We are hearing the political debate framed as follows:
Rivlin/Ryan as bipartisan entitlement reform
Simpson/Bowles as bipartisan debt reduction reform
The problem is that Rivlin and Bowles are Third Way corporate politicians who are not Democratic on fiscal issues. So, these are not bipartisan plans in either case. CLINTONITE RIVLIN/BOWLES ARE TRYING TO END ENTITLEMENTS JUST AS THEY ENDED WELFARE....SOCIAL SECURITY TO BOOT.
'I am a democrat' says Rivlin......HOOEY!!!!!!
Obama is leaning this way if we do not shout loudly and strongly against protecting corporate fraud and profit over people's quality of life!
I showed last time that in Maryland they have a private system that ensures corporate profit in health care by ending access for lower income people. The article said that this is indeed the plan for affordable healthcare. Affordable health care means a health system that eliminates the drivers of health cost in order to maximize the health industry profits. Pre-existing conditions? Only if you have private health insurance and most people won't. Corporate health plans are disappearing and public sector benefits are slowly being eliminated, so who will have insurance to assure full health coverage in the medium term? The upper middle-class.....$200,000 and up. Everyone else will be on Medicaid. So, while you might think the poor shouldn't expect coverage......your family will be in the same boat.
Last time we saw Johns Hopkins and a Catholic hospital listing continuous profits, making Maryland's system a model........WHY ARE NON-PROFITS MAKING PROFITS WHILE PEOPLE DIE FROM LACK OF CARE? WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO EXPAND WHEN THEY CAN'T CARE FOR THE PEOPLE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES? THEIR MISSION IS EXPANSION.....NOT CARE.
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!
For those of us trying to shout out what bad policy this health reform push to consolidate the health industry into mega-institutions will be, this is a poster child. As health systems are allowed to grow and consolidate they will become as unaccountable as the Wall Street banks. At the same time, the likelihood that they will care for the poor and elderly decreases because they are more and more profit-driven. For those who say Hopkins is a non-profit, remember, it is only one law that allows them to become private. Hopkins fits most descriptions for 'for-profit' now. When you have one operation running all aspects of health care with no oversight or accountability, this is what you get.
How a private entity can control Medicaid dispensement to subcontractors mirrors the practice for all Baltimore Board of Estimates bidding and subcontracting. It is a bad way to do public policy. We know that entitlement fraud in Maryland reaches billions of dollars each year and we know that Hopkins oversees much health care for the poor in the state. We know that the public has no ability to demand access to records from these private non-profits and we know that government never does. There is an inherent lack of transparency they know exists.
The reasons for discontinuing the contract below may have to do with Hopkins' expansion of their company Chase Brexton providing the same service...itself a conflict. PRIORITY PARTNERS IS HOPKINS AND ACTS AS ONE OF THESE PRIVATE NON-PROFITS IN DOING GOVERNMENT WORK. SO IT IS NOT TAXED AS A BUSINESS, IT'S OPERATIONS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT.
Priority Partners is one of seven Managed Care Organizations authorized by the State of Maryland to provide health care services for over 200,000 Medicaid, Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP), Medical Assistance for Families and Primary Adult Care (PAC) recipients.
Priority Partners is proud to provide outstanding health care services for our members. No-cost benefits that are offered include:
WHAT WE SEE IN BALTIMORE IS A WHOLESALE POLICY OF NOT HIRING BLACK WORKERS OR BUSINESSES. IT IS FACT, NOT FICTION. THIS EXTENDS TO ALL LOW WAGE, SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITIES, BUT IS PARTICULARLY OBVIOUS WITH THE BLACK COMMUNITY. WHETHER HEALTH AND SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTERS BEING HANDED TO HOPKINS/CARLYLE GROUP OR COMMUNITY REC CENTERS CLOSED AND NEW ONE OPENED UNDER PRIVATE NON-PROFITS......ALL THESE ORGANIZATIONS BEING CLOSED HAVE LONG BEEN OPERATED AND STAFFED BY THE BLACK COMMUNITY....IT IS HOW THEY FIND EMPLOYMENT.
