>Aetna sues 9 N.J. doctors for “unconscionable” fees
Lawsuits claim that the out-of-network physicians charged as much as $50,000 for an inpatient consultation.
By ALICIA GALLEGOS, amednews staff. Posted May 16, 2011.
Aetna Inc. has accused nine New Jersey doctors of charging excessive fees for out-of-network services. Four are countersuing, alleging that the insurer is guilty of fraudulent billing practices.
The lawsuits are the latest development in a debate among insurers and health care professionals over “usual, customary and reasonable” rates for out-of-network doctors.
Aetna sued the physicians between July and November 2010, claiming that they had charged “unconscionable” fees for services and threatened to balance-bill patients if not paid.
Cardiologist Benjamin Hannallah, MD, of Watchung, N.J., charged up to $48,980 for an inpatient consultation in 2009, an increase of more than $47,000 from his 2007 rate, according to one of the lawsuits. The average Medicare charge for an inpatient consultation is $358.12, according to 2010 data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Cardiologist Karan Nejad, MD, of Hackensack, N.J., raised his fee for seeing critically ill hospital patients from $2,040 in 2007 to $15,000 in 2008, another lawsuit claims. The average charge for the first hour of a critical care visit is $520.76, according to CMS data.
Gynecologist-obstetrician Waleed Abdelghani, MD, of Hackensack, who assisted in two cesarean sections, allegedly charged $30,000 for each surgery, while in-network surgeons were paid about $2,000 for the same procedure, Aetna said. Standard pay for a surgeon assisting a C-section is $1,400, Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener said.
It can hardly be denied that there are factors outside a student’s control that might affect his grades. How smart he is, how much his parents support education, how nutritious the food in his home is, and how much his older brother distracts him with PlayStation 3.
Some parents might put on SportsCenter at 11pm Eastern time. Others don’t. It’s hardly a level playing field.
Since a student has no control over these kinds of things, and since some students face a lot more of these obstacles than others, grading simply isn’t fair. Why should I get a better grade than you just because my home life makes it easier for me to perform? And as we’ve learned from teachers’ unions, it’s better to have no evaluation system than one that could be unfair.
There’s another reason too. It’s an ugly one: favoritism. We all know the teacher’s pet is likely to get a good grade, while the charmless face a much tougher slog. That’s not fair either.
>Assemblyman seeks to shift tax burden away from property
The tax on Kathleen Santomero’s two-bedroom house has doubled to more than $9,000 in a decade, and the Evesham resident knows it will only grow. (Rao, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
>Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration Evening Activities and Fireworks Tickets Summer’s Best Entertainment Value
Monday, July 4, 2011 Alternate Date – Tuesday, July 5, 2011 Veterans Field, Ridgewood, New Jersey
July 4th in Ridgewood is a very special day that our entire area looks forward to all year. This year’s theme is “Celebrate the Constitution.” The Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration Committee is an all-volunteer community group that coordinates the day’s events and does not receive direct funding from the Village of Ridgewood.
We are actively preparing for what we know will be a spectacular celebration, and it is vital that we have community support. Please consider helping to “Support the Tradition”. Because of generous support from the community, we have one of the best small town Independence Day celebrations.
While the Parade is free, Fireworks Tickets are required for entrance to Veterans Field. Donations for Fireworks Tickets are one of the Celebration’s largest sources of income. Ticket sales cover the evening entertainment which begins at 6:00pm, the fireworks at dark, as well as the bands in the parade, additional security and traffic control. Come early and enjoy some great entertainment.
For many years the cost of our tickets remained the same while our costs increased. This year we have increased our ticket prices. It was a decision that the Committee did reluctantly in the face of rising costs. To keep the ticket prices as reasonable as possible for attendees, while covering costs, pre-sales of tickets are being made available through a wide range of local businesses.
Tickets to the Evening Entertainment and Fireworks will be on sale June 1 at the locations below. Buy your tickets in advance for $8.00 and save over 50% off the gate price of $15.00.
