Payson meteorite hunter on Republic front page

Payson meteorite hunter Marvin Killgore is on the front page of today's (Monday, Sept. 19) Arizona Republic.  Part of the Republic's fascinating Arizona Storytellers series, the story relates how the 56-year-old Killgore, a former plumber, "hunts, collects sells and trades the ancient space rocks that date back some 4.5 billion years."  He has stockpiled 30,000 pounds of meteorites, one of the largest private collections in the world.

To read the article, pick up a copy of the Republic when you're in town or click here: www.azcentral.com.  Better yet, call 1-800-332-6733 for home delivery of the Republic seven days a week, including the big Sunday paper with hundreds of dollars in coupon savings.  The Wednesday Republic also carries the Safeway and Bashas' grocery ad inserts - the very same ones that are in the local paper.

For better coverage of the Rim Country, plus the Diamondbacks, Cardinals, national news and so much more, the Arizona Republic is the only newspaper you need to read.

Your role in helping prevent Medicare fraud

By David Sayen

People talk a lot these days about the rising cost of healthcare. How much of a role does fraud play in this?

A significant one, unfortunately. The fact is that criminals steal billions of dollars each year from Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This is taxpayer money that should be going to medical treatment for some of our most vulnerable citizens, including seniors, low income families, and kids.

Fraud hurts everyone by driving up healthcare costs. It also undermines the financial sustainability of federal healthcare programs upon which millions of Americans depend.

What’s the federal government doing to stop it? Plenty, especially with the new tools we have under last year’s health reform law.

For one thing, we’re becoming more proactive about keeping criminals out of federal healthcare programs in the first place. My agency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has adopted a more rigorous screening process for new providers and suppliers. This is intended to weed out crooks before they can start submitting fraudulent bills to the government.

Under the Affordable Care Act, we can now use sophisticated new technologies and innovative data sources to identify patterns associated with fraud. We also have the authority to temporarily stop enrolling new providers and suppliers when we detect patterns that may indicate a significant potential for fraud.

When there’s a credible allegation of fraud against a provider or supplier, we can temporarily stop payments to them while an investigation is undertaken.

In other words, CMS is moving away from the old “pay and chase” model of doing business – paying out claims and then trying to recover the fraudulent ones.

Of course, we know that most providers – doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, home health care operators, and others – are honest. But we’re becoming more vigilant about the dishonest few. And those who defraud federal healthcare programs will face tougher penalties.

The Affordable Care Act increases the federal sentencing guidelines related to healthcare fraud offenses involving $1 million or more in losses to federal programs. The Act also allows the government to impose stronger civil and monetary penalties against those who commit fraud. And crooks kicked out of one state’s Medicaid or CHIP program will now be kicked out of all states’ Medicaid or CHIP programs.

Is Medicare making progress in the fight against fraud? Yes, we are. For example, the federal government recovered $4 billion last year from people who attempted to defraud seniors and taxpayers. That’s a record amount.

How can individuals help in the fight against healthcare fraud?

If you have Medicare, here are some things you can do:

· Guard your Medicare and Social Security numbers. Treat them like you treat your credit cards. Criminals use these numbers to send the government bogus medical bills -- in your name.

· Hang up the phone if someone calls and asks for your Medicare number, Social Security number, or bank or credit card information. Medicare will NEVER call and ask for this information, and we will NEVER call you or come to your home uninvited to sell Medicare products.

· Be suspicious of anyone who offers you free medical equipment or services and then requests your Medicare number. It’s illegal, and it’s not worth it!

· Don’t let anyone borrow or pay you to use your Medicare ID card or your identity.

· Check your Medicare claims for errors. Look at your Medicare Summary Notice or statements from your Medicare plan.

· If your Medicare Summary Notice shows billings for goods or services that you never received, call us at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). The sooner you see and report suspected fraud, the sooner we can stop it. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

David Sayen is Medicare’s regional administrator for California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Trust Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Perfect day for men, women, man's best friend

Dog Day in the Park was a smash success with perfect weather and large crowds.  The Gazette Blog is proud to present the first published photos of the event, taken by Editor Jim Keyworth.  The hot dogs are the property of Tony and Stephanie Whetten and that's our guy Radar, a shelter rescue dog, going head to head with Mitzi Brabb's African Sulcatta turtle.  Brabb, a Gazette contributor, heads the local non-profit animal rescue organization Wonders of the Wild.

West's water wars mean difficult lifestyle choices

"I like to think of it as a lifestyle choice … I would rather pay more … and see agriculture and salmon persist in the West than see my grocery bills soar while most of the West waters lawns with tap water,” said John Sabo, senior sustainability scholar at ASU.

