Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/135398
8A Daily News – Friday, June 7, 2013 Audubon activities Medicare urges seniors: join fight against fraud In mailboxes across the country, people with Medicare will soon see a redesigned statement of their claims for services and benefits that will help them better spot potential fraud, waste and abuse. These newly redesigned Medicare Summary Notices are just one more way the Obama Administration is making the elimination of fraud, waste and abuse in health care a top priority. Because of actions like these and new tools under the Affordable Care Act, the number of suspect providers and suppliers thrown out of the Medicare program has more than doubled in 35 states. "The new Medicare Summary Notice gives seniors and people with disabilities accurate information on the services they receive in a simpler, clearer way," said CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. "It's an important tool for staying informed on benefits, and for spotting potential Medicare fraud by making the claims history easier to review." Beneficiaries in California will begin receiving the new Medicare Summary Notice this month. The redesigned notice will make it easier for people with Medicare to understand their benefits, file an appeal if a claim is denied, and spot claims for services they never received. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will send the notices to Medicare beneficiaries on a quarterly basis. "A beneficiary's best defense against fraud is to check their Medicare Summary Notices for accuracy and to diligently protect their health information for privacy," said Peter Budetti, CMS deputy administrator for program integrity. "Most Medicare providers are honest and work hard to provide services to beneficiaries. Unfortunately, there are some people trying to exploit the Medicare system." Medicare beneficiaries and caregivers are critical partners in the fight against fraud. In April of this year, CMS announced a proposed rule that would increase rewards— up to $9.9 million – paid to Medicare beneficiaries and others whose tips about suspected fraud lead to the successful recovery of funds. Update on CMS' Anti-Fraud Efforts The Affordable Care Act has enabled CMS to expand efforts to prevent and fight fraud, waste and abuse. Over the last four years, the Obama administration has recovered over $14.9 billion in healthcare fraud judgments, settlements, and administrative impositions, including record recoveries in 2011 and 2012. Since the Affordable Care Act, CMS has revoked 14,663 providers and suppliers' ability to bill in the Medicare program since March 2011 (Chart 1). These providers were removed from the program because they had felony convictions, were not operational at the address CMS had on file, or were not in compliance with CMS rules. In 18 states, the number of revocations has quadrupled since CMS put the Affordable Care Act screening and review requirements in place, as well as the implementation of proactive data analysis to identify potential license discrepancies of enrolled individuals and entities. These efforts are ensuring that only qualified and legitimate providers and suppliers can provide health care products and services to Medicare beneficiaries (Chart 2). For more information about the Medicare Summary Notice, please visit: http://bit.ly/SummaryNotice. Exotic deer lice infestation hits deer in West RENO, Nev. (AP) — Scientists across the West are raising concerns about a growing infestation of exotic deer lice that appears to be killing Columbian black-tailed and mule deer and recently turned up in Nevada. Researchers said the non-native lice first appeared in the mid-1990s. They apparently weaken the deer during the long winter months, causing hair loss and distracting them from threats posed by hungry predators like mountain lions. The infestation has been on the rise, especially in Oregon, Washington, California and New Mexico. ''We're very concerned about the potential impacts on the deer population,'' said Greg Gerstenberg, a senior wildlife biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. ''The potential impact of exotic lice and hair loss could be devastating,'' he told the Reno Gazette-Journal . Nevada's first case was reported in 2011 in the north-central part of the state in Smokey Valley near Tonopah. Suspected cases also turned up last year near Fallon about 60 miles east of Reno and in far eastern Nevada on a ranch near the Utah line south of Great Basin National Park. ''We have basically documented that we have it across the whole state,'' said Peregrine Wolff, a veterinarian for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. She said that while the lice aren't posing any widespread problem in Nevada yet, the issue could become a concern if it begins to impact deer populations to the degree it appears to be doing elsewhere. ''More and more states are identifying this,'' Wolff said. ''No one has been able to come