County hospital still draining taxpayer coffers

To the editor:

University Medical Center is still in financial trouble and no one seems to know what to do. I read that UMC lost more than $73 million last year and that it has about $459 million in outstanding receivables.

We thought that UMC was in real trouble a few years ago when it lost about $34 million during the tenure of the former administrator who handed out lucrative contracts to his friends from Chicago for which little or no work was done. At that time our esteemed county commissioner, Rory Reid, said that he was appalled, but was not an accountant and didn't know about the problems. Three years later he hasn't learned anything more about financial statements and now the deficit has doubled.

We the taxpayers continue to pick up the bill and guess what? I, for one, know how to read a financial statement. Maybe I should be hired by the county to teach the commissioners how to read one.

Now let me tell you a true story about UMC and its desire to collect money. My former son-in-law was badly injured in a work related accident. The employer's workers comp insurance would not pick up the almost $80,000 bill for saving his life. It seems that he was using a piece of equipment that he was not certified to use and the employer didn't want his workers comp insurance to cost him more money. My former son-in-law, at my request, called UMC and told them that he would pay $100 per week until the bill was paid off. Believe this or not, but he was told to file bankruptcy because the hospital did not want to receive his payments over such a long period of time. I wonder how many more people were told the same thing.

He followed the directions given to him, filed for bankruptcy, and never paid UMC a dime. If the taxpayers wonder why the county needs more tax dollars, UMC is one of the reasons.

Bob Dubin

LAS VEGAS

Disturbing pattern

To the editor:

Last year the 110th Congress was presented with a crisis -- the potential collapse of the banking system. The House quickly created a 100-page bill that was promptly defeated. Enter the Senate where the $700 billion bill rapidly grew to 400 pages and was smeared with $150 billion of pork. It was promptly returned to the House where it was immediately approved without ever being read -- complete with no controls or safeguards. All of a sudden the Democrat-controlled "do nothing" Congress had accomplished something in record time. Why the urgency? The banking problem? No, the need to get home to campaign to get re-elected.

Ah, the 111th Congress. We now have a new administration and a collapsing economy in need of stimulus. At the insistence of the Obama White House, Congress quickly cobbles together an 1,100-page bill which was promptly passed -- again without ever being read. Why the speed? Well congressional members had foreign junkets planned on the taxpayer dime. Speaker Nancy Pelosi ran off to meet with the pope and our own Rep. Shelley Berkley jets off to Taiwan. It was so urgent and so important that the president waited several days and flew to Denver to sign the bill. It is only after the fact that we discover the bill is loaded with reckless spending and lots of pork.

Next we get something called a climate change bill designed to solve a problem that may not even exist. The House puts together a 1,200-page bill that has a 300-page amendment added at 3 a.m. It is quickly but marginally approved and sent to the Senate without ever being read. Why was it done so quickly? Well House members had to get home for the July 4 celebration and recess.

The president has promised health care reform this year. Again with much haste, Congress is trying to put together one bill that solves all problems at once. That is despite the fact there are two major multibillion-dollar health care issues where there is general consensus -- Medicare/Medicaid fraud and computerization of patient records. Those two issues alone if treated as individual projects could save the taxpayers billions, I predict that will never happen. We are going to get a monstrous bill passed without ever being read that will finish bankrupting the country.

Anyone willing to place a bet on the next big administration promise? Immigration reform? I'll bet another convoluted bill that will get passed without ever being read with plenty of unrelated provisions.

Here we have a Democrat-controlled Congress that with little effort can pass almost any piece of legislation that they desire. We have a president who campaigned on change and transparency, eliminating earmarks, and locking out the "evil" lobbyists and special interest groups. We do not find out about the earmarks, reckless spending, and issues having nothing to do with the bills passed until after the fact when it is too late.

Congress is passing legislation carelessly and irresponsibly without ever reading what they are voting on. It would seem that they have made themselves irrelevant and have abdicated their responsibilities to the evil lobbyists and special interests. How else could you give unions ownership of GM and Chrysler ahead of bond holders, propose taxing health care benefits on all but union members, and eliminate the secret ballot in the "card check bill." Do you detect a pattern here?

Bill Thompson

LAS VEGAS