Category Archives: Idaho

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Idaho’s New Privatized Medicaid. Patient Care Falls, Company Profits Up.

“…Americans will not stand for privatization of the nation’s most successful programs.” This is what a critic of President Bush Jr. said back in 2007, regarding the privatization of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. I think the critic is uninformed because many states have already privatized some or most of their Medicaid programs. And there is plenty of evidence that shows it is not successful, at least for the recipients.

Idaho is one of the states leading the country in radical reforms to it’s Medicaid program. On June 7th, 2010, they contracted out the medical payment program of Medicaid to a California company called Molina. Payments were expected to restart July 1st. The Idaho Medical Association says some providers have been paid for only 1% of what they billed (yes, one percent). A small number of providers have been overpaid, to the sum of $1 million. Most health care providers get a message stating “pending hold”. At the same time, Molina is reporting a net income of $10.6 million for the 2nd quarter of this year. $5 million of that coming from their Medicaid unit, know as Molina Medicaid Solutions.

Idaho had another contractor running Medicaid payments, for 30 years. Then the state decided to get a new contractor, one that could provide more flexible technology. Is that new lingo for cutting services?

Molina initially blamed the payment issue on it’s computer program, but, then in August, said it was because they were understaffed. The state is also being blamed by some critics for intentionally holding back claims until the Molina takeover.

Some providers say they’re getting the “pending hold” message because Molina’s program is designed to take care of people with secondary insurance first. Patients with no secondary insurance seem to be stuck in limbo under Molina’s system.

The Idaho government shares some of the blame, of course. On top of hiring the new contractor, the state wants to cut Medicaid funding by $22 million. I can’t help think that the cuts have something to do with this Medicaid payment fiasco.

Now, Idaho has contracted out the dental care program of Medicaid. The contractor, DentaQuest, has been given the green light to cut 150-200 providers from the program (in Idaho that’s a lot). The changes go into affect on November 1st. Several East Idaho dentists said it could force people with serious dental problems into hospital emergency rooms. Also, according to Dr. Justin Bell of Idaho Falls, DentaQuest is reducing compensation to .30 cents for every dollar of care. Dr. Bell thinks this will force dentists to stop taking Medicaid.

Here’s a couple of questions: If Americans don’t want privatized Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, where is the protest?

Also, what’s the use of the Federal Health Care Reforms if states are making up their own reforms?

Idaho, Opinion

Vote Local, Screw National!

Elections are coming up. Local, state and national. Which elections affect you the most? Local of course! Those City and County buffoo… officials affect your day to day life directly. Your State Legislature also has a direct impact on your life.

The Federal Congressional gang does impact us, but indirectly, by coming up with Federal domestic (national) laws, policies and regulations. Then there’s the  President of the United States. He can plead with the Congress, and then sign into law, or reject by veto, anything Congress sends his way. Meaning his impact is as indirect as the Congress. The President’s true authority is in Foreign Affairs, not in Domestic Policy.

So why do so many people in the U.S. vote during presidential elections, and so few vote during non-presidential elections?  Here’s some statistics from the most recent General Elections: 2008 presidential elections saw 56.8% voter turnout, compared to 2006 non-presidential elections of only 37.1% (www.infoplease.com). In fact, since 1970 voter turnout for non-presidential elections has remained stuck in the upper 30% range.

Those stats are the average for the whole country. How about locally? Here in Bannock County, Idaho, in the May 2010 Primary Elections only 22.97% of registered voters voted (www.co.bannock.id.us).  Hopefully many more people will vote in the up coming General Elections.

I hope it’s more than the 2006 non-presidential General Elections. In that year the state wide voter turnout in Idaho was in the 40% range (elections.gmu.edu). You might think that’s not bad, but compare that to the 50-60% range for the 2008 presidential elections (elections.gmu.edu). I’d like to see 60% turnout in general non-presidential, local elections.

Stop putting your hope into the Congress and the President of the United States! Send a big message to Washington D.C. by putting your voting power where it will have direct impact on your home state and your hometown. Lets see huge turnouts for local elections!

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Food Crisis: Idaho Hit by Crop Diseases


This afternoon, after a long awaited rain finally hit (possibly redeeming local weather forecasters), I discovered that my small plot of maize is suffering from an infestation of Smut. In researching this Smut I discovered that Idaho grain farmers are facing a new disease potentially more harmful, because it is attacking wheat & barely as well as corn.

Smut infected corn kernel. Some South Americans eat this.

Smut is a common corn fungus. It looks almost like the maize had been popped right in the husk. It’s nasty looking, the puffed corn kernels turning black as the fungus progresses. According to some sources, South Americans like to eat the young Smut galls as a delicacy.

I’ve grown maize for several years now, changing the location in my backyard field every year, but I’ve never had this problem. Turns out that weather plays a big role in the growth of Maize Smut. The weather factors are; cooler than normal temperatures, and dryer than normal conditions during the growing season (ipm.illinois.edu). That’s exactly what we’ve had this year in South East Idaho.

