Generates $6 Billion in Savings: $4 Billion for Deficit Reduction, $2 Billion for Critical Farm Bill Programs While Improving Critical Farm Safety Net Program

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2010 - As part of the Administration's continuing efforts to reform the Federal crop insurance program, reduce the Federal deficit, and maximize taxpayer dollars, USDA today released the final draft of a new crop insurance agreement and announced that $6 billion in savings has been created through this action. Two thirds of this savings will go toward paying down the federal deficit, and the remaining third will support high priority risk management and conservation programs. By containing program costs, these changes will also ensure the sustainability of the crop insurance program for America's farmers and ranchers for years to come.

USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA), which administers the Federal crop insurance program, today released the final draft version of a new Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA), which details the new terms, roles, and responsibilities for both the USDA and insurance companies that participate in the Federal crop insurance program.

"The Federal crop insurance program is a critical component of the farm safety net, and now that our negotiations are complete, we have the framework for a stronger program that will help producers in every region of the country better manage their risk," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The President has laid out an aggressive plan for reducing the deficit and we're pleased to take a leadership role in that effort with today's announcement while strengthening key risk management and conservation programs that benefit America's farmers and ranchers."

The release of the final draft agreement follows two draft proposals and months of discussions with insurance companies and other stakeholders. USDA has worked aggressively through the negotiation process to preserve the crop insurance program as part of the farm safety net, support producer access to critical risk management tools, protect the interests of taxpayers, and ensure a reasonable return for the companies that deliver the program.

The final draft agreement will generally maintain the current Administrative and Operating (A&O) subsidy structure, but remove the possibility of windfall government payments based on high commodity price spikes by limiting the level of A&O payments that the industry can receive. However, an inflation factor and consideration for new business is included so that the maximum payment may reasonably increase over the length of the agreement.

Through this negotiation process, RMA has lowered the projected average long-term return for the companies to about 14.5 percent. To do this, RMA worked closely with the insurance companies to modify the terms under which RMA provides reinsurance. Meanwhile, RMA will increase the return in historically underserved states to provide additional financial incentives for companies to write business in these states. The agency also returned to individual state stop loss protection for the more risky business, thus providing greater reinsurance protection for companies.

Through USDA's work during this negotiation process, the Administration is also ensuring that $2 billion in savings from the new Standard Reinsurance Agreement will be used to strengthen successful, targeted risk management and conservation programs and that $4 billion will be used to reduce the national deficit. The $2 billion that will be invested in Farm Bill programs include releasing approved risk management products, such as the expansion of the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage program; providing a performance discount or refund, which will reduce the cost of crop insurance for certain producers; increasing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage to the maximum authorized level; investing in new and amended Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program initiatives; and investing in CRP monitoring.

The $4 billion in budget savings USDA achieved is one of the first and most significant steps that a federal agency has achieved in reducing mandatory spending from the long term federal deficit.

The 2008 Farm Bill authorized RMA to renegotiate the agreement effective for the 2011 crop year. Due to significant increases in commodity prices in recent years, annual insurance industry payments more than doubled from $1.8 billion in 2006 to an estimated $3.8 billion in 2009 based on the terms of the previous SRA. Meanwhile, the number of total policies decreased from 2000 to 2009.

In preparation for these negotiations, RMA contracted with an internationally known company, Milliman Inc., to review historical rates of return and determine a reasonable rate of return for the crop insurance industry. The Milliman analysis shows that over the past 21 years, the crop insurance companies averaged a 17.0 percent return when the average reasonable rate for that period was 12.7 percent. See the full report and additional information about the new SRA online at http://www.rma.usda.gov/news/2009/12/sra.html.

Since the renegotiation process launched, USDA has focused on six primary objectives for this agreement, which have been maintained throughout the negotiation process:

1) Maintain producer access to critical risk management tools;

2) Align A&O subsidy paid to insurance companies closer to actual delivery costs;

3) Provide a reasonable rate of return to insurance companies;

4) Protect producers from higher costs while equalizing reinsurance performance across states to more effectively reach under-served producers, commodities, and areas;

5) Simplify provisions to make the SRA more understandable and transparent; and

6) Enhance program integrity.

These objectives align with RMA's primary mission to help producers manage the significant risks associated with agriculture. By achieving these six objectives, the new SRA ensures financial stability for the program and the producers it serves, while increasing the availability and effectiveness of the program for more producers and making the program more transparent. Following today's delivery of the final draft to the companies, RMA will work with the companies to correct any technical errors or unclear language.

