Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/193314
6B Daily News – Wednesday, October 16, 2013 Obama admin. projected strong health plan signups WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration's internal projections called for strong enrollment in the states in the first year of new health insurance markets, according to unpublished estimates obtained by The Associated Press. Whether those expectations will bear out is unclear. Technology glitches have frustrated many consumers trying to sign up for coverage online, and efforts to upgrade and repair healthcare.gov are ongoing. But the estimates, obtained through a public records request, may be the closest thing to a yardstick for measuring the performance of President Barack Obama's health care law across the states. The enrollment breakdown by states was included in a draft of an administration report on insurance premiums in the new markets, but it was omitted from a subsequent version that was released to the public last month by the Department of Health and Human Services. Leading up to the opening of insurance markets Oct. 1, the White House generally deflected questions about its own expectations of how consumers would respond. Officials instead cited a congressional estimate that 7 million people would gain coverage in the first year through the markets, which offer subsidized private insurance to people who don't have a job-based health plan. The draft, dated Sept. 20, broke down the figure of 7 million among states. It estimated the expected enrollment in California, for example, at 1. 3 million people in 2014. The estimate for Texas was 629,000 and for Florida, 477,000. The report estimated 340,000 people would enroll in Washington state, and 218,000 in New York. The final report, released Sept. 25, omitted the enrollment estimates, but it was identical in most other respects. Asked why the estimates were missing from the final report, HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters said in a statement: ''We are focused on reaching as many people as possible about their options. There are many estimates of how many people will enroll in year one.'' Some states have released their own estimates, she added, and other states are changing theirs based on experience. The omission puzzled some experts in the field. ''Why there is this reluctance to share internal estimates, I don't know,'' said health economist Gail Wilensky, who ran Medicare for President George H.W. Bush. ''This kind of information has a way of worming its way out into the open, which makes it look like they have something to hide.'' While consumer interest in the new health insurance markets has been undeniably strong, it's hard to get a sense of how many people have been able to navigate balky federal and state websites and successfully enroll. Numbers released by states running their own marketplaces suggest upward of 100,000 people have enrolled so far, out of millions of potential interested customers. The administration refuses to release numbers for the 36 states in which it is taking the lead. Officials at first said the frozen computer screens and other issues were the result of a high volume of interest. They later acknowledged software and design issues were also to blame. HHS belatedly rolled out a feature that allows consumers to get a look at health plans in their area without first establishing an account. The requirement that people set up an account before shopping was at odds with the normal way e-commerce websites are run, and was blamed for overloading the system. Appearing earlier this week on MSNBC, former White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the situation is ''excruciatingly embarrassing'' for the administration. ''This was bungled badly,'' said Gibbs, adding: ''When they get it fixed, I hope they fire some people that were in charge of making sure this thing was supposed to work.'' Although Gibbs did not refer to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday she has ''the full confidence of the president.'' The potential political fallout from the troubled launch of the insurance markets isn't the major issue, however. There are bigger concerns for the impact on average Americans and, if signups remain anemic, on federal taxpayers. The more uninsured people who buy coverage, the sooner they'll have access to services — well-patient checkups and prescription drugs among them — to help them improve their health and avoid a crisis that could be far costlier than preventive medicine. Their children will have access to services, too. Just as important, robust enrollment by younger, healthier people is critical because older people and people with illnesses, who are more expensive to insure, are highly motivated to sign up. Insurers will be relying on revenue from policies they sell to younger people who need fewer services to help make up the difference. An insurance pool tilted toward older, sicker people also would raise costs for the government, which will be subsidizing the coverage. The AP obtained a copy of the federal enrollment estimates in a public records request with Idaho's health insurance marketplace, Your Health Idaho. Uninsured people have until Dec. 15 to sign up for coverage to take effect Jan. 1, when most Americans will be required to have health insurance. Geography affects what drugs seniors prescribed WASHINGTON (AP) — Where seniors live makes a difference not only in how much health care they receive but also the medications they're prescribed — as some miss out on key treatments while others get risky ones, new research shows. More than 1 in 4 patients on Medicare's prescription drug plan filled at least one prescription for medications long deemed high-risk for seniors, according to the study released Tuesday by the Dartmouth Atlas Project. Seniors who live in Alexandria, La., were more than three times as likely as those in Rochester, Minn., to receive those potentially harmful drugs, which include muscle relaxants and anxiety relievers that can cause excessive sedation, falls and other problems in older adults. On the flip side, far more seniors who survived a heart attack were filling prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering statin drugs in Ogden, Utah, than in Abilene, Texas — 91 percent compared to just 44 percent, the study found. That's even though statins are proven to reduce those patients' risk of another heart attack. Even more surprising, the study found just 14 percent of seniors who've broken a bone because of osteoporosis were receiving proven medications to guard against another frac- ture — ranging from 7 percent of those patients in Newark, N.J., to 28 percent in Honolulu. ''There's no good reason'' for that variation, said lead researcher Dr. Jeffrey Munson, an assistant professor