Maize Smut, Chubbuck, Idaho.

This is no problem, corn Smut shouldn’t cause a food crisis. But, in my research I discovered that, for the first time, the Pacific Northwest is being hit by a crop disease that attacks maize, wheat & barely. Earlier this year it was discovered in the Magic Valley of Idaho.

It is a type of Fusarium (not associated with Corn Smut), a fungus that is common in soil, but this particular version is dangerous to crops, and people. The Soviet Union actually developed a strain of Fusarium into a biological weapon during the Cold War (en.wikipedia.org).

According to the University of Idaho, Idaho is getting hit with this strain because of increased corn production (thank you ethanol). After the maize is harvested, Fusarium hangs around in the soil, attacking any wheat or barley planted in the same field. The U of I recommends not planting other grain crops in the same field that corn was grown. Also, plow under the field and spray with fungicides. As with Smut, cooler than normal temperatures promote Fusarium growth. (www.capitalpress.com)

Just one more concern over the coming food crisis.

Idaho, Opinion

Red Cross Hummers. Why?

Brand new Red Cross Hummer seen in the Fred Meyer parking lot in Pocatello, Idaho.

General Motors has been donating Hummers to the American Red Cross since 2004, along with a lot of cash ($100,000 in 2004). GM claims the vehicles help with disaster response. I can see the Hummer H1 as practical for this, but the H2 & H3 are among the most impractical  SUVs out there.

Why not deck out one of GMs big four door 4×4 pickups with all kinds of rescue gear, that would be more practical. Are the H2s & H3s meant for rescuing the upper class in style?

This is just another example of the lack of wisdom in our corporate leadership. Oh, but wait, I bet GM got a huge tax write off for doing this. A tax write off for an expensive vehicle that was seeing declining domestic sales (a little more than 9,000 in 2009 compared to almost 56,000 in 2007). Oh, isn’t General Motors the company that got bailed out by U.S. taxpayers (yes, they did pay it back, at least on paper).

Here’s better news; the Hummers aren’t even made anymore. The Chinese government rejected plans to buy Hummer, and GM officially ceased production this year (apparently the last Hummer H3 left the production plant in May 2010).

So the question now is; is GM going to continue to donate vehicles to the American Red Cross, or was it just a way to write off their unsold Hummers? If they do give the ARC more vehicles I hope they choose a more practical truck.

Idaho, Technology

Plastic Grocery Bags, Recycle Them!

Ok, I was watching a local East Idaho TV news program. They ran a national story about getting sick from reusable grocery bags. What got me was in their intro to the story they said that plastic grocery bags just ended up in the landfill. Well not if you recycle them!

When plastic grocery bags first went into use one of the main selling points is that they are recyclable, and therefore will not fill up landfills. The reason they end up in your local dump is because shoppers are not bringing them back to the stores to be recycled.

The Walmart in Chubbuck has bins for dropping off your old plastic grocery bags. So does the Fred Meyer in Pocatello. I believe you can recycle them at your local WINCO. If you’re not sure go ask someone at the Customer Service counter at your favorite store. Just make sure your bags aren’t covered in schmutz.

Why spend money on reusable grocery bags, that they now say may be germ factories, when you can use free plastic grocery bags THAT ARE 100% RECYCLABLE? Please don’t throw them in the trash!

And guess what, it’s not just plastic grocery bags you can recycle. Bread bags, cereal box liner bags & more. Here’s a website for more info on plastic bag recycling: www.plasticbagrecycling.org

Idaho, Technology

No Glass or Styrofoam Recycling in SE Idaho?

Today I was dropping off my recyclables at the dumpsters next to Pocatello City Hall, when a city employee told me I was wasting my time dropping off the glass and styrofoam. He said the glass and styrofoam dumpster went straight to the landfill.

This is not the first time I’ve heard this. Many years ago the folks at the local Pacific Steel & Recycling told me the same thing. Well, I’ve had lots of arguments over the years with residents (and even my kids argued with some of their grade school teachers) who believe that you can recycle glass and styrofoam locally. After the City of Pocatello labeled a small dumpster for glass and styrofoam I thought, maybe I was wrong. Nope, the city employee confirmed that the glass and styrofoam is not recycled. His reason was the same reason Pacific Steel & Recycling gave me years ago; no local south eastern Idaho glass or styrofoam recyclers/manufacturers, and it is too expensive to ship out of the area. It’s just thrown in the local landfill.

I decided to double check this, and sure enough, looking at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality website (www.deq.idaho.gov), there are no glass or styrofoam recyclers in south eastern Idaho. The nearest Eastern Idaho recycler taking glass is in the City of Driggs, in Teton County, which is about 125 miles northwest of where I live. There are glass recyclers in North Central Idaho, Central Idaho, Western Idaho, Southern Idaho and Northern Idaho, but not in the south eastern part of Eastern Idaho (and only the one in all of Eastern Idaho). Most recycled glass, in the areas of Idaho that do recycle it, end up being used in road projects.