1. Backyard Living- 235 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood, 201-689-9111
2. Daily Treat- 177 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, 201-652-9113
9. JT’s Wines and Spirits- 607 N. Maple Avenue, Ho-Ho-Kus, 201-652-2220
10. Lacrosse Unlimited of Ridgewood- 206 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood, 201-670-3515
11. La Strada- 231 Godwin Avenue, Midland Park- 201-670-9233
12. North Jersey Community Bank- 171 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, 201-670-8484
13. Ridgewood Auto Wash Co.- 450 South Broad Street, Glen Rock, 201-444-6037
14. Ridgewood Cycle Shop- 35 North Broad Street, Ridgewood, 201-444-2553
15. The Wine Seller- 6 West Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, 201-444-3300.
16. Town & Country Apothecary- 60 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood- 201-652-0013.
Many thanks to our ticket vendors! All ticket vendors are volunteers and make no money for their efforts.
17. At the Ridgewood Library –Saturday, June 25 from 9:00am to 3:00pm; Sunday, June 26 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm, and Monday June 27 through Friday July 1 from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Thank you HILT for being our volunteer ticket sellers!
18. At the gate tickets are $15.00. Children 5 and under are admitted free of charge.
Patrons and belongings are subject to security checks when entering Veterans Field.
Handicap parking for the Parade is available on Dayton Street behind Van Neste Park.
Handicap parking for the Evening Entertainment is available at the parking lot to the east of Veterans Field. Approach Veterans Field on Linwood Avenue from the east. Turn left onto Northern Parkway. Turn right into the parking lot. There are 20 spaces available on a first- come, first-serve basis. A police officer will be posted there to direct you. Those who park in the handicap spaces will not have access to their cars during the fireworks due to the location of the
fireworks drop zone.
The Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration began in 1910 when the local papers, the civic section of the Woman’s Club and the Ridgewood Fire Department joined forces to create a “safe and sane” holiday with an emphasis on Patriotism. It has grown into one of the largest celebrations in the New York City area and has been featured on CNN and Good Morning America as well as local New York stations. The celebration was once again named Best Parade and Fireworks by the readers of 201 Magazine.
Additional information and answers to many of your questions can be found on the Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration’s website at www.ridgewoodjuly4th.org. Thank you for “Supporting the Tradition”.
Board of Ed is not listening. They turfed fields and installed stadium lights. Many of us did not want this and many neighbors fought this. They did it anyway because they think that they know better then the taxpayers.
There is a bit of a shake up in the math department, but it is too little too late. The HS freshmen are sweating the Algebra exam. It is May and the parents are scrambling to find tutors. Everyone is worried about failing the state test. The HS math department is now telling the middle school math teachers what to do. IT is all TOO LATE! It’s May for God’s sake – where have they been all year? Our children will pay the price for this educational malpractice.
Did I mention that they spent time & money fighting residents over the turf fields?
There are employees who do virtually nothing, but they have been working for the schools for so long they can’t be fired. School Principals don’t know anything about managing staff. They act like teachers who accidentally got promoted, they need to be managers. If office staff is uncooperative and does not work 7 hours a day, a good manager would document this and issue a warning. In six weeks they would look for improvement. If no progress has been made then they should begin termination proceedings. In our schools the principal just ignores the nonworkers and allows the overpaid assistant principals to pick up the slack.
The Skyward system could be improved. Why is Blackboard even on the website. Pick something and stick with it.
Fix your phone system and teach the staff how to pick up messages.
Stop hiding important information and leaving the same old information on the home page for the schools. The BOE election results don’t need to be on the middle school home page. And I am sure that the handful of parents sending to private schools have contacted the school for transcripts. Why is this info on the home page for the school? Maybe they could have notified the parents that 8th graders that the kids would be taking the NJ HS Algebra test. This is information that should have been front and center. An email was sent out this week, less than two weeks to prepare. Connected math will not help them with the test, but a good tutor will.
Did I mention that they fought the taxpayers over stadium lights for the fields?
The Board of Ed members need some Ritlin. I voted NO because they have not focused on education. They spend time and money on noneducational projects. They made bad choices with my money.
Ridgewood school board seeking input from ‘no’ voters
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
BY KELLY EBBELS
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Staff Writer
The Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) Finance Committee is reaching out to residents to get a sense of why they cast their ballots in favor of or against the most recent school budget.
The committee will host two open meetings with residents about the budget ballot question; the first will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 16 at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place. A second meeting date will be determined at a later date, officials said.