at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Researchers with the Dartmouth Atlas have long shown that the type and amount of health care that people receive varies widely around the country, and that those who live where Medicare spends more don't get better quality care. The newest report examined 2010 prescription data from the 37 million patients who get drug coverage under Medicare Part D, and found even more of a mixed picture when it comes to seniors' medications. For example, patients in the South were more likely to fill prescriptions for those riskier medications, but less likely than those in other regions to get the long-recommended treatments for heart and bone conditions. The average Part D patient filled 49 monthlong prescriptions — either new ones or refills — in 2010. But the study suggests doctors in some areas prescribe more readily. The highest number of prescriptions filled was in Miami — 63 — and the lowest in Grand Junction, Colo., 39. Overall, patients in regions where Medicare Part D spent more on medications weren't more likely to receive the most effective medications, the study found. Yes, seniors who are sicker will use more medications, but the general health of a region's Medicare population explains less than a third of the variation, the researchers concluded. Patients don't always fill their prescriptions, because of cost or fear of side effects or myriad other reasons — something this study couldn't measure. It also didn't examine differences in benefits between cheaper and more expensive Part D plans. But if doctors were following guidelines on best medication practices, there would be far less variation around the country, Munson said. Doctors ''really need to ask themselves, 'Is there a good reason why my patients are getting less effective care than patients in the other regions,''' he said. He urged patients to ask more questions, too: Why is this medicine being prescribed? What are the pros and cons? Is there something else I should consider taking? The Dartmouth Atlas, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, studies health trends using Medicare data; similar figures aren't readily available for the general population. Purported white supremacists arrested in Arizona FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Two members of a notorious family that authorities say once tried to set up a whites-only nation in America were arrested this week in Arizona on federal firearms charges after a raid on a sprawling ranch netted dozens of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Kirby Kehoe and his 37-year-old son, Cheyne, had an initial court appearance Tuesday in Flagstaff. Cheyne Kehoe's attorney declined to discuss the case, while a lawyer for Kirby Kehoe did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Authorities received a tip that Kirby Kehoe, 65, had weapons on his 40-acre property near Ash Fork, about 140 miles north of Phoenix, said Tom Mangan, a special agent with the Bureau of Alco- hol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Agents who raided the property seized dozens of guns, including shotguns and semi-automatic rifles and pistols, according to the ATF. Kirby and Cheyne Kehoe both have previous felony convictions and are banned from possessing firearms. The Kehoe family has been well-known to law enforcement since the 1990s when authorities say they provided weapons to various white supremacists who committed robberies across the Midwest. Authorities also said the family was involved in a plot to overthrow the federal government and establish the Aryan Peoples Republic in the Pacific Northwest. LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF RUTH ROSLYN SORENSEN LEGAL NOTICE SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL) CASE NUMBER (Número del Caso): 113CV250441 NOTICE TO DEFENDANT (AVISO AL DEMANDADO): DANIEL ROBERT SCOTT, and DOES ONE through FIVE, inclusive YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF (LO ESTÁ DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE): COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center ( www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfh elp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court's lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. ¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 días, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su versión. Lea la información a continuación. Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presentar una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada telefónica no lo protegen. Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corte y más información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www.sucorte.ca.g ov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le dé un formulario de exención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin más advertencia. Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remisión a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de servicios legales sin fines de lucro. Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (ww w.sucorte.ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 ó más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil. Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso. The name and address of the court is (El nombre y dirección de la corte es): SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, 191 N. First Street, San Jose, CA 95113; Downtown Superior Court The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff's attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is (El nombre, la dirección y el número de teléfono del abogado del demandante, o del demandante que no tiene abogado, es): ORRY P. KORB, County Counsel, S.B. #114399, MICHAEL L. ROSSI, Deputy County Counsel, S.B. #184997, 70 West Hedding Street, East Wing, 9th Floor, San Jose, CA 95110-1770; (408) 2995900 (408) 292-7240, DOR #TBA DATE (Fecha): Jul 31, 2013 DAVID H. YAMASAKI, Clerk (Secretario), by S. SMITH, Deputy (Adjunto) (SEAL) CASE NO. 14981 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of RUTH ROSLYN SORENSEN A Petition for Probate has been filed by Christine Sorensen Fish in the Superior Court of California, County of TEHAMA. The Petition for Probate requests that Christine Sorensen Fish be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent¹s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: November 4, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. in Dept. 1, located at 633 Washington Street, P.O. Box 310, Red Bluff, CA 96080 If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California status and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: Laura L. Clark, Esq. 737 Washington St.,P.O. Box 1110 Publish: 10/2, 10/9, Red Bluff, CA 96080 530-527-1117 10/23/13 CNS-2539752# Publish: October 11, 16 & 22, 2013 DAILY NEWS (RED BLUFF) 10/16,