Monthly Archives for November 2001

Seniors Making Big Contribution to City’s Winter Wonderland Festival

Published in Pawtucket Times on November 26, 2001

Pawtucket residents Velma Jacks, Rita Kenny, Anne Curry and Loraine Farley work as painters. Bill Curry cuts out wooden signs and figures of Santa Claus, elves and reindeer. Over the last couple of months these five retirees have worked with 14 members of the Winter Wonderland Committee and others to gear up for the upcoming weekend’s kick off of the Pawtucket’s 3rd Annual Winter Wonderland Festival.

The holiday festival runs three consecutive December weekends on Saturdays and Sundays, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at Slater Memorial Park in Pawtucket.

The wildly successful Pawtucket festival that has attracted thousands into the Pawtucket’s largest park was first held in December 1999.

The year before, a visit in December 1998 to a California city’s annual holiday display was all it took to get life-long Pawtucket resident Janice McHale thinking about creating a similar event in Pawtucket. The 61-year-old, who had worked the past 38 years at Blackstone Valley Electric then the past five years at its parent, EUA Service Corp. in West Bridgewater, remembered holiday displays at Slater Park in the early 1960s. After a while, these displays just disappeared, she said.

Coming back to Pawtucket, McHale had made up her mind to bring back holiday displays to Slater Park. “It could easily be done in Pawtucket and it  would look good, too,” she quipped.

In Spring 1999, a quick visit to pitch her idea to Pawtucket Mayor James E. Doyle and Jack Carney, the City’s Public Works Director, resulted in the approval for her pet project. City Council President John Barry, III, along with City Councilors Don Grebien and Raymond “Chip” Hoyas jumped on board, too, strongly supporting McHale’s vision, a Winter Wonderland festival in Pawtucket.

While not committee city funds, Mayor Doyle pledged in-kind support. This assistance would come in the form of providing manpower and technical expertise. The City’s project engineer, the late Frank Rendine, was sought out to design eighteen two-story Victorian houses. Staff in the Mayors Office and Department of Planning and Redevelopment would be charged with publicity, bookkeeping and raising funds.

Finally, the Pawtucket Works and Recreation would setup the small Victorian Village and 100 Christmas trees and bring electricity to the site. Scores of volunteer carpenters and painters from the community would ultimately build the huge three dimensional plywood structures.

Most important, local businesses brought funding to the project, providing the seed money to begin the new endeavor.

Now in its third year, the Winter Wonderland Committee has evolved into a nonprofit corporation, headed by McHale, who is now retired.

The City of Pawtucket continues to be supportive of the holiday festival. And Winter Wonderland continues to get bigger and better. McHale tells All About Seniors: “This year you can see 200 brightly lighted Christmas trees, enjoy more performers and vendors, too,” adds the festival organizer.

Like previous years, McHale notes that those coming to Winter Wonderland can still leisurely stroll through the Victorian Village, surrounded by hundreds of Christmas trees, and entertained by bell ringers, clowns, puppeteers and musicians.

A large heated tent will again be set up to house the festival’s entertainment. Youngsters can visit Santa Claus, and even take a ride on a large hay wagon, the popular R&D express train, or the carousel.

Of course, hot chocolate, hot cider and delicious food will be available at the food court.

Pawtucket resident Rita Kenny, who is in her seventies, has toiled tirelessly for months to prepare for the upcoming holiday festival’s Dec. 1 opening. The retired teacher and school administrator believes that the City’s Winter Wonderland festival has brought back some of the Christmas spirit to Slater Park.

Being a senior volunteer has its perks, says Kenney. “You get to work with all ages and the experiences really reconnects you back to the community,” she notes.

Kennedy Must Lead Fight Against Medicare HMO Rate Hikes

Published in The Pawtucket Times on November 19, 2001

Across the nation, seniors who have enrolled in Medicare HMOs are getting hit hard in the pocketbook.  Premiums and copays for hospital care, nursing services and prescription drugs are skyrocketing. Complaining about inadequate federal funding offered to provide health care services to seniors, a growing number of Medicare HMOs are opting out of the program, leaving their senior enrollees high and dry.

In Rhode Island, seniors are also seeing this alarming trend. Last year, United Healthcare discontinued its Medicare Plus Choice program, first in Newport County, then in Bristol County.  Now Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBS) informs its seniors that higher premiums and copays come next year for two of their three BlueCHiP for Medicare plans. The increases include prescription drugs, inpatient care, skilled nursing services, and more. The added out-of-pocket costs impacts about 41,000 seniors across the state.

However, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) is not buying BlueCHiP’s request for a rate increases.

