Congress does right thing on Medicare bill

To the editor:

As a physical therapist in Las Vegas, I was happy that the House overrode the president's veto of HR 6331 -- the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act -- which contains key provisions critical for seniors and persons with disabilities.

Without the veto, outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology services provided in practice settings other than hospital outpatient departments would have been subjected to a financial limit, or "cap" of $1,810 as of July 1. There would have no longer been moratoriums on the cap or an exceptions process in place to be used by patients who required these services.

Making matters even worse, therapy services provided during the first six months of this year would have been included in the cap even though the services were provided under the earlier exception. This would have forced patients to pay out-of-pocket for therapy services or even to postpone getting the treatment they need.

Studies show that the caps discriminate against the most vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries such as people who have had a stroke or amputation, people who have experience a traumatic brain injury or people who have multiple disabilities.

Congress deserves credit for agreeing to change this arbitrary and dangerous policy. We must allow seniors an disabled Americans to receive the rehabilitation services they need. As a nation, we simply cannot afford to wait another day.

brian k. werner

HENDERSON

THE WRITER IS PRESIDENT OF THE WERNER INSTITUTE OF BALANCE AND DIZZINESS INC.

Despicable greed

To the editor:

I usually do not agree with Review-Journal editorials. However, the outrage you expressed regarding the inaction of the Board or Medical Examiners in the Desai case is dead on the money. No physician should be allowed to hold an uninvestigated, unsuspended license with the kind of evidence that has piled up against Dr. Desai.

The only explanation is that Dr. Desai, for whatever reason, had/has the board in his pocket.

As the holder of two degrees in medical microbiology and as a researcher and teacher of quality assurance in health care in more than two dozen countries, including at one university in India, I can say unequivocally that if the allegations against him are true, Dr. Desai's behavior is not in the realm of malpractice, but rather, criminality. Such blatant violations of standard aseptic practice cannot arise from lack of awareness; they have to be willful.

My students in Bacteriology 101 know better than that.

At the same time, I am very sympathetic to the point raised by Dr. Cyriac Chemplavil in his recent letter. The entire Indian medical community should absolutely not be tarred with same brush as Dr. Desai. The despicable greed of Dr. Desai is personal and not at all reflective of a common trait in that community.

Dr. Stewart Blumenfeld

LAS VEGAS

Pristine areas

To the editor:

I recently read a series of articles which proudly disclosed that the powerful growth-oriented commercial interests of Southern Nevada have enlisted the services of Sen. Harry Reid to work with Pat Mulroy of the Southern Nevada Water Authority in bringing northern Nevada water to Las Vegas. These efforts continue to ignore the finite environmental accommodations available for this arid desert area.

Recently, I've also observed that the mere suggestion of new energy production in our Congress provokes a massive reference to "pristine areas." From Alaska to Colorado shale, to our coastline and even beyond, everything is now "pristine," and thus, untouchable. Our own Sen. Reid consistently leads this "pristine" mantra.

Yet when the water authority is manipulating a political effort to extract the water from the Great Basin Desert and Spring Valley areas of Nevada, I hear not a single concern by Sen. Reid for these "pristine" areas. With sucking straws and massive pipelines headed into these beautiful, environmentally sensitive areas, why the political silence? Why Sen. Reid's efforts to accomplish this disastrous mining of northern Nevada water?

Indeed, why is the entire United States so "pristine" for Sen. Reid, except for our treasured northern Nevada high desert area?

john tobin

LAS VEGAS

Sunny days

To the editor:

I read with great interest Mike Zahara's July 5 appraisal of Sen. Harry Reid's bungling, bureaucratic behavior -- with which I totally concur. One glaring point that immediately caught my attention was the use of individually owned solar energy.

We retired to Henderson almost 17 years ago and I was shocked to note that with so many days of sunshine solar had not been used. Eleven years prior to our moving to Nevada from western New York, we had solar panels installed on the roof of our residence with the following results:

1. We saved approximately 43 percent in our energy costs, (and that was in a colder climate).

2. New York state did indeed grant tax credits, saving us a great deal of the original expense.

I still find it difficult to believe that Nevada is so far behind in this energy-saving endeavor.

daniel schears

HENDERSON