up with a common thread with what's going on.'' For the deer, what's going on is decidedly uncomfortable. While native lice are common with deer and pose no particular problems, these exotic lice are another matter. They can infest deer in immense numbers in an itchy assault that, to a large degree, is targeting fawns. ''They will have thousands of lice on them,'' said Gerstenberg. ''It has to be an extreme irritation.'' Thus, the primary reason for hair loss, he said. ''They're just almost nonstop biting, scratching, chewing,'' Gerstenberg said. ''In effect, they're pulling their hair out.'' It appears the practice can prove fatal. During heavy winters in 20092010 and 2010-2011, mor- tality rates of 30 to 50 percent were recorded for mule deer in Stanislaus National Forest near Yosemite National Park. With patches of hair gone, it's harder for deer to stay warm, resulting in a dangerous energy drain that could lessen their chances of making it through a long, cold winter. There's another danger as well. Many of the deer exhibiting hair loss found dead in Stanislaus National Forest had been attacked by mountain lions. Scientists speculate lice-infested deer may have been so busy grooming themselves they ignored the presence of approaching predators like lions and coyotes. ''They're not paying attention,'' Gerstenberg said. ''It's possible predators can approach the deer a little more easily.'' The Altacal Audubon Society program and field trips for June are as follows: Program • Altacal Audubon's Potluck - Monday, June 17, 6:30 p.m. Chico Creek Nature Center. Come join us and celebrate friendships and our common love for birds and the natural world at our annual potluck dinner. We will have a chance to visit with old friends and new ones; talk about birds and birding, share stories of recent and future adventures and travels. Also share with the group some interesting facts on one of your favorite birds. It's been another remarkable year for Altacal Audubon and this will be our last chance to get together as a group until our next program in September. Remember, there are no programs during July and August so you don't want to miss this one. Bring a dish to share, a beverage for yourself or to share, a plate and fork, and a chair if you like. Field Trips • June 14 - 16, Friday - Sunday - Sierra Valley/ Yuba Pass was cancelled • June 28 - 30, Friday - Sunday- Willow Lake. Come and enjoy Willow Lake, situated just outside Lassen Volcanic National Park. It's a natural lake (kayaks welcome) that features a floating bog (a fen) in a narrow valley-like setting. Piliated Woodpeckers nest in, and are common to the area; other birds include Whiteheaded and Black-backed Woodpeckers, Sandhill Cranes, Western Tanagers, Evening Grosbeaks and a variety of warblers. We will camp on the edge of the lake - only a pit toilet is provided - and hike to the Terminal Geyser, Boiling Lake, and perhaps up to Little Willow Lake and bird the area along Willow Creek. Come for part of or the entire weekend. Contact Gaylord Grams at 530-533-1624 for more information, directions and meeting places. July 26 - 28, Friday - Sunday - Lassen Volcanic National Park. Beat the heat and head for the high country just up the road in Lassen Volcanic National Park. This will be a great weekend to bird and socialize with our neighboring Audubon chapters. We have reserved a site at Lost Creek Group Campground. This year, Wintu Audubon and possibly another chapter will have their Lassen trip on the same weekend. We'll explore various parts of the park each day. You can join us for one or more of the hikes, kayak or canoe on your own at Manzanita Lake, explore the park on your own, or lounge in camp and let the birds come to you. The birding is great right in the campground area. We'll get together for dinner and campfire socializing in the evenings and perhaps take a night hike to look for owls. Come for all or part of the weekend. If you aren't interested in camping, you can join us just for the day. There is a $10 fee per car to enter the park and we will share the campsite fee. Group size is limited. If you would like to join us or need more information, please contact Mary Muchowski at 530-228-0625 or mmuchowski@earthlink.net. All programs and activities are free of cost unless otherwise indicated and are open to the public. We would appreciate your help in promoting these activities. If you have any questions or want further information about specific activities contact Wayland Augur at 530-519-4724 or email wba@acm.org. Fertility drugs, nature better than horse roundups RENO, Nev. (AP) — A scathing independent scientific review of wild horse roundups in the West concludes the U.S. government would be better off investing in widespread fertility control of the mustangs and let nature cull any excess herds instead of spending millions to house them in overflowing holding pens. A 14-member panel assembled by the National Science Academy's National Research Council, at the request of