In a strongly worded letter Tom Scully, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency charged with overseeing the Medicare program, the Rhode Island congressman strongly protested the rate hikes.

He called on the federal official to investigate whether the current market for Medicare HMOs in Rhode Island has created a situation where the types of increases charged by BCBS are more likely to occur and be approved.

Furthermore, he requested a review to determine if the increases are actuarially sound.

Scott Fraser, BCBS spokesperson, acknowledges that the premium increases of the two BlueCHiP plans were the result of higher medical costs passed onto the BlueCHiP plans by hospital and other medical providers. “It’s medical inflation,” he quips, adding that even higher medication costs charged by drug companies has resulted in an increase in drug copays.

Even with next year’s increases, the BlueCHiP plans will not increase the premiums for the most commonly used services, specifically physician visits, laboratory tests and X-ray services, Fraser adds. “These co-pays have been the same for the last three years.”

CMS has reviewed BCBS’s application for the changes in rates and benefits over the summer, says Fraser, adding that the rate increase was given a thumbs up by the Feds.

Are BCBS’s rate increase actually sound thus justifiable?

CMS spokesperson Peter Ashkenaz told All About Seniors “the fact that the request has been approved by CMS speaks for itself. If the costs seem to be higher than what would be paid for in fee-service Medicare, we would have questioned them.”

Ed Zesk, president of Aging 2000, a non-profit consumer advocacy group. Believes that Rep. Kennedy has asked the right questions in his letter to CMS, specifically, “Are these premium and deductible increases justifiable?”

“Consumers just don’t have access to that type of information, Zesk said.

With Medicare reform now on the back burner as the nation gears up to fight terrorism, Rep. Kennedy must use his position on the House Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, to address the rising out-of-pocket healthcare costs for Medicare HMO enrollees. As the Congressional elections approach, seniors will want to see concrete congressional action leading to meaningful Medicare reforms.

Kennedy Must Lead Fight Against Medicare HMO rate Hikes

Published in the Pawtucket Times on November 19, 2001

Across the nation, seniors who enrolled in Medicare HMOs are getting hit hard in the pocket book. Premiums and co-pays for hospital care, nursing services and prescription drugs are skyrocketing. Complaining about the inadequate federal funding offered to provide health care services to seniors, a growing number of Medicare HMOs are opting out of the program, leaving their senior enrollees high and dry.

In Rhode Island, seniors are also seeing this alarming trend. Last year, United Healthcare discontinued its Medicare Plus Choice program, first in Newport County, then in Bristol County. Now Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island BCBSRI) informs its seniors that higher premiums and copays come net year for two of their three BlueCHiP for Medicare plans. The increases include prescription drugs, inpatient care, skilled nursing services and more.  The added out-of-project costs impact about 41,000 seniors across the state.

However, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) is not buying  BlueCHiPs request for rate increases.

In a strongly worded letter to Tom Scully, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency charged with overseeing the Medicare program, the Rhode Island congressman strongly protested the rate hikes.

He called on the federal official to investigate whether the current market for Medicare HMOs in Rhode Island has created a situation where the types of increases charged by BCBSRI are more likely to occur and be approved.

Furthermore, he requested a review to determine if the increases are actuarially sound.

Scott Fraser, BCBSRI spokesperson, acknowledges that the premium increases of the two BlueCHiP plans were the result of higher medical costs passed onto the BlueCHiP plans by hospitals and other medical providers. “It’s medical inflation,” he quips, adding that even higher medication costs charged by drug companies has resulted in an increase in drug copays.

Even with next year’s increases, the BlueCHiP plans will not increase the premiums for the most commonly used services, specifically physician visits, laboratory tests and X-ray services, Fraser adds.  “These co-pays have been the same for the last three years,” he says.

CMS has reviewed BCBS’s application for the changes in rates and benefits over the summer, says Fraser, adding that the rate increases were given a thumbs up by the feds.

Are BCBSRI’s rate increases actually sound, thus justifiable?

CMS spokesperson Peter Ashkenaz told All About Seniors “the fact that the request has been approved by CMS speaks for itself. If the costs seem to be higher than what would be  paid for in fee-for-service Medicare, we would have questioned them.”

Ed Zesk, president of Aging 2000, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, believes that Rep. Kennedy has asked the right questions in his letter to CMS, specifically, “Are these premium and deductible increases justifiable.”

“Consumers just don’t have access to that type of information,” Zesk said.

With Medicare reforms now on the back burner as the nation gears up to fight terrorism, Rep. Kennedy must use his position on the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education to address the rising out-of-pocket health care costs for Medicare HMO enrollees.  As the Congressional elections approach, seniors will want to see concrete congressional action, leading to meaningful Medicare reform.