Pax-salon Mailing List: Fwd: Salon

[Patty Guerrero (pattypax]

A few weeks ago the salon had a man, David  Feinwachs, talk w/us about the 
scandal of what our state government is doing w/the Medicaid money.   It was so 
interesting.   I emailed one of the people at the salon about what she thought 
she would say when she wrote to our Governor Dayton about all of this.   She 
sent me this, and i asked her if i could share it w/the participants of the 
evening.  She gave me her consent but if you did write to the Governor or to 
your representative and senator , please put it in  your own words.   I was 
going to just send it to the ones who came that night, but it is important 
enough to send to the pax-salon list.   Maybe you would want to send a letter 
after you read her remarks.  
I took her name off of her email, but she understood this far more than i did.  
If you want more,  google David Feinwachs.

Peace, 

Patty

> 
> 
> 
> Sure, Patty.
>  
> I am busy for a few more days, and I want to do a little research before I 
> compose my letter. But the basics are these three things:
>  
> ITEM 1.
> We want Dayton to respond appropriately to the findings of that audit  of our 
> Medicaid system (I need to look at my notes to see the name of it and when it 
> was done and such). We want to know what he is doing about the fact that the 
> audit, done by a very well-respected auditor,  found our Medicaid program, 
> which is outsourced entirely to HMOs, rife with corruption. These are the 
> HMOs that we trusted to do the right thing with our tax dollars on behalf of 
> our poorest citizens. Instead, while making NO data available to us about the 
> health care billings and payments they are handling, these "non-profit HMOs"  
> are making HUGE profits. And paying doctors far too little -- honestly, too 
> little to stay in business. So, many are closing shop. Others are no longer 
> taking Medicaid. This is destroying our system. What's up with that?  Soon, 
> it will mean bad news for ALL of us, not just the poorest among us. Does it 
> have to get that bad for Dayton to care? This corruption is wasting huge sums 
> of Minnesotan's tax dollars -- stealing, it, actually. Our tax dollars are 
> sitting in HMO bank accounts, with no reasonable explanation and no data to 
> defend them. What are they doing there instead of in the health care system, 
> paying reasonable prices to doctors for reasonable care to our citizens? Yet 
> we keep paying those taxes and the HMOs keep padding their "reserve funds" 
> beyond what is faintly reasonable. All this according to a very respected 
> auditor that the Governor himself hired.  
>  
> So, Governor, what are you doing to respond to these findings? To fix this 
> situation? To make sure our poorest citizens get care, and that our health 
> care system and our pool of providers recovers the reputation Minnesota once 
> had, so we can all look forward to retiring with good health care still 
> available to us? Please tell me the steps you are taking, and the timeline 
> for their implementation. And what can I, a concerned citizen, do to help?
>  
> ITEM 2
> Since these HMOs are the source of the problem, why are you contracting them 
> yet again to be in our new insurance exchange under Obama care? In fact, they 
> the ONLY options in that insurance exchange! Why? Are there no other 
> insurance companies we can also feature? This seems suicidal to give these 
> corrupt HMOs total control just when we should be reigning them in and taking 
> major steps to fix this problem.
>  
> ITEM 3
> And why isn't there a PUBLIC option on the exchange? After all, Minnesota is 
> one of the BEST, if not THE best, in managing Medicare costs. Yet we are the 
> worst with Medicaid -- absolutely the worst of all 50 states. What is with 
> this big disconnect? Why don't we do for Medicaid patients and their 
> providers what we do for our Medicare patients and their providers? NOW, as 
> we expand Medicaid in this next phase of Obamacare, is the time to deal with 
> this. Otherwise, we are just expanding the bank accounts of the HMOs, not the 
> care we provide our citizens.
>  
> As I said, Patty, I want to do a little research to include the correct names 
> of the audit, the auditor, the HMOs, and a few other items. And I want to 
> remember what we call the Minnesota Medciad system and use that name where 
> appropriate. And I want to play with it a bit to put it into my voice. But 
> this is the gist of it, as I understood it. If it sounds about right to you, 
> go ahead and play with it to sound like YOU.  
>  
> If you want to send me a copy of your letter to review, feel free. Or, 
> contact Dave and ask him to review it. I think I may copy him on this email, 
> too.
>  
> Take care
> Marcy
>  
> 
>  
>  
> 
> 
> Subject: Salon
>  
> HI Mary,  
> 
> Thanks for coming to the salon last Tuesday to hear David F.   I  wonder if 
> you could help me in writing a letter to Gov.Dayton re. this topic.
> What are the essential things i should say?    You understood his message 
> more than i did.
> 
> Hope to see you again at another salon.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> patty guerrero
>  
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