Florida Could Get Hit With Wave of Migrants, Biden Admin Warns
- By FAUlty Gator
- Off Topic
- 75 Replies
Saw them talking about this in congress on CNN today. They’re trying to decide whether or not to have the coast guard meet them and turn them away.
www.newsweek.com
Department of Defense (DoD) officials testifying in Congress on Tuesday discussed the possibility of a "mass migration" into Florida as conditions in Haiti continue to deteriorate.
Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz said during the House Armed Services Committee hearing that he was "deeply concerned" about the possibility of a large number of Haitian migrants coming to the Sunshine State "as a Florida man."
Conditions in Haiti have been becoming increasingly dire in recent months due to widespread gang violence and civil unrest. Armed gangs now reportedly control around 80 percent of Port-au-Prince. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation on Tuesday.
At Tuesday's hearing, Gaetz asked what President Joe Biden's administration was doing to prepare for a "wave" of migrants fleeing Haiti, prompting DoD official Rebecca Zimmerman to say that preparations were being made for a potential increase in refugees.
Florida could get hit with wave of migrants, Biden admin warns
Army General Laura Richardson said that the military was "ready if we need to deal with a mass migration."
www.newsweek.com
Department of Defense (DoD) officials testifying in Congress on Tuesday discussed the possibility of a "mass migration" into Florida as conditions in Haiti continue to deteriorate.
Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz said during the House Armed Services Committee hearing that he was "deeply concerned" about the possibility of a large number of Haitian migrants coming to the Sunshine State "as a Florida man."
Conditions in Haiti have been becoming increasingly dire in recent months due to widespread gang violence and civil unrest. Armed gangs now reportedly control around 80 percent of Port-au-Prince. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation on Tuesday.
At Tuesday's hearing, Gaetz asked what President Joe Biden's administration was doing to prepare for a "wave" of migrants fleeing Haiti, prompting DoD official Rebecca Zimmerman to say that preparations were being made for a potential increase in refugees.
Carson Nielsen Commits to Iowa
- By Eliot Clough
- The Press Box
- 2 Replies
Nielsen announces his decision.
iowa.rivals.com
Premium article coming shortly.
Go Iowa Awesome - COMMIT: 2026 Three-Star OT Carson Nielsen Picks Iowa
As he announced via social media on Monday evening, 2026 three-star OL Carson Nielsen has committed to Iowa.
iowa.rivals.com
Premium article coming shortly.
Iowa nurse accused of role in million-dollar scheme to defraud Medicare
- By cigaretteman
- Off Topic
- 1 Replies
A central Iowa nurse is accused of bilking taxpayers out of $1 million by prescribing unneeded Medicare-funded medical devices in return for kickbacks.
In a newly filed civil lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges that Ashley Brown, a state-licensed advanced registered nurse practitioner from Des Moines, participated in a scheme to defraud Medicare. The DOJ claims Brown prescribed “unreasonable and medically unnecessary” durable medical equipment for 660 Medicare beneficiaries in return for illegal kickbacks.
The prescriptions were written between April 2020 and May 2021 and deprived Medicare of $1,055,672, according to the Justice Department. In return for her prescriptions, Brown allegedly collected $17,520.
The lawsuit alleges the scheme unfolded in the spring of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that caused a temporary and dramatic reduction in Brown’s employment, which was largely tied to dermatology. In response to the financial pressure, Brown allegedly signed a contract with an employment agency, Barton Associates, that helps provide work for physicians and nurses.
Barton allegedly offered Brown a telemedicine position with a flexible schedule and attractive pay. Under the terms of the alleged deal, Brown would be paid to assess each patient record given to her and then sign predetermined prescriptions for medical equipment. As part of what the DOJ calls a “scheme for easy cash,” Brown was paid $20 for each patient file she reviewed.
Through that process, Brown allegedly ordered costly and unnecessary equipment – including hundreds of back, shoulder, knee, wrist and elbow orthotic braces – for individuals without having had any professional interaction with them. The prescriptions were based on falsified medical records filled out not by people who were medical practitioners but by telemarketers who had made unsolicited calls to suspected Medicare beneficiaries.
Brown allegedly provided no follow-up care to the patients, nor did she assist them or advise them on how to use the devices. The patient files submitted to Brown were sent to her by email, and although she could open and read them, she could not edit or amend them except to affix her signature authorizing the purchase of medical equipment.
Over the course of 13 months, Brown allegedly received hundreds of patient assessments for her signature, “which she readily and uncritically provided,” according to the DOJ. Many of the records Brown signed allegedly included much of the same false, boilerplate language about each patient’s purported condition.
“Brown outsourced her medical judgment to increase her own profits by failing to provide any meaningful review of patient records or to even have contact with her ‘patients,’” the DOJ claims. “Frequently, Brown spent only seconds between opening the documents sent for her review and affixing her signature.”
As an example, the DOJ says that on Nov. 23, 2020, Brown approved and certified prescriptions for 15 different patients, spending “a mere nine seconds per prescription with the records open before attesting to medical necessity.” Those 15 prescriptions cost the taxpayer-funded Medicare program almost $8,000 and would have generated $300 for Brown as payment for the 20 minutes she spent opening the documents and attaching her signature.
In one instance, the DOJ says, an Elkhart man received an unsolicited telemarketing call in which he was asked general questions related to aches and pains. The man was then sent a back brace, two knee braces, two knee-brace sleeves and two wrist braces. All five of the devices were prescribed by Brown, whom the man had never met. The patient later told investigators he was amused by the receipt of the two leg braces since his left leg had been amputated years before. Medicare was allegedly billed $8,292 for the devices and paid $3,355 for them.