September 12, 2011 - Do you know how your limited freshwater resources are used? The answers may surprise you.

• Half of all household use is sprinkled on the yard, and a sizable fraction of the other half is used to flush toilets. This translates to 70 gallons a day per person, on average.

• If reclaimed water could be used instead of precious drinking water for lawns, it would reduce domestic demand by more than 50 percent.

• Farms use 80 percent of the water consumed in the West. More than half of this water reaches the crops via flood irrigation, inefficiently and inexpensively. Conversion to more efficient systems could save 5.6 million to 18.8 million acre feet, as much as half the volume of Lake Mead, per year.

How to balance freshwater needs for farms, cities and ecosystems in a region that is already chronically water stressed will present some difficult lifestyle choices, says John Sabo, a professor in the School of Life Sciences and senior sustainability scholar with the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University.

Sabo looks carefully into the questions of what we have, where we get it from and how much it costs in his Opinion piece, "California's water wars present difficult lifestyle choices," in the Los Angeles Times on Sept. 1, 2011.

“We should expect to pay more for water in cities as they grow. This revenue should then be earmarked for financing startup costs for irrigation efficiency, reclaimed water systems and to buy back water for ecosystems. Call it what you like. The "T" word. An environmental surcharge. A farm subsidy. I like to think of it as a lifestyle choice … I would rather pay more … and see agriculture and salmon persist in the West than see my grocery bills soar while most of the West waters lawns with tap water.”

Many of these points were brought up by Sabo, Grady Gammage, former Governor Bill Richardson, Heidi Cullen and Pat Mulroy and NBC environmental reporter Anne Thompson at NBC/Discover/ASU Town Hall last month: http://asunews.asu.edu/20110828_changingplanet

"The freshwater in rivers is projected to decline by as much as 30 percent over the next 50 to 90 years. Demand will also increase. California's population is expected to reach 60 million by 2050, a 1.5-fold increase in 50 years,” Sabo said.

Phoenix’s own metro area population is anticipated to top 10.1 million by 2040. A report just released by ASU’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, “Watering the Sun Corridor,” offers some in-depth insights into Valley of the Sun’s particular challenges, including 10 things that every resident should understand about living in Phoenix:

http://sustainability.asu.edu/docs/morrison/2011-watering-the-sun-corridor-managing-choices-in-arizonas-megapolitan-area.pdf

Sabo points out what this all means in real terms for the regional consumer: It would cost the consumer less to pay more for water at the tap then to pass the buck to farmers and wait for produce prices to increase.

More information can be found: http://appliedeconomics.net/caag/Pinal%20Projections%20Final%20Report.pdf]

Article source:
LA Times

Article:
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/09/californias-water-wars-present-difficult-lifestyle-choices-blowback.html

Historical Society events include old style baseball

This Saturday (Sept. 17) is the second annual "Weekend Under the Tonto Rim."  Property owners Judee and Dave Morrison are again opening their home, with all proceeds going to the Northern Gila County Historical Society.

The evening includes a pig roast dinner with entertainment by Southern Comfort, plus a special dedication of the original site of Zane Grey's cabin.  Tickets are $35 and are available at the Rim Country Museum at Green Valley Park.

The following day (Sunday, Sept. 18, the second annual Zane Grey Vintage Base Ball Classic will be held at 1 p.m. at Green Valley park with the Stars & Stripes taking on the Payson Cougars.  The game, in the style baseball was played during Zane Grey's time, is free.

For more information, go to www.rimcountrymuseums.com. 

GC Supervisors schedule redistricting work session

Click on notices to enlarge.

PV Winery hosts tastings during 78th Young fair

September 17 is the 78th Annual Pleasant Valley Fair in Young.

The Fair begins with a free BBQ hot dog lunch at noon, as well as the garden and flower, baking and canning displays, the Community of Young specializes in mastercraft quilting; the fabulous quilts at the Fair always dazzle admirers. Of special note are also the handcrafts, photographic, and fine arts displays, especially the artwork of the children. The bake sale and silent scarecrow auction end at 3 p.m., and the fair closes at 4 p.m.

Pleasant Valley Winery will have its Little Log Cabin Wine Shop open for wine tastings and sales from noon until 5 p.m. We hope you can come by and say hello. Pleasant Valley Wines are also available at the Beverage Place in Payson and in Globe. For more information contact 866-558-2734, Ext. 4484 or PVWinery.com.