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!!
WHY WAS THIS ORGANIZATION ALLOWED TO WORK FOR A YEAR WITHOUT PAYMENT? IF WORK STANDARDS WERE QUESTIONED, HOPKINS WOULD HAVE ENDED THE SUBCONTRACT EARLIER. WE WILL BE WRITING HOPKINS AND THE BALTIMORE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AS TO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY?
Protesters accuse Hopkins of withholding Medicaid funds Turning Point substance abuse program says it is owed more than $100,000
By Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun 7:17 p.m. EDT, October 18, 2012
The owner of a Baltimore substance abuse center led a protest of more than 120 people Thursday morning at the doors of Johns Hopkins Hospital, saying the medical giant owes his organization more than $100,000 in Medicaid payments.
The Rev. Milton E. Williams, who operates the Turning Point Substance Abuse Clinic in East Baltimore, said his organization had provided hundreds of patients with free care because a Hopkins affiliate has not reimbursed it for treating Medicaid patients.
The Hopkins affiliate, Priority Partners, is one of several managed-care organizations that has a contract with the state to manage Medicaid claims. Much like an insurance company, Priority Partners pays clinics, doctors, hospitals and other organizations that treat Medicaid patients.
Williams said Priority Partners will not reimburse it for costs to assess and conduct drug evaluations on new patients.
"We are here to make our voices heard," Williams roared to the protesters, including many recovering addicts. "Friends, everyone needs to know the hypocrisy of the world's greatest health care institution."
The group said it has tried more than a year to get the unpaid funds, but Hopkins has resisted.
Hopkins officials would not answer questions on whether Priority Partners withheld payments from the clinic. The hospital said in a statement it had recently ended its partnership with the substance abuse treatment organization.
"We're disappointed that Rev. Williams chooses to voice his dissent in very public and unproductive ways." Hopkins said in a statement. "We strive to help our members pursue quality treatment in a professional environment, and we regret any inconvenience this may cause for them."
Williams said he also had tried to work with the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which oversees the Medicaid program, with no luck. He accused the state of being afraid of Hopkins' influence and "political punch." PEOPLE DO NOT COMPLAIN BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID OF LOSING CONTRACTS OR POLITICAL BACKING......IS THAT A FREE AND DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM?
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said the department had never been contacted about problems receiving payment.
The protesters arrived in a caravan of white vans beeping their horns as they approached the front of the facility. They carried signs that read "Don't Stand in Our Way" and "Get Out of My Way of Recovery."
Many of the protesters are recovering addicts who credit Turning Point for their transformation. They worry the clinic will not be able to help so many people if it is not completely reimbursed for care.
Romaine Vance said she started using heroin in college during parties and quickly found herself addicted. The 40-year-old said she tried many times to quit. It was only Turning Point's holistic approach to treatment that worked, she said.
"It wasn't just the addiction and drugs," Vance said. "I was beaten up inside. That is why I am here today protesting. They helped me, so I am helping them."
Williams said his group will continue to protest Hopkins.
"Even though Medicaid will pay for their care, these folks can't receive treatment because you, 'Big John,' keep their money instead of paying Turning Point for their treatment," Williams said.
______________________________________________________
It is important to know that Chase Brexton is Johns Hopkins and their expansion looks to be only in neighborhoods that are affluent or slated to become affluent soon. This is important for two reasons. One is that health care reform is about building global mega-health institutions that will be profit-driven and not interested in the poor and elderly. So, as we watch this one case of an institution that has served the poor now moving into the affluent market we see just that shift.
Secondly, we are seeing affluent development again being funded by grants and tax breaks given for helping the underserved communites. Billions of dollars in the Enterprise Zones they know will not help the underserved. We are watching as the development downtown expands from corporate infrastructure on the waterfront to corporate infrastructure in health care.
We want monies designated for the poor to actually help the poor not just a selected, very small group of people. I am watching as the poor are intimidated and harassed in Mt Vernon now as affluent development expands and they won't be allowing the poor to flock to this Chase Brexton health center as advertised.
