Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 2-4-21 E-edition

Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION A reckless executive branch
It leaves one to wonder why, when
the Founding Fathers hammered out
the basis for a republican form of gov-
ernment with three co-equal branches
all those centuries ago, today only one
of those branches seems to be dictat-
ing the future of America with the
stroke of a pen. We have a bicameral
legislature which is charged with bud-
geting and lawmaking, and yet the ex-
ecutive branch seems to be recklessly acting on its own. Perhaps that's what happens when voters grant control of the entire operation to one party rule which is radical in its approach.
Hypocrisy is best defined as the practice of professing beliefs, feelings or virtues that one does not truly hold or possess; falseness. Want to see a living, breathing exam- ple? One has only to watch R.I.N.O. Republicans, includ- ing such notables as Mitt Romney, Mitch McConnell, Su- san Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse and Democratic Party members as well as their leaders in the House and Senate to truly define hypocrisy. Actions always speak louder than words to use a well worn cliché.
How else can one deal with the riots from last sum- mer being called justifiable by Democrat politicians while Donald Trump's call for his supporters to peace- fully march to show their displeasure being deemed an assault on democracy? It is reported that the swarming of the House was pre-planned and began even before Trump finished speaking.
Now this group of malcontents have decided to im- peach someone (Donald J. Trump) who no longer is in of- fice. Besides appearing to defy common sense, it appears that the action is unconstitutional. Many constitutional scholars agree, including such distinguished professors of law as Alan Dershowitz. How much common sense can possibly be involved in an attempt to remove a man from office who already has been removed. Can anyone say vindictive? This second impeachment trial is even thin- ner in terms of the charge and evidence than the first one and will simply distract from this bunch taking care of the nation's business as well as being an absolute waste of money. Apparently the global pandemic and deep reces- sion is less important than “getting Trump.”
Anyway, with the state of the country's economy be- ing in shambles because of shutdowns precipitated by the Coronavirus and impeachment attempts that resolve nothing but seem to be a helluva waste of time and money one can also include Biden's love affair with executive orders that are completely devoid of common sense. Oil from the pipeline will still be delivered, except by truck and railroad which will pollute far more than the pipeline.
We will have almost the same group of intellectually and morally challenged politicians preening before a na- tional television audience as a year ago and with the same lack of rationale or results. If one has any doubt, take a look at who Nancy Pelosi selected as impeachment managers. Does the name of Eric Swalwell ring a bell? The Constitu- tion calls for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to oversee this mess. Even John Roberts, who has been some- what problematic, refused to act in that capacity because of questionable constitutionality. That leaves only Patrick Leahy, a Democrat senator who is decidedly prejudiced, to oversee the Senate trial. No prejudice there!
Everyday there seems to be another surprise from this radically leftist administration. The most recent — of which we are aware — is a cessation of construction on the security fencing on our Southern border. That alone will result in at least 1,000 people being put out of work and leave a porous border for human traffickers and the narcotics trade.
A Texas judge recently reined in Biden's attempt at am- nesty for illegals. Apparently it's going to take the third branch — the judicial — to halt the devastation of tyranny from the White House. The legislative branch seems to have no appetite for controlling the current excesses.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Dinuba Chamber does exceptional job with its revamped awards
Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
Thursday, February 4, 2021 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Fred Hall
The rain from day two of the Central Valley's three-day "atmospheric river" was pelting the streets of Dinuba on Jan. 28. But inside the Alta District Historical Society building, all was dry and cozy for the six re- cipients of the Dinuba Cham- ber of Commerce's annual citi- zen awards for 2020.
It was a far cry from the usual large crowd gathering at the Dinuba Veterans Memo- rial Building. Because of the ongoing battle with COVID-19 in California, the event was moved and cut back radically in scope. All in attendance were wearing masks, with present- ers and the recipients socially distant when they had their masks off to give their speech and accept their awards.
In the end, the program still retained its charm and sincere emotion shared by winners in their acceptance speeches. All four Citizens of the Year and the Small and Large Business of the Year winners shared great stories of their history and connection to Dinuba.