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The following area students have made honors at their respective colleges and universities for the Spring of 2010:

Nicholas Stephen Ehrecke, Bettendorf, Margaret Alyson Schutte, Davenport, and Kaela Elizabeth Swarts, Davenport have all made the Provost's List at Truman University in Kirksville, Missouri.

Julie Marie Hasken, Andrew Keith Piotter and Andy Wang Yang, all of Bettendorf, and Aubrey Ann Crowley of Davenport have made the President's List at Truman University in Kirksville, Missouri.

Marquette University, Milwaukee, announces that Anna Aquino of Bettendorf, Kevan Kadavy of Davenport, and Tara Vandygriff of Rock Island have all made the university's Dean's List.

Dana College, Blair, Nebraska announced that Kasey McCreary, a sophomore from Davenport, has made the Dean's List.

Kirkwood Community College has released its Dean's List for the Spring 2010 Semester. These students have achieved a 3.3 grade point average or higher after completing 12 or more credit hours with the college.  Kirkwood students from the area earning this distinction include :

• Elizabeth A. Beasley, Amy L. Berg, Brendan R. Bishop, Quinn C. Claussen, Christopher S. Cotton, Robert A. Harmon, Jr., Cody R. Nicely-Green, Ben J. Palczynski, Allen A. Seitz and Miranda R. Wymore, all of Bettendorf.
• Chase Cartee, Colin A. Cartee, Ramsay A. Dibbern, Luci Dynes, Angela M. Eckert, Alexander J. Kish, Ryan S. Kitzmann, Mary C. Meincke, John M. O'Donnell, Timothy P. O'Leary, Alexander J. Shipman, Troy M. Stalder, Thuong T. Tran, James M. Wiebler, and Matthew R. Wilford, all of Davenport;
• Betsey M. Baker, Mark A. Krismanits, Nicholas D. Loehr and Barbara J. Nichols all of Moline.
• Taylor A. Hilmo of Rock Island.

Nicholas Hunt of Bettendorf  made the Dean's List for spring semester 2010 at the Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech) in Atlanta.

Iowa Wesleyan College, Mt. Pleasant, Announces the following students have made the Spring Dean's List:

• Meredith Frasier of Moline 
• Travis Parker of Taylor Ridge
• Jenny Rich of Davenport

Central College, Pella, Iowa, has announced the following Dean's List recipients:

• Patricia Braun, freshman from Davenport
• Jessica Emard, sophomore from Bettendorf
• Kelsey Howard, sophomore, from Davenport
• Maaike Mielenhausen, freshman from Davenport
• Anthony Miller, junior from Davenport
• Alissa Olson, senior from Rock Island
• Kelly Spavin, freshman from Pleasant Valley

Ottawa University, Ottawa, Kansas, has announced that Elizabeth A. Wilkens of Davenport has made the Dean's Honor List.

Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa, has announced the following honors recipients:

• Katelyn Christine Carlson of Rock Island has made the Dean's List
  
• Deanna Keira Carr of Davenport has made the President's List.
• Brittany Marie Erps of Davenport has made the Dean's List
• Ashlee Marie Martin of Davenport has made the Dean's List

Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, has announced that Marlo A. Buzzell and Grace E. Darmour-Paul, both seniors from Davenport, have made the Dean's List.

It is that time of year again when days become longer and nights become shorter, and when the beautiful summer weather calls everyone to enjoy the sun's rays.  Simply being outdoors during the summer months can be quite a pleasure.  But it is also important to take precautions when heading outdoors.

For those with fair skin, being over-exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays can have harmful effects.  In fact, one in five of us will develop skin cancer in our lifetimes, making it the most common form of cancer in the country.  And as the years go on, this number has only been rising.

But skin isn't the only victim. Long-term exposure to UV rays can also cause immune system suppression and premature aging.

In particular, we need to encourage the young people in our lives to take precautions.  Most Americans receive 50 to 80 percent of their lifetime sun exposure before they reach the age of 18.  Just one or two blistering sunburns in childhood may double the risk of developing melanoma.

Getting some sun exposure does have its benefits, the most important being the direct intake of Vitamin D, helping us to absorb calcium for stronger and healthier bones.  And spending time outdoors has countless advantages as well, such as the development of a more active lifestyle.

But we need to caution our loved ones from spending too much time in the sun and encourage them to take other precautions, such as wearing extra clothing, always wearing sunscreen and wearing a hat.