BUILD AFFLUENT INFRASTRUCTURE WITH PRIVATE MONEY.....THESE GRANTS AND TAX CREDITS ARE FRAUD!
MY COMMENTS TO TO MARYLAND DAILY RECORD, ALSO CARRYING THIS ARTICLE BELOW:
Chase Brexton is a Johns Hopkins Medical institution that was built on taxpayer money to help the underserved and now seems to be expanding into areas all being or soon to be affluent. It is very much like the Hopkins movement into the boutique health care field and the global marketing to the world's wealthy 'health tourists'.
Now, one might say that trillions of taxpayer research money and entitlement money built Johns Hopkins Medical Campus so, when do we stop thinking of Hopkins as a non-profit and start getting all that public investment back?
Chase Brexton is a Johns Hopkins Medical institution that was built on ... Joint Commission accredited, Federally Qualified Health Center (a ...
Read the Full Page: Chase Brexton Clinic Inc. in Baltimore, MD 21202 - Find Reviews & Ratings
AllAboutCounseling.com
Chase Brexton begins renovations on new headquarters
Lt. Governor Anthony Brown joins staff from Chase Brexton Health Services as they break ground on a new building (October 5, 2012)
By Andrea K. Walker 12:59 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2012 Baltimore Sun
Chase Brexton Health Services began renovations this week on a new location in Mt. Vernon that will allow it to see four times as many medical patients.
The community health center is moving next year a few blocks from its current building to the historic Monumental Life Building on Charles Street.
Lt. Governor Anthony Brown and Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot joined Chase Brexton staff Thursday to celebrate the beginning of renovations.
The expansion into the 95,000-square-foot building will allow the 35-year-old organization to offer more services, including dental care to two times as many patients and behavioral health care to four times as many patients.
Chase Brexton was founded in Baltimore’s Mt. Vernon neighborhood in 1978 as a volunteer-run gay men’s health clinic. It now provides health care to more than 24,000 Marylanders.
Rivlin/Ryan as bipartisan entitlement reform
Simpson/Bowles as bipartisan debt reduction reform
The problem is that Rivlin and Bowles are Third Way corporate politicians who are not Democratic on fiscal issues. So, these are not bipartisan plans in either case. CLINTONITE RIVLIN/BOWLES ARE TRYING TO END ENTITLEMENTS JUST AS THEY ENDED WELFARE....SOCIAL SECURITY TO BOOT.
'I am a democrat' says Rivlin......HOOEY!!!!!!
Obama is leaning this way if we do not shout loudly and strongly against protecting corporate fraud and profit over people's quality of life!
I showed last time that in Maryland they have a private system that ensures corporate profit in health care by ending access for lower income people. The article said that this is indeed the plan for affordable healthcare. Affordable health care means a health system that eliminates the drivers of health cost in order to maximize the health industry profits. Pre-existing conditions? Only if you have private health insurance and most people won't. Corporate health plans are disappearing and public sector benefits are slowly being eliminated, so who will have insurance to assure full health coverage in the medium term? The upper middle-class.....$200,000 and up. Everyone else will be on Medicaid. So, while you might think the poor shouldn't expect coverage......your family will be in the same boat.
Last time we saw Johns Hopkins and a Catholic hospital listing continuous profits, making Maryland's system a model........WHY ARE NON-PROFITS MAKING PROFITS WHILE PEOPLE DIE FROM LACK OF CARE? WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO EXPAND WHEN THEY CAN'T CARE FOR THE PEOPLE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES? THEIR MISSION IS EXPANSION.....NOT CARE.
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!
For those of us trying to shout out what bad policy this health reform push to consolidate the health industry into mega-institutions will be, this is a poster child. As health systems are allowed to grow and consolidate they will become as unaccountable as the Wall Street banks. At the same time, the likelihood that they will care for the poor and elderly decreases because they are more and more profit-driven. For those who say Hopkins is a non-profit, remember, it is only one law that allows them to become private. Hopkins fits most descriptions for 'for-profit' now. When you have one operation running all aspects of health care with no oversight or accountability, this is what you get.
