Government and Business: Notes and Asides

An Ohio government-sponsored website linked an interesting story from the Lima News this past week.

Written by Greg Sowinski and entitled "Local counties hunt for food card fraud," the story lede was as follows: "Area investigators discovered $376,565 in food assistance fraud in Allen, Auglaize and Putnam counties in 2012, and they continue to seek out people who try to take advantage of the system.

"Last year in Allen County, there were 192 cases of food assistance fraud totaling $320,000, said Joe Patton, investigations supervisor for the Allen County Department of Job and Family Services."

Patton said that Allen County typically averages $4,000 or $5,000 in food assistance fraud.

As the News reported, the food stamps program is now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The biggest offenders, according to the report, are people who find a job or have an increase in work hours but neglect to report it.

"It’s rare to refer cases for prosecution," Michele Weihrauch, an eligibility referral supervisor for the Putnam County Department of Job and Family Services, told The Lima News. "Any case that is prosecuted is a felony, so prosecution typically is reserved for the worst offenders. Weihrauch said the department tries to give people a chance to repay when fraud is discovered."

Just a thought: If three Ohio counties have $376,565 in SNAP fraud, what are the numbers in Highland and surrounding counties? What agency or agencies investigate this on the local level?

If nothing else, it is food for thought.

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• California lawyers are loving this, no doubt.

The Los Angeles Times reported this weekend that there are not enough doctors to treat all the newly insured patients under Obamacare.

So what's the union's most liberal state with 55 electoral votes to do?

Well, that's easy. They'll create more doctors.

As reported by Michael J. Mishak in the Los Angeles Times, some California lawmakers want to fill the gap by redefining who can provide health care.

"They are working on proposals that would allow physician assistants to treat more patients and nurse practitioners to set up independent practices. Pharmacists and optometrists could act as primary care providers, diagnosing and managing some chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and high-blood pressure," Mishak reports.

"We're going to be mandating that every single person in this state have insurance," said state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D), chairman of the Senate Health Committee and leader of the effort to expand professional boundaries. "What good is it if they are going to have a health insurance card but no access to doctors?"

Yo, Edward: An awful lot of intelligent and caring doctors asked this same question long before former House Speaker Pelosi (is she from Baltimore or San Francisco?) told Americans that "We have to pass the bill before we know what's in it."

The LA Times' report continues: "Doctors say giving non-physicians more authority and autonomy could jeopardize patient safety. It could also drive up costs, because those workers, who have less medical education and training, tend to order more tests and prescribe more antibiotics.

"Patient safety should always trump access concerns," added Dr. Paul Phinney, president of the California Medical Association.

OK. Now, I'm just an Old Ridgerunner. But let's see if I understand the California liberal mentality (God forbid):

1. The state that guaranteed Obama 55 electoral votes prior to the last two presidential elections now says it does not have enough doctors to treat the influx of new people eligible for medical care under the Obama bill.

2. California lawmakers seek to address this easily predictable problem by giving medical decision-making powers that – heretofore – were in the primary domain of licensed medical doctors, to non-medical doctors.

3. California has no reported shortage of attorneys available to file suit on anyone who allegedly practices medicine without a license or sufficient academic qualifications.

That's about it, I suppose.

To all those soon-to-be doctors, please remember the Hippocratic oath: First, do no harm.

Oh, wait. That probably will not apply to you. California lawmakers are a crafty bunch, after all.

Maybe you should just tell your future patients to take an aspirin and a beer or two for whatever malady they might come down with.

Lawyer up, y'all.

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• Entrepreneurship Week is coming up.

Personally, I cannot wait.

In previous years, the president of the Highland County Board of Commissioners has been asked to read – publicly – a proclamation in acknowledgment of Entrepreneurship Week.

Said board president has about as much trouble saying "entrepreneurship" as I have spelling "entrepreneurship."

As always, it should be an entertaining proclamation reading. I hope those involved with National Entrepreneurship Week (Russ Brewer, et. al.) remember to request a 2013 proclamation from the county commissioners.

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• I suppose, by definition, I might be an entrepreneur. Whether that's a good thing or not, depends on one's definition.

For example, earlier this year, The Highland County Press implemented a new invoicing software for our Mac-based computer network. (Never fear, we still have our famous cigar box for classified advertising change!)

In order to complete the software upload, we were prompted to insert our "company name." Most of you know us as The Highland County Press. That's cool. However, our company name is Cameco Communications, LLC. It has been for years.

"Cameco" is derived – at my wife's suggestion – from the first two letters of each of our three child's names in sequential order. (Caitlin, Meghan and Colin.)

Why we added "Communications" is beyond me. Even though we're in the business of professional communications, I'm not very good at it. I don't have a cell phone. I don't tweet. I don't text. I don't Facebook. I don't cloud. And I never will.

Anyway, as our all-new-and-improved-modernized-high-tech invoices started reaching our wonderful customers a few weeks ago, there was a bit of confusion.

For instance, one well-known business professional (Hi, Rick!!) saw the name Cameco on an invoice where he used to see "The Highland County Press," and asked if we'd sold the company. He had some fun with this line of questioning, too.

So did I.

For the record, no, The Highland County Press has not changed ownership. (Unlike other print media.)

We remain Highland County's only locally owned and operated newspaper, and we think that really ought to mean something.

When local readers and advertisers see a datelined financial story from New York – as was reported this week – that says some financial restructuring investment banking group announced the placement of $62.5 million in senior credit facilities following the formation of blah, blah, and blah…it's not this newspaper. Never will be.

And don't worry. We're still your only locally owned newspaper. You want to speak with the owner, just give me a call. A local call.

Rory Ryan is publisher of The Highland County Press. He takes out the trash on weekends, too.