixers” to leave alone. There is a price politically to be paid if someone starts sticking their neck where it does not belong. Read full column

Swickard: Our lovable corrupt New Mexico

Lobbying group tryw to change city's min wage laws

From KOB-TV.com - By: Maria Guerrero, KOB Eyewitness News 4 - A lobbying group located three and a half hours away is trying to change Albuquerque’s minimum wage ordinance, specifically when it comes to tipped workers like waiters and bartenders. The group wants Albuquerque residents to vote on changes that would essentially triple wages for tipped workers, but it’s not necessarily designed to be pro-worker.
     The Albuquerque City Clerk said the group filed its accepted Notice of Intent on July 18 and now has 60 days to circulate the petitions. As of January 1, 2013, tipped workers in the city of Albuquerque started getting paid at least $3.83 an hour, plus tips.
     The proposal also wants to remove the percentages the employer has to pay in cash wages. Meaning, as long as the employee gets $9.50 an hour, the employer could reduce their wage from $3.83 an hour to $2.13 an hour, the federal wage for tipped workers.
     "This just allows that flexibility to that employer while still maintaining the employee gets a higher wage but gives that flexibility to the employer to be able to do it through tips and cash wages, instead of having that higher cash wage," said Smith.
     The group is now trying to gather 12,091 validated signatures of registered Albuquerque voters. The deadline is September 16th. If the group gets all the signatures needed, the proposal then goes to the city council for a vote and possibly even a special election at a later date.
     Even if the group gathers the signatures required, the proposal will not go on October’s ballot. More

Lobbying group tryw to change city's min wage laws

Audit shows mismanagemnt of mental health funds

From KRQE-TV.com - Jessica Garate - Patients, their families, and employees working with mental health and substance abuse providers said Tuesday they are fearful and upset about how the state has handled an audit showing more than a dozen providers possibly abusing the system.
     A mother whose son suffers with a mental illness said she is worried service will be disrupted. “I am fearful as a parent,” said Gay Finlayson. “This is a fragile system with fragile, fragile people and we need to support that and what has happened has not been supported, at least not to my family at all.”
      A five-month state audit exposed mismanagement, fraud, waste and abuse among 15 mental health and substance abuse providers across the state. The state said companies over-billed taxpayers by $36 million.
     The state is paying more than $15 million to an Arizona company to train and oversee the agencies. Once new management is in place , Medicaid payments will be restored. In the meantime, those companies must still provide services to patients. The governor says state action is necessary to avoid corruption.
      “Approximately $36 million are not going to those who deserve it and need it the most. Instead, [the money] was lost, misused, misspent, stolen. We're not going to put up with that,” said Gov. Susana Martinez. Attorney General Gary King refused to release the audit publicly because his office, along with the FBI, are still investigating to see if anyone will be charged criminally. More

Audit shows mismanagemnt of mental health funds

First case of West Nile virus reported in state

From KOB-TV.com - By: Stuart Dyson, KOB Eyewitness News 4 - A 13-year-old boy from San Juan County is New Mexico’s first human case of West Nile virus this year. The boy is recovering at home after a short stay in the hospital, but West Nile can be a very serious illness, especially for people over 60.
     Mosquitoes carry West Nile, and they’re breeding like crazy with all of the rain we’ve been getting. New Mexico sees most of its cases in August and September, so we’re just getting started.
     “Mosquito populations are increasing and we should expect West Nile Virus activity throughout the state,” said Dr. Paul Ettestad, the state’s public health veterinarian.
     Symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle ache. In rare cases it can lead to meningitis and encephalitis. Best advice: avoid mosquito bites. When you’re outside, use insect repellents containing DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 on skin and permethrin on clothing.
     The state had 47 West Nile cases last year, with one fatality. More

First case of West Nile virus reported in state

NM House members defied party leaders in NSA vote

From Capitol Report New Mexico - It’s not often that the one Republican and two Democrats in New Mexico’s House of Representatives delegation on Capitol Hill vote the same way but it happened. Democrats Michelle Lujan Grisham and Ben Ray Luján joined the GOP’sSteve Pearce in voting for an amendment calling for the defunding of the National Security Agency phone metadata program.
     The amendment failed 217-205 but the closeness of the vote drew plenty of attention, indicating growing calls form some Americans to rein in government surveillance programs. The amendment’s sponsor, libertarian Republican Justin Amash of Michigan took to Twitter to write, “We fight on.”
     Both New Mexico Democrats voted for the amendment even though the Obama administration defended the phone log collection program and labeled the amendment a “blunt approach” that is not “the product of an informed, open, or deliberative process.”
     Speaker of the House, Republican John Boehner, and the Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, each voted against the amendment, meaning that each member of the New Mexico delegation bucked their party leadership.
     The domestic spying issue makes for strange political bedfellows: joining the left wing’s concerns about civil rights and whose adherents express sympathy for the likes of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange with the libertarian wing of the GOP that worries about the size and scope of government infringing on individual liberties.
     On the same day as the vote on the NSA amendment, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showedAmericans overwhelmingly think the NSA surveillance efforts intrude on some citizens’ privacy rights – 74 percent say so – and about half, 49 percent, see the spying as an intrusion on their own personal privacy. More

NM House members defied party leaders in NSA vote

Swickard: Horsemeat to the zoo as an act of love

© 2013 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Especially out West, horses have a special place in our lives. Personally, any day I get horse snot on me is a good day. Along with my love of horses comes a sense of duty. This includes endorsing the idea of a horsemeat packing facility in Roswell.
     It is not my first choice to send viable horses to the packers, but right now in America there are about 200,000 unwanted horses. They will die one of three deaths: packers, left to die by the side of the road or in Mexico where who knows how humane they will be.
     The reason for this glut involves the bad economy along with the skyrocketing cost of feed. If I had my way, I would care for all of them. But a look at my bank account tells me it is not possible.
     Society has turned its back on the plight of the horses for a number of years. Several years ago Congress pulled the funding of the horsemeat packing facilities around the nation. The politicians felt righteous. They did not know that they made things much worse for unwanted horses. The horses had to be meat packed in Mexico without any guarantee of humane treatment.
     Now there is a proposed horsemeat packing facility in Roswell. This has people outraged. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done to save the hundreds of thousands of unwanted horses. This is like having to put down unwanted dogs and cats. No one wants to do it but it must be done because there is no way to care for the millions of unwanted pets.
     The only thing worse is to leave them on their own to perish in horrible conditions.     So thousands upon thousands of horses will die in Roswell or they will die of malnourishment or they will be meat packed in Mexico. No amount of wishing and hoping will change this fact. The only question is if there is going to be any positive in the death of the horses. Could something good come of the death of a horse? Well, there is lots of valuable meat.
      Where is the meat going? It will not be consumed by Americans. But there is something Americans love. They love to go to Zoos to look at Lions and Tigers. Horsemeat is used by Zoos as part of the large cat diet. Read full column

Swickard: Horsemeat to the zoo as an act of love