The 2020 recipients as the city's top citizens are Maria McElroy, Junior Citizen of the Year; Arshpreet Pannu, Teen- age Citizen of the Year; Cheryl
Nicolay, Distinguished Citizen of the Year; Debbie Newton Johnson, Senior Citizen of the Year; Dopkins Funeral Chapel, Small Business of the Year; and Valley Labor Services, Large Business of the Year.
Pannu was part of a talented and bright group of finalists, including Jada Delgadillo and Natalie Gonzalez. All three are 4.0-plus students with lofty ca- reer goals and multiple honors during their time at Dinuba High School. And credit goes to the Dinuba Woman's Club giving $1,000 scholarships to all three young women.
It was my first opportunity to see Dinuba's leaders and outstanding citizens in this par- ticular event. I have to say, the Dinuba Chamber did an excep- tional job putting together the event in the difficult circum- stances we all face these days. Filming and production were smoothly done by Greg Olson and Joshua Williams.
You can check out the fin- ished product of the awards video on YouTube, or go to the Dinuba Chamber's Facebook page. Great work by all in- volved!
In the meantime, we plan to run group photos of all six win-
ners in our Feb. 11 issue of The
Times.
•••
If you fig-
ured last week's
storms eased
the Central Val-
ley's drought
concerns, you're right. But only to a certain extent.
The Kings River Water As- sociation reported on Feb. 2 that the storm appears to have added some six inches of pre- cipitation and about 30 inches of average snow depth. But Steve Haugen, watermaster for the association, said much more needs to come.
“This storm was a big help in what has started out as a very dry water year,” he said in a news release. “Unfortu- nately, water content and snow accumulation measurements remain considerably below av- erage for Feb. 1 and only a lit- tle more than a third of where they should peak on April 1. We would need the equivalent of four more storms like the one we just experienced to end up average for the season.”
Let's hope the wet stuff keeps coming this month.
QUOTE
“The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations.”
— David Friedman (1945- )
Jon Earnest
How Congress can really fix surprise billing
By Janet Trautwein
Guest columnist
House and Senate leaders recently agreed on legislation to end surprise medical bills as part of the latest coronavirus relief package. Former Presi- dent Trump signed it into law at the end of December.
Unfortunately, the solution they've settled on will do more harm than good. It relies on in- dependent arbitrators to settle disputes over surprise bills. This approach will enrich pro- viders and the private equity firms that own many of them at the expense of patients.
A better solution would re- lieve patients of responsibility for surprise bills — and direct insurers to pay out-of-network providers rates commensurate with what other providers in the area charge for the same procedure.
Nearly 60 percent of Ameri- cans have received a surprise medical bill, according to a sur- vey conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago. The bills can run anywhere from hundreds to tens of thou- sands of dollars.
The most outrageous ones
are the product of emergen- cies, when a patient is incapac- itated and unable to select an in-network hospital or doctor. Almost one in five emergency visits resulted in at least one out-of-network charge in 2017, according to an analysis of large employer plans from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
A separate analysis of data from one large insurer pub- lished in JAMA Internal Medi- cine found that two in five ER visits in 2016 yielded an out-of- network bill — 10 percentage points more than in 2010. The average potential cost for pa- tients nearly tripled, to $628.
Unfortunately, the arbitra- tion-based approach passed by Congress will lead to higher costs for insurers and patients alike.
Because providers can make out better under arbitra- tion, they have less incentive to join insurance networks. Patients lose. Not only do they have fewer in-network doctors to choose from, they face high- er premiums to cover insurers' higher costs.
Congress should instead ban surprise bills in emergencies and situations where a patient
is involuntarily treated by a non-network provider. Then, lawmakers should order insur- ers to reimburse out-of-net- work providers at the median of what insurers pay other pro- viders in the area for the same work. In cases where it's im- possible to determine that me- dian rate, insurers could follow Medicare's payment schedule.
This "benchmarking" ap- proach not only ensures pro- viders are compensated fairly — it also nudges them to join insurance networks.
California implemented benchmarking in July 2017, to great effect. Since then, sur- prise billing has evaporated. Between 80 percent and 100 percent of hospitals report that there has been no out-of- network billing from their phy- sicians.
People have been desperate for a solution to surprise medi- cal bills. But the fix Congress has settled on is no fix at all. Let's hope lawmakers revisit this issue in 2021.
Janet Trautwein is CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters (www. nahu.org).