Government money, Royals, middle class

Budget befuddlement

We all know the myth of various funds. Money to the government goes into a bottomless pit and comes out as needed.

That being said, we now see the administration cutting defense spending to help finance other programs. One of these programs is the farm bill, which contains food stamps.

The defense cuts include military benefits to dependents, many of whom will now qualify for food stamps. Where does the idiocy end?

Fred Crosby

Belton

Royals baseball

Once again, we are being treated to all the inane blathering from the broadcast booth. Believe me, there are those of us who find all that mindless chatter a distraction from the game while double-play Billy does his thing and relief pitchers give up winning hits or walks with the excuse, “I couldn’t find the plate.” Really?

In reality, I love our team but just could not help pointing out observations I hear from friends.

Wayne Miller

Lone Jack

Middle-class squeeze

The price of gas is up. The price of food is up. The taxes we pay are up. The cost of electricity for our homes is up. The cost of almost everything is up.

I am retired and living on a fixed income. Obviously, if we are spending more money on bare necessities, then we have less for the other priorities of our lives.

At the time of our last election, we were promised relief for the middle class. Instead, we have been squeezed.

Andy Fisher

Pleasant Hill

Weather made scary

I am compelled to mention that I need to see the weather forecast only one time during a newscast.

The recent 5 o’clock news on all three major stations spent the entire half-hour covering a storm that might have hit the Kansas City area. To my knowledge, it never came to fruition, with the possible exception of some hail in Leawood.

I’m not sure when it was that the weather took over the daily news. A little blurb running across the bottom of the screen would be adequate, and then those people who feel threatened can take cover or go to their apps and see what is happening in their neck of the woods.

Thank goodness “Seinfeld” has reruns on at “news” time.

Janice Masiero

Overland Park

Aiding patients

There is legislation on Gov. Jay Nixon’s desk that could greatly help patients managing multiple medications.

Part of a budget bill (House Bill 2011) would allow Medicaid patients to synchronize prescriptions so all medications could be picked up at the pharmacy the same day each month — avoiding multiple calls and pharmacy trips, and reducing the chance of running out of important medications.

After receiving overwhelming House and Senate support, with Gov. Nixon’s signature patients could begin seeing these benefits in the next few months. This program is common sense for patients on multiple medications.

Research shows that beyond convenience, synchronization programs have improved medication adherence by up to 24 percent across a range of conditions. By improving adherence, synchronization provides better health outcomes and cost savings to families and the health-care system by reducing the number of expensive emergency-room visits and hospitalizations when a patient misses doses or doesn’t receive prescriptions.

Synchronization also helps pharmacists help patients, allowing them to easily compare prescriptions for potential interactions and confirm that patients follow prescribed treatment plans. Synchronization makes good sense — for patients, families and health-care providers as well as our state and federal budgets.

Ron Fitzwater

Chief Executive Officer

Missouri Pharmacy

Association

Jefferson City

VA investigation

An inspector general’s investigation into the Department of Veterans Affairs medical system has now been expanded to 26 locations. A pattern of delay listing veterans’ health care has been more than proven.

The relevance of this is huge and should serve as a warning about the future of all health care in this country. The blunt truth is that huge bureaucracies can’t and don’t produce good medical results.

The full implementation of Obamacare will result in the exact same results throughout our health-care system. The entire health-care system of the U.S. will mirror the VA system’s problems and will create the exact same terrible results on a national scale.

The handwriting is on the wall for those who’ll read it. Socialist-style nationalization of our health care is a terrible idea that we must stop.

Byron L. Maduska

Leavenworth

Inane interviews

OK, I’ve about had it with the lady interviewers during sporting events.

It’s bad enough that they are called on to give little bits of useless commentary about players during the games, but the way they tackle the coaches on their way to the locker rooms to address their players at intermissions needs to be curtailed.

The same questions are posed every time. “How do you feel about the fact that you’re losing?” Or, “What are your thoughts about getting your team back in the game?”

I’ve been listening to this garbage for many years and am so glad I have a mute button on my remote. The one that really got me was, after the Preakness, the ruthless interviewer was actually on a horse riding next to the jockey with her microphone in his face asking how he felt.

Enough is enough.

Janice Masiero

Overland Park

Marketing new drugs

Kudos to Alan Bavley and Scott Canon for their May 18 front-page story, “Missing the mark,” calling attention to the problem of excessive and hyperbolic marketing of new drugs, treatments and medical technologies to the American public.

I see the same kind of hope-mongering occurring in the marketing of National Cancer Institute clinical trials to cancer patients.

It goes something like this: “Come to our medical center because we can offer you clinical trials, which give you more hope.” The truth, however, is harsh.

Only 5 percent of cancer drugs complete the path from first-in-human clinical trials to Food and Drug Administration approval. Only 38 percent of the drugs succeed in the most advanced, phase III clinical trials.

Patients should be informed very clearly that their would-be participation in clinical trials is primarily for altruistic reasons — the advancement of scientific knowledge — and not for any likely benefit to themselves.

Ethics in offering treatment options to patients require that physicians and drug and device companies, as well as hospital marketing executives, be truthful and modest in the presentation of an option.

Physicians have the additional responsibility of being unbiased and free from economic conflict of interest.

The news media need to be smarter at keeping all honest.

John M. Sheldon, M.D.

Kansas City

Good Samaritans

I had just gotten home from church on Easter Sunday and was getting ready to go to a family dinner. But I could not find my wallet.

When we returned home, there was a phone message from a Shawnee Mission teacher saying she had seen a billfold in the middle of the road at 103rd Street and Nall Avenue. The wallet had apparently fallen from our car.

The caller said she stopped and retrieved it. Driver’s license, credit cards and cash were there, but some insurance, veterans, etc. cards and a special dollar bill had apparently blown away.

She would accept no reward. My wife and I went to the 103rd Street and Nall Avenue area, walked around and found a card or two but none of the important ones.

On May 16, a bulky envelope arrived in the mail. In it were all the cards, the dollar bill and a note saying: “Mr. Burress: I found these while walking. Happy Easter.”

No signature. No return address. Thanks and my appreciation to both parties.

Do unto others ...

Fred J. Burress

Overland Park

This story was originally published May 23, 2014 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Government money, Royals, middle class."