How a private entity can control Medicaid dispensement to subcontractors mirrors the practice for all Baltimore Board of Estimates bidding and subcontracting. It is a bad way to do public policy. We know that entitlement fraud in Maryland reaches billions of dollars each year and we know that Hopkins oversees much health care for the poor in the state. We know that the public has no ability to demand access to records from these private non-profits and we know that government never does. There is an inherent lack of transparency they know exists.
The reasons for discontinuing the contract below may have to do with Hopkins' expansion of their company Chase Brexton providing the same service...itself a conflict. PRIORITY PARTNERS IS HOPKINS AND ACTS AS ONE OF THESE PRIVATE NON-PROFITS IN DOING GOVERNMENT WORK. SO IT IS NOT TAXED AS A BUSINESS, IT'S OPERATIONS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT.
Priority Partners is one of seven Managed Care Organizations authorized by the State of Maryland to provide health care services for over 200,000 Medicaid, Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP), Medical Assistance for Families and Primary Adult Care (PAC) recipients.
Priority Partners is proud to provide outstanding health care services for our members. No-cost benefits that are offered include:
- Doctor’s visits
- Immunizations
- Lab tests, screenings, and x-rays
- Low cost prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications
- Substance abuse services
WHAT WE SEE IN BALTIMORE IS A WHOLESALE POLICY OF NOT HIRING BLACK WORKERS OR BUSINESSES. IT IS FACT, NOT FICTION. THIS EXTENDS TO ALL LOW WAGE, SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITIES, BUT IS PARTICULARLY OBVIOUS WITH THE BLACK COMMUNITY. WHETHER HEALTH AND SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTERS BEING HANDED TO HOPKINS/CARLYLE GROUP OR COMMUNITY REC CENTERS CLOSED AND NEW ONE OPENED UNDER PRIVATE NON-PROFITS......ALL THESE ORGANIZATIONS BEING CLOSED HAVE LONG BEEN OPERATED AND STAFFED BY THE BLACK COMMUNITY....IT IS HOW THEY FIND EMPLOYMENT.
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!!
WHY WAS THIS ORGANIZATION ALLOWED TO WORK FOR A YEAR WITHOUT PAYMENT? IF WORK STANDARDS WERE QUESTIONED, HOPKINS WOULD HAVE ENDED THE SUBCONTRACT EARLIER. WE WILL BE WRITING HOPKINS AND THE BALTIMORE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AS TO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY?
Protesters accuse Hopkins of withholding Medicaid funds Turning Point substance abuse program says it is owed more than $100,000
By Andrea K. Walker, The Baltimore Sun 7:17 p.m. EDT, October 18, 2012
The owner of a Baltimore substance abuse center led a protest of more than 120 people Thursday morning at the doors of Johns Hopkins Hospital, saying the medical giant owes his organization more than $100,000 in Medicaid payments.
The Rev. Milton E. Williams, who operates the Turning Point Substance Abuse Clinic in East Baltimore, said his organization had provided hundreds of patients with free care because a Hopkins affiliate has not reimbursed it for treating Medicaid patients.
The Hopkins affiliate, Priority Partners, is one of several managed-care organizations that has a contract with the state to manage Medicaid claims. Much like an insurance company, Priority Partners pays clinics, doctors, hospitals and other organizations that treat Medicaid patients.
Williams said Priority Partners will not reimburse it for costs to assess and conduct drug evaluations on new patients.
"We are here to make our voices heard," Williams roared to the protesters, including many recovering addicts. "Friends, everyone needs to know the hypocrisy of the world's greatest health care institution."
The group said it has tried more than a year to get the unpaid funds, but Hopkins has resisted.
Hopkins officials would not answer questions on whether Priority Partners withheld payments from the clinic. The hospital said in a statement it had recently ended its partnership with the substance abuse treatment organization.
"We're disappointed that Rev. Williams chooses to voice his dissent in very public and unproductive ways." Hopkins said in a statement. "We strive to help our members pursue quality treatment in a professional environment, and we regret any inconvenience this may cause for them."