Here are six basic tips for protecting yourself and your family year round:

• When outdoors, use sunscreens rated SPF 15 or higher.  Apply the lotion liberally, uniformly and frequently.  Make sure the sunscreen you are using is broad-spectrum sunscreen (to filter UVB and UVA rays).

• Stay out of the midday sun (from 10am to 4pm) whenever you can.  You also should protect yourself from UV radiation reflected by sand, water, snow and ice.  UV radiation can go through light clothing, windshields, windows and clouds.

• Wear long sleeves and long pants of tightly woven fabrics, a hat with a wide brim and sunglasses that absorb UV.

• Stay away from sunlamps and tanning booths.

• Do not sunbathe - period.

• Teach your children good sun-protection habits at an early age.

The American Cancer Association also provides greats resources to better understand how to protect ourselves.  You can find this information at  http://www.cancer.org.

Being outdoors and enjoying the great Iowa weather is highly encouraged!  Just be careful and remember that simply protecting yourself from the sun's harmful rays can help you live a longer and healthier life.

By: Jane M. Orient, M.D.

http://www.aapsonline.org

All eyes are on the BP gusher in the Gulf, spewing pollution over the shoreline, but there's another big leak that will do even more damage to our economy: the one in the Medicare well.

Ever since 1965, when Medicare was enacted, the federal Treasury has been hemorrhaging dollars. Previously, "10%" was quoted and re-quoted as the amount of fraud. More recently, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) alleged it to be 20%.

Like BP's oil containment dome, previous efforts failed to plug the hole. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars shoveled into the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program (HCFAC) by HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), federal prosecutors say they need still more "resources" and "tools."

Attorney General Eric Holder is looking for people to prosecute for both leaks?which will do nothing to stop the pollution.

Containment efforts in new Medicare rules include requiring doctors to "revalidate" their billing privileges periodically. They'll have to show that their name, address, identifying numbers, and organizational status are exactly as registered. They'll have to give Medicare access to their checking account by electronic funds transfer (EFT) so that it can make immediate "adjustments" in case of overpayment.

The Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act ("ObamaCare") imposes additional screening requirements; some providers will have to be fingerprinted.

Ever-more aggressive private bounty hunters called Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) are descending on doctors' offices, dissecting claims and patients' records, looking for a missing "bullet point" in the documentation, or an inaccurate digit in the billing code. ObamaCare increases the penalties for errors from $11,000 per item to $50,000. The government's burden of proof, already light, has been further decreased. There is no need to prove any intent to defraud, or even to show that any money was ever collected.

Also, the definition of "fraud" is expanded to include "unnecessary" services, "ineffective" services, or those that don't comply with Medicare requirements.

Prosecutors are making examples of "greedy providers." Dr. Ronald Poulin of Virginia was smeared all over the pages of his local newspaper before being convicted of "fraud"?that previously would have been called billing errors. Pictures of his home were posted on the internet?a nice house, bought with decades of hard work, now seized, along with his cars, his bank accounts, his medical license, his reputation, and his liberty. He sits in jail awaiting assignment to a federal prison.

One less oncologist will be prescribing expensive chemotherapy to cancer patients?and there are other effects that we don't see. Deterrence works. Trying to help sick people is becoming very dangerous.

But will these methods end the fraud? Dr. Kenneth Christman, a past president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) (www.aapsonline.org), states that the amount of fraud is actually 100%, because Medicare is a Ponzi scheme. Today's soon-to-be-retiring Baby Boomers have been bilked as surely as Bernie Madoff's investors were, and their "trust fund" is full of internal government IOUs that can be redeemed only by borrowing from a bigger sucker.

Leaving ultimate Medicare reform aside, can we eliminate true billing fraud? Eliminating doctors does eliminate billing?of all types, by those doctors. But organized crime is said to be moving in.

As Malcolm Sparrow pointed out in a book by that title, third-party payment is A License to Steal. Payment is made for a "clean claim," not for a messy service. And despite the government's legal advantages, it takes time to go through the process of destroying doctors. So here's the overnight solution.

Make insurance fraud, like credit-card fraud, self-revealing. Do away with "assignment of benefits," which means paying the "provider." Mail all insurance payments to patients, in the form of a dual-payee check.

Dead or fictitious patients don't cash checks. Real people who did not receive a worthwhile service generally do not pay for it.

Fire the RACs, and put prosecutors to work fighting real crime, not creating crimes from arcane codes.  Restore the natural regulatory system of customers reading understandable bills. Don't put medical dollars into a huge bank vault that criminals can open with computer codes, and the practice of medicine into a bureaucratic prison.

Prisons don't stop leaks.

http://www.aapsonline.org