the Bureau of Land Management, concluded BLM's removal of nearly 100,000 horses from the Western range over the past decade is probably having the opposite effect of its intention to ease ecological damage and reduce overpopulated herds. By stepping in prematurely when food and water supplies remain adequate, and with most natural predators long gone, the land management agency is producing artificial conditions that ultimately serve to perpetuate population growth, the committee said Wednesday in a 451page report recommending more emphasis on the use of contraceptives and other methods of fertility control. The research panel sympathized with BLM's struggle to find middle ground between horse advocates and ranchers who see the animals as unwelcome competitors for forage. It noted there's ''little if any public support'' for allowing harm to come to either the horses or the rangeland itself. The report says the current method may work in the short term, but results in continually high population growth, exacerbating the long-term problem. The American Wild Horse Preservation Fund, a national coalition of more than 50 advocacy groups, said the report makes a strong case for an immediate halt to the roundups. ''This is a turning point for the decades-long fight to protect America's mustangs,'' said Neda DeMayo, president of the coalition's Return to Freedom. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association is among the livestock groups that have voiced support in the past for aggressive, increased use of fertility control but remain adamantly opposed to curtailing roundups. Horse advocates themselves are not united behind the idea of stepping up use of contraception on the range. ''We are grateful that the National Academy of Science recommends stopping cruel roundups, but we challenge their decision to control alleged overpopulation like a domestic herd with humans deciding who survives and breeds,'' said Anne Novak, executive director of Protect Mustangs in San Francisco. The conflict has raged for decades but has intensified in recent years for cash-strapped federal land managers with skyrocketing bills for food and corrals and no room for incoming animals. ''The business as usual practices are not going to be effective without additional resources,'' said Guy Palmer, a pathologist from Washington State University who chaired the research committee. Rep. Raul Grijalva, DAriz., said the report should serve as a wakeup call to bring changes he and others in Congress have urged for years. ''These unsustainable practices are a waste of taxpayer money and jeopardize the health and safety of wild horses across the West,'' he said. BLM officials said they welcomed the recommendations to help in their effort to make the program more cost-effective. Spokesman Tom Gorey said the agency ''needs and wants to do a better job'' managing horses, but said those advocating an end to all roundups are misguided. ''It appears that our critics want to use the report as a propaganda tool to stop gathers,'' which the BLM is required to do by law, Gorey said. ''Do the American people and does Congress support changing the law so that BLM would carry out a laissez-faire management policy that would subject horses and burros to mass starvation or dehydration by letting Mother Nature work her will?'' he asked in an email to The Associated The Over 25 years of experience STOVE JUNCTION BBQ PELLETS The North State's premier supplier of stoves All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened Member Discount 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check $ starting at 95 $ 25 + 8 certificate 25 (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. Now in Stock! Popular customer request Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Tues-Sat 9am-5pm • Closed Sun & Mon 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Press. Panel members said they found little scientific basis for establishing what BLM considers to be appropriate, ecologically based caps on horse numbers and even less basis for estimating the overall population itself. ''It seems that the national statistics are the product of hundreds of subjective, probably independent, judgments and assumptions by range managers and administrators,'' the report said. BLM's current population estimate likely is anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent short of the true level, the report said. The number of animals at holding facilities surpassed the estimated number on the range in 10 Western states earlier this year for the first time since President Richard Nixon signed the Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. The agency averaged removing 8,000 horses from the range annually from 2002 to 2011. Last year, it spent 60 percent of its wild horse budget on holding facilities alone, more than $40 million, the committee said. Palmer said the public traditionally adopted about 3,000 of the horses annually but that has fallen off in recent years.