Committee members said they would especially like to speak with those who voted against the $83 million budget for the 2011-2012 school year. The budget vote and election was held on April 27; 1,817 residents voted for the budget, with 1,448 voting against it.
Gmax testing is a standard measure of the safety of athletic fields. It involves measuring the shock absorbing properties of a playing surface and comparing the results to an industry standard set by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Harder surfaces will increase the amount of impact absorbed by the body, which results in a higher Gmax rating. Scores over 200 are considered dangerous and increase the risk of life threatening head injuries. Preferred Gmax scores should be in the 120-150 range.
Things to Know About Gmax:
-The cumulative nature of the effects of head injury make it important to monitor the impact-related
-characteristics of sports surfaces.
-The higher the Gmax value, the lower the shock-absorbing properties of the surface.
-Gmax measurements are a fundamental tool of athletic field safety testing.
-Gmax is also useful in assessing the playability of a field; an athlete’s ability to cut and turn on the surface, the -rotational resistance and consistent footing it provides, and the support it gives without sacrificing speed and -quickness.
A new facilities and fields hotline has been established for non-emergency concerns regarding the school district’s buildings and grounds. To report a concern, please call 201-670-2700, ext. 10548 or e-mail [email protected].
The celebrations of mothers and motherhood occur throughout the world and can often be traced back to ancient festivals .One of the earliest historical records of a society celebrating a Mother deity or Mothers Day can be found among the ancient Egyptians, who held an annual festival to honor the goddess Isis, who was commonly regarded as the Mother of the pharaohs. The ancient Greek cult to Cybele or the Roman festival of Hilaria are also examples. The modern US-celebration of Mother’s Day is not directly related to any of these.
Julia Ward Howe lead the early call to celebrate Mother’s Day in the United States in the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” Written in 1870, The proclamation was reaction to the carnage of the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. The Proclamation was tied to Howe’s belief that mothers had a responsibility to shape their societies at the political level.
International Women’s Day was celebrated originally on 28 February 1909, in the US, by which time Anna Jarvis had already begun her national campaign in the US. It is now celebrated in many countries on March 8.
On the docket for the Board of Education’s monthly public meeting: superintendent certification, key department personnel and teacher evaluations. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
>Ridgewood Schools: We should refuse state funding and privatize the district
Property taxes are how we are supposed to pay for our schools. What we get back from the state via our income taxes, which were to be used for school funding in economically unsustainable districts, is a government sop to overtaxed NJ suburbanites.
In actually, we would be better off without the state funding. We should refuse it, privatize the district, jettison the REA and free ourselves from state government mandates. Without the state telling us what to do, we would surely recoup the $1.9 million in addition to finding other ways to reduce expenditures. This might even lower our taxes.
>Please understand that I sincerely hope that this boy is not seriously hurt, and that he completely recovers, but I completely disagree with you in your opinion that the police and town council are responsible for solving this problem.
I have not been hit by a car in this town. The reason is that it’s my responsibility as a pedestrian to not get hit. I take that responsibility very seriously, and don’t look to anyone else to pass laws or install signs and think that those things will protect me. They won’t. The only thing that will protect me is me. I need to be smart enough and aware enough when crossing roads in this town to not get hit.
I teach my children the same thing. Their lives are too precious for them to trust that others will slow down or stop in crosswalks, whether it’s against the law or not.
Ultimatately, it’s my 150lb body vs a 3000lb vehicle. I will not win. The driver of the car may get a ticket, but I will lose something far more valuable. It’s my job to protect myself. Signs, bumps, etc give people a false sense of security
>A thirteen year old boy was hit ” in the crosswalk” on Godwin and Pomander just down from whole foods at 9:30 tonight
A thirteen year old boy was hit ” in the crosswalk” on Godwin and Pomander just down from whole foods at 9:30 tonight, he was at a friends house and just wanted to cross the street to quickly go home and get his guitar and was hit.
A parent told me he really hurt his shoulder and is in a lot of pain. The car was heading up Godwin towards whole foods and hit him most likely because she was driving at excessive speeds like most cars do and the NJ transit buses are the worst.
When are the Ridgewood Police, county engineer, town council and the village engineer get it through their thick heads that something needs to be done on this bend. We need traffic calming and speed enforcement. They have had 7 years of fair warning.