Williams said he also had tried to work with the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which oversees the Medicaid program, with no luck. He accused the state of being afraid of Hopkins' influence and "political punch." PEOPLE DO NOT COMPLAIN BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID OF LOSING CONTRACTS OR POLITICAL BACKING......IS THAT A FREE AND DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM?
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said the department had never been contacted about problems receiving payment.
The protesters arrived in a caravan of white vans beeping their horns as they approached the front of the facility. They carried signs that read "Don't Stand in Our Way" and "Get Out of My Way of Recovery."
Many of the protesters are recovering addicts who credit Turning Point for their transformation. They worry the clinic will not be able to help so many people if it is not completely reimbursed for care.
Romaine Vance said she started using heroin in college during parties and quickly found herself addicted. The 40-year-old said she tried many times to quit. It was only Turning Point's holistic approach to treatment that worked, she said.
"It wasn't just the addiction and drugs," Vance said. "I was beaten up inside. That is why I am here today protesting. They helped me, so I am helping them."
Williams said his group will continue to protest Hopkins.
"Even though Medicaid will pay for their care, these folks can't receive treatment because you, 'Big John,' keep their money instead of paying Turning Point for their treatment," Williams said.
______________________________________________________
It is important to know that Chase Brexton is Johns Hopkins and their expansion looks to be only in neighborhoods that are affluent or slated to become affluent soon. This is important for two reasons. One is that health care reform is about building global mega-health institutions that will be profit-driven and not interested in the poor and elderly. So, as we watch this one case of an institution that has served the poor now moving into the affluent market we see just that shift.
Secondly, we are seeing affluent development again being funded by grants and tax breaks given for helping the underserved communites. Billions of dollars in the Enterprise Zones they know will not help the underserved. We are watching as the development downtown expands from corporate infrastructure on the waterfront to corporate infrastructure in health care.
We want monies designated for the poor to actually help the poor not just a selected, very small group of people. I am watching as the poor are intimidated and harassed in Mt Vernon now as affluent development expands and they won't be allowing the poor to flock to this Chase Brexton health center as advertised.
BUILD AFFLUENT INFRASTRUCTURE WITH PRIVATE MONEY.....THESE GRANTS AND TAX CREDITS ARE FRAUD!
MY COMMENTS TO TO MARYLAND DAILY RECORD, ALSO CARRYING THIS ARTICLE BELOW:
Chase Brexton is a Johns Hopkins Medical institution that was built on taxpayer money to help the underserved and now seems to be expanding into areas all being or soon to be affluent. It is very much like the Hopkins movement into the boutique health care field and the global marketing to the world's wealthy 'health tourists'.
Now, one might say that trillions of taxpayer research money and entitlement money built Johns Hopkins Medical Campus so, when do we stop thinking of Hopkins as a non-profit and start getting all that public investment back?
Chase Brexton is a Johns Hopkins Medical institution that was built on ... Joint Commission accredited, Federally Qualified Health Center (a ...
Read the Full Page: Chase Brexton Clinic Inc. in Baltimore, MD 21202 - Find Reviews & Ratings
AllAboutCounseling.com
Chase Brexton begins renovations on new headquarters
Lt. Governor Anthony Brown joins staff from Chase Brexton Health Services as they break ground on a new building (October 5, 2012)
By Andrea K. Walker 12:59 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2012 Baltimore Sun
Chase Brexton Health Services began renovations this week on a new location in Mt. Vernon that will allow it to see four times as many medical patients.
The community health center is moving next year a few blocks from its current building to the historic Monumental Life Building on Charles Street.
Lt. Governor Anthony Brown and Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot joined Chase Brexton staff Thursday to celebrate the beginning of renovations.
The expansion into the 95,000-square-foot building will allow the 35-year-old organization to offer more services, including dental care to two times as many patients and behavioral health care to four times as many patients.
Chase Brexton was founded in Baltimore’s Mt. Vernon neighborhood in 1978 as a volunteer-run gay men’s health clinic. It now provides health care to more than 24,000 Marylanders.
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