REACH could privatize Medicare

Calling all seniors who are sick—or might ever be sick! Your traditional Medicare is under attack. 

An op-ed piece in the December 20 Wall Street Journal warned that as medicine becomes industrialized, “The Doctor’s Office Becomes an Assembly Line.”

A doctor added that “large healthcare systems, which are viewed as single entities, have been able to negotiate fees up to 300% higher than what independent practices get. The lower fees have forced many independent practices to go out of business.” They may soon disappear.

Some patients have recently sensed a change in their physician’s manner. It is more rushed and less attentive. The office management is bureaucratic and difficult to deal with. This is the result of the current sweep to privatize medicine. It is called REACH, and if your physician’s practice opts in, it will be managed by profit-seeking middlemen, and your health will be too.

The government is attempting to drastically change Medicare. If it succeeds, the new structures will change health care delivery for everyone. An active group of health care providers called Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is opposing those efforts. I urge you to go to pnhp.org and to protectmedicare.net to learn more, sign a petition and protect your health.

Doris Chorny
Wallkill, NY

Proposed use for Wel-Met site is a drastic change

In the article “Blind Pond Road Retreat,” (River Reporter, February 2-8) the author states that Camp Wel-Met was in operation until 1997, according to a New York Times article. 

I have lived on Blind Pond Road since 1985 and never during that time was the property used as a camp by Wel-Met. They may have owned the property, but it was not used as a summer camp, other than a handful of weekends by the Goddard Riverside Community Center for Outward Bound-type programs for teens from the city. The property was used by the current owners, the Gurdjieff Foundation, sporadically at best by adults only since 1997.

This proposed use and request for a special-use permit to use the property as a summer camp (which they are calling an “educational retreat”) is completely out of character and will forever change the way of life of the residents of Beaver Brook. 

If approved, the applicants will have the right to use this property as often as they desire, and have as many users as they wish. The addition of approximately 150 campers, plus attendant staff, will cause a drastic increase in the use of water and wastewater, traffic and noise. 

These are only some of the resident’s concerns. The environmental concerns are serious and need to be addressed. We are asking the Tusten Planning Board for another public session, since so many people in the area JUST found out about this project. The residents of Beaver Brook deserve and need to be heard. 

Joanne Pentangelo
Narrowsburg, NY

Justice depends on right of due process

Our justice system depends on the right of due process, and it must be preserved and respected at every level. Our civil society suffers when any citizen’s due process is prevented at the outset or severed midstream.

The recently released video capturing the beating of Tyre Nichols during a January 7 traffic stop is yet another example of a failure to uphold due process and the rule of law.

As we learn more about the subsequent death of Mr. Nichols on January 10 from injuries that he sustained during the encounter with law enforcement personnel, the phrase “justice denied to one is justice denied to all,” rings louder in the hearts and minds of all of us in the legal community. Our justice system requires adherence to this long-held legal maxim.

The Pennsylvania Bar Association stands with other organized bar associations in the support of actions that will better ensure fair and equal application of the rule of law and public safety for everyone.

Jay Silberblatt, president
Pennsylvania Bar Association
Harrisburg, PA

Enjoy the big game responsibly

The countdown to kickoff has begun! Football fans everywhere are coming together to watch one of the most highly anticipated games of the year. And of course, this beloved American tradition isn’t complete without a winning lineup of game-day snacks and a few cold beers with friends and family. Anheuser-Busch and Dana Distributors are honored to be a part of these moments and are committed to helping ensure that communities celebrate safely.

If you’re planning to enjoy a beer or two, make sure you also plan for a way to get home safely. Remember, drunk driving is never the right call and when it comes to keeping our roads safe, we’re all on the same team.

Over the last 35 years, Anheuser-Busch and its wholesaler partners have invested more than $1 billion in responsible drinking initiatives and community-based programs to prevent underage drinking, impaired driving and other harmful uses of alcohol. 

All of us at Dana Distributors are once again teaming up with Anheuser-Busch, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Uber to encourage everyone in Orange, Rockland and Sullivan counties to Decide To Ride. 

Plan ahead for a safe ride if you are drinking. You can’t drive drunk if you leave your keys at home, and by focusing on planning ahead, it makes it easier for you to make smart decisions at the end of the night.

So whether you’re an avid football fan or just there for the snacks and commercials, we can all work together to put an end to drunk driving once and for all. No matter who you’re cheering for in the big game, thank you for helping us end the night with a win. Cheers!

Tom Kennedy,
General sales manager, Dana Distributors
Goshen, NY

Editor's note: as originally published, the headline of this article read "Medicare, Camp Wel-Mart, and more." This has been corrected as of 3 pm, February 8.