Oct 25th. 2012
Religious Morality and Brain Chemistry
By Charles Fisher

The punishment in Islam for the DSM-4 diagnosis of kleptomania is the removal of a hand. Recent research indicates that medications which suppress endorphins are effective in curbing the compulsions of a kleptomaniac. Bearing in mind the costs to society of each way of addressing this condition, is it time to rethink religious morals and their impact on culture? Come join a discussion of comparative religious morality as it is addressed by a modern psychological understanding of compulsive behavior.

Reference quote from The Koran:

" The Table 5:35
As to the thief, Male or female, cut off his or her hands: a punishment by way of example, from Allah, for their crime: and Allah is Exalted in power."

About the presenter:

Charles Fisher has his engineering degree from the University of Iowa and is a published author with books written in the techincal field of computer science. Charles is with Info Systesm at Alcoa and is a resident of Rock Island.

Independent Scholars Evenings. 7.00 p.m.

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The Institute for Cultural and Healing Traditions, LTD is a 501(c)3 at State and Federal level organization under US laws since 1996.

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Contributor & author:  Lawrence Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D. (from the Buffalo, NY area) is a board-certified neurologist who runs a third-party-free practice in Derby, New York. Dr. Huntoon is also editor-in-chief of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, and has written and lectured extensively on medical care issues and the importance of the patient-physician relationship.

Interview - Contact Dr. Huntoon directly at  editor@jpands.org, (716) 627-7759 (reporters and journalists welcome!)

For permission to publish this article (word count: 620), contact AngelPublicity@aol.com for a prompt response.

Preview:  Politicians, who have promised more than taxpayers can pay for, often point to those who provide medical care as the main source of fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. However, a report prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) provides conclusive evidence of overbilling fraud on a massive scale committed by government itself. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fraud, Waste, and Abuse In Government-Run Medical Programs                      

By Author/Contributor: Lawrence R. Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D.

There is a lot of talk these days about fraud, waste and abuse in government-run medical programs. Politicians, who have promised more than taxpayers can pay for, often point to those who provide medical care as the main source of fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid.

However, a report prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) provides conclusive evidence of overbilling fraud on a massive scale committed by government itself.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform estimates that New York State overbilled the federal government by $15 billion over the past 20 years for Medicaid costs for developmentally disabled patients, an amount that exceeded the entire Medicaid budgets of 14 states! The committee reported: "The failure...suggests an institutional failure and a pattern of irresponsible actions that have cost taxpayers billions."

What's worse is that the federal government was complicit in this fraud. HHS officials, who are responsible for oversight of Medicare and Medicaid, acknowledged that they were aware of this massive overbilling by New York State since 2007, yet took no effective action to stop it. The deputy director for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services described the overbilling as "excessive and inappropriate."

The OIG report details how New York State took advantage of rate-setting methodology instituted by the federal government, which significantly inflated the Medicaid daily rate paid to Developmental Centers caring for disabled patients. The CMS admitted that this rate setting formula was based on "apparently incorrect" assumptions about costs.

The complex rate-setting methodology involves a federal waiver that allows New York State to bill for "total reimbursable costs" as opposed to "actual costs." In a gross understatement, the OIG report acknowledged that "total reimbursable operating costs do not reflect the State's actual costs." The federal government allows New York State to bill 64% of its prior reimbursement for a patient even after the patient is discharged from the care facility. And, if a patient is transferred to another facility financed by Medicaid, the taxpayers end up paying twice for the same patient.

The OIG report revealed that Medicaid reimbursement per patient in a developmental center in New York State went from $195 per day in 1985 to $4,116 per day in 2009, which for 2009 translated to $1.5 million per year per Medicaid patient. Actual costs were 63% less than reimbursable costs paid. In 2011, taxpayers were charged a whopping $5,118 per day per patient in a New York State developmental care facility. One could likely rent a lavish resort on an island for that extraordinary sum.

The report also revealed that State-owned developmental centers were reimbursed at ten times the rate of privately owned intermediate care facilities providing comparable services in the same region.

Incredibly, instead of punishing the perpetrators of this overbilling scheme, the federal government actually rewarded New York State between 2009 and 2011 by increasing Medicaid payment rates by 8%. This was done as part of a 2009 Stimulus Package designed to boost the economy.

The OIG report concluded that "CMS's efforts did not prevent the rate from increasing to its current level, which might not be consistent with efficiency and economy." That's a little like telling the victim of an armed robbery that the thief's actions were not consistent with the victim's economic goals and efficient use of his money.

In 2004, we learned of indisputable evidence that Medicare is an incompetence-based bureaucracy, which according to the government's own GAO study provides the wrong answer 90% of the time in response to questions about how to properly bill the Medicare program. Now we have indisputable evidence that government itself is a major source of fraud in government-run medical programs.

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Nova Singers, under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, presents two performances of Johannes Brahms' Requiem, Saturday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Central Congregational Church, Galesburg, and on Sunday, October 21, at 4:00 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Moline.

Nova Singers open their 27th season with two performances of Johannes Brahms' "A German Requiem." Joining Nova Singers for these concerts are guest pianist Ashlee Mack and Megan Clewell, and vocalists Sarah Moran, soprano, and Gregory Lewis, baritone.

"Brahms named his first great work 'A German Requiem' because he wanted this to be very different from the traditional requiem masses of the Catholic Church," explained Lane, professor of music and director of choral activities at Knox College in Galesburg. " Brahms chose the words himself, from various sources. His choices show us Brahms believed that a requiem encourages us to accept the reality of the transience of life, offers consolation and comfort, and gives us hope for a life after death....I have conducted the Brahms Requiem twice before, with a large chorus and full orchestra. But this will be the first time I've ever done it with a small choir like Nova Singers and piano. I could not have imagined how beautiful the music is when sung by this 30-voice version of Nova Singers---it's so clear and clean, and I can understand every word. Also, the piano accompaniment is incredibly exciting. Ashlee and Megan have become an orchestra at the keyboard!"

About the guest artists:

Pianist Megan Clewell is an instructor of piano and staff accompanist at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. An active chamber musician and vocal coach, Clewell most recently served as coach/rehearsal pianist at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Previously, she was involved with the Arizona State University Lyric Opera Theatre and the ASU Wind Ensemble.

Pianist Ashlee Mack has performed solo and chamber music with new-music organizations and has given recitals across the United States, and in Germany and Italy, including in 2011 with the Nova Singers. Mack is the coordinator of Piano Instruction at Knox College.

Soprano Sarah Moran has performed with the Galesburg Community Chorus, Elgin Choral Union, Carl Sandburg College Choir, Knox-Galesburg Symphony, Nova Singers, and University of Washington Symphony Orchestra. She is lecturer of voice, opera workshop, and vocal pedagogy at Knox College.

Baritone Gregory GD Lewis has performed  in oratorio and opera in regional houses across the U.S. He will be featured as baritone soloist with the Galesburg Community Chorus in November and the Elgin Choral Union in April and May of 2013. Lewis teaches voice at Knox College and conduct's the Knox College Women's Chorale and the Knox College Men's Ensemble.

Nova Singers, a professional vocal ensemble under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, is renowned for bringing a wide variety of choral music to its audiences, and for the spirit and charm the singers impart to their music. Dr. Lane has been serving the greater Galesburg and Quad-Cities communities for over twenty-five years, bringing her passion for music and expressive singing to audiences and singers alike.