The DEQ website lists Adams County (on the west side of Idaho) as a styrofoam recycler, but, when I checked their web site I couldn’t find any mention of styrofoam recycling (www.co.adams.id.us). It looks like there’s no styrofoam recycling anywhere in Idaho.

So why did the City of Pocatello label a recycling dumpster for glass and styrofoam? The city employee said they got tired of people throwing glass and styrofoam into the dumpsters labeled for cardboard, plastic or aluminum & tin (even though there’s numerous signage asking people not to). So they simply grabbed a small dumpster and labeled it for glass and styrofoam, and haul it to the dump when it’s full.

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Opinion, U.S.

Europeans Strike! Who Cares About Terrorism?

Europeans were told that a Mumbai style terrorist attack in Europe was foiled, do they care? Hell no! Why? Because, according to strikers in Latvia, people are dying because of the drastic measures undertaken by their government to deal with their crashing economy. In other words, Europeans are more afraid of their governments than random terrorists.

Today, people in France, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Greece and several other countries not mentioned in U.S. media, went on strike. What happened to the economic recovery? A former European Union commissioner is quoted as saying “The party is over…”. European governments want even more drastic belt tightening, increasing the burden of paying for the partying of political and business leaders upon the average European taxpayer. No wounder Europeans are outraged.

Is this a sign of pending doom for the U.S. recovery? The same caca del toro is happening with our leadership here in the U.S. Where are the mass strikes? Are we so afraid of our leadership that we’d rather continue playing along with their war on terror game?

The real terrorism is being waged on the average U.S. worker, by corporate America and their puppets; our political leaders. Let me give you an example: When my son was 17 he got a job working for a movie theater here on the east side of Idaho. His first two weeks he put in 90 hours. We though he was going to get overtime pay, nope, not under the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to the Idaho Department of Labor, movie theater employees are number 5 on the list of jobs exempted from overtime pay.

We also learned that Idaho employers do not have to provide breaks under Idaho state law. My son was told that he would be fired if he was caught taking a break or eating, even when he worked 8-9 hour shifts. Here is what Idaho says: “IDAHO LAW DOES NOT REQUIRE
1. vacation, holiday, severance or sick pay;
2. a discharge notice or a reason for discharge;
3. rest periods, breaks, lunch breaks, holidays
off or vacations;
4. premium pay rates for weekends or holidays
worked;
5. pay raises or fringe benefits; or
6. a limit on the number of hours an employee
can work per day or week for employees 16
years of age or older.”

Visit labor.idaho.gov

Wake up America!

Idaho, International

Food Prices Up, Crop Yields Down

27 September 2010

Signs of a coming food crisis are everywhere. Most notably at the source, the farms that grow the basic crops. Here on the east side of Idaho, farmers had to deal with a spring that was too cool too long, resulting in crops being planted weeks late, and then a short summer (www.noaanews.noaa.gov) (www.kidk.com).

It’s not just Idaho, but many of the crop growing states in the U.S. are experiencing lower yields, and you can blame the weather. Any type of extreme weather will affect crops (sciencepolicy.colorado.edu).  In Idaho it’s too cool & too dry. In other parts of the United States it’s too wet (just look at all the flooding in the southern states), or too hot & dry. And it’s not just the U.S.; Canada & Mexico, South America, Eurasia & Africa as well as Australia, are all dealing with the adverse affects of weird weather on their crops. Pakistan can kiss most of their crop production goodbye after the incredible floods they experienced. Russia is loosing crops due to record heat & fires (www.voanews.com) (rt.com) (rt.com). Just in the past couple of days flooding in Nigeria has destroyed 240 acres of farmland (www.cnn.com).

The result is that overall, globally, less product is heading towards the markets, which means higher commodity prices paid for those crops (Law of Supply & Demand). This is good for farmers who can still produce big crop yields, as farmers in Colorado are finding out (www.agweek.com), but it’s bad for the average consumer. Coffee retailers have finally started passing on the higher costs they’re paying for the beans (starbucks.tekgroup.com). This will only add to the specter of inflation, a three pronged attack caused by governments printing too much money, precious metal prices blasting off and food prices soaring.

Here’s what has happened to wheat commodity prices: In March 2010 Hard Red Winter Wheat was at a value of 191.07,  by August 2010 it hit a value of 246.35 (www.indexmundi.com).  Not all commodities have experienced such a big increase, a few have actually dropped. But, there is a trend of reduced availability & increased cost, so much so that the UN held an emergency meeting to discuss the issue (www.guardian.co.uk). Some UN officials blame inexperienced commodity speculators for the increases in prices. One example of that is that it looks like the December 2010 Corn futures were “overbought” (Idaho Grain Market Alert 9.23.10). This is a double whammy for the average consumer; not only will some foods become limited but some food will be too expensive. So the coming food crisis may probably be more about people not being able to buy the food, than it’s limited availability.

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