The DOJ also claims that Brown was put on notice during her time with Barton Associates that the beneficiaries for whom she was writing prescriptions did not need, or even want, the medical equipment she prescribed. In May 2020, a patient called Brown to complain of being “wrapped up in a hoax,” and didn’t want the prescribed medical equipment.
A few months later, in August 2020, Brown allegedly received a voicemail from another Iowan, alerting her to the fact that that although the two had never had any contact, the “patient” had just received an unwanted orthotic brace prescribed by Brown.
The patient complaints, the DOJ says, “did nothing to slow Brown’s pace of prescribing.” Brown only stopped writing the fraudulent prescriptions, the DOJ alleges, when she was contacted by law enforcement in May 2021.
Brown is accused of violating the federal False Claims Act. The DOJ is seeking triple the amount of the United States’ damages, plus unspecified civil penalties.
Brown’s license is in good standing with the Iowa Board of Nursing, and she has no record of any disciplinary action against her license. Barton Associates is not a party to the lawsuit, and federal court records indicate there are no pending criminal charges in the case.
In 2022, a Kentucky doctor agreed to pay $561,800 to resolve allegations that while partnering with Barton, he violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare for unnecessary equipment.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch’s calls to Barton Associates were answered by an automated service offering callers a “very expensive” medical-alert device free of charge. When reached by instant messaging, the company routed inquiries for its media affairs office to a website where payment of a “refundable fee” was required.
The company did not immediately respond to an email sent to the corporate office.
iowacapitaldispatch.com
In a newly filed civil lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges that Ashley Brown, a state-licensed advanced registered nurse practitioner from Des Moines, participated in a scheme to defraud Medicare. The DOJ claims Brown prescribed “unreasonable and medically unnecessary” durable medical equipment for 660 Medicare beneficiaries in return for illegal kickbacks.
The prescriptions were written between April 2020 and May 2021 and deprived Medicare of $1,055,672, according to the Justice Department. In return for her prescriptions, Brown allegedly collected $17,520.
The lawsuit alleges the scheme unfolded in the spring of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that caused a temporary and dramatic reduction in Brown’s employment, which was largely tied to dermatology. In response to the financial pressure, Brown allegedly signed a contract with an employment agency, Barton Associates, that helps provide work for physicians and nurses.
Barton allegedly offered Brown a telemedicine position with a flexible schedule and attractive pay. Under the terms of the alleged deal, Brown would be paid to assess each patient record given to her and then sign predetermined prescriptions for medical equipment. As part of what the DOJ calls a “scheme for easy cash,” Brown was paid $20 for each patient file she reviewed.
Through that process, Brown allegedly ordered costly and unnecessary equipment – including hundreds of back, shoulder, knee, wrist and elbow orthotic braces – for individuals without having had any professional interaction with them. The prescriptions were based on falsified medical records filled out not by people who were medical practitioners but by telemarketers who had made unsolicited calls to suspected Medicare beneficiaries.
Brown allegedly provided no follow-up care to the patients, nor did she assist them or advise them on how to use the devices. The patient files submitted to Brown were sent to her by email, and although she could open and read them, she could not edit or amend them except to affix her signature authorizing the purchase of medical equipment.
Over the course of 13 months, Brown allegedly received hundreds of patient assessments for her signature, “which she readily and uncritically provided,” according to the DOJ. Many of the records Brown signed allegedly included much of the same false, boilerplate language about each patient’s purported condition.
“Brown outsourced her medical judgment to increase her own profits by failing to provide any meaningful review of patient records or to even have contact with her ‘patients,’” the DOJ claims. “Frequently, Brown spent only seconds between opening the documents sent for her review and affixing her signature.”
Knee brace supplied for amputated leg
As an example, the DOJ says that on Nov. 23, 2020, Brown approved and certified prescriptions for 15 different patients, spending “a mere nine seconds per prescription with the records open before attesting to medical necessity.” Those 15 prescriptions cost the taxpayer-funded Medicare program almost $8,000 and would have generated $300 for Brown as payment for the 20 minutes she spent opening the documents and attaching her signature.
In one instance, the DOJ says, an Elkhart man received an unsolicited telemarketing call in which he was asked general questions related to aches and pains. The man was then sent a back brace, two knee braces, two knee-brace sleeves and two wrist braces. All five of the devices were prescribed by Brown, whom the man had never met. The patient later told investigators he was amused by the receipt of the two leg braces since his left leg had been amputated years before. Medicare was allegedly billed $8,292 for the devices and paid $3,355 for them.
The DOJ also claims that Brown was put on notice during her time with Barton Associates that the beneficiaries for whom she was writing prescriptions did not need, or even want, the medical equipment she prescribed. In May 2020, a patient called Brown to complain of being “wrapped up in a hoax,” and didn’t want the prescribed medical equipment.
A few months later, in August 2020, Brown allegedly received a voicemail from another Iowan, alerting her to the fact that that although the two had never had any contact, the “patient” had just received an unwanted orthotic brace prescribed by Brown.
The patient complaints, the DOJ says, “did nothing to slow Brown’s pace of prescribing.” Brown only stopped writing the fraudulent prescriptions, the DOJ alleges, when she was contacted by law enforcement in May 2021.
Brown is accused of violating the federal False Claims Act. The DOJ is seeking triple the amount of the United States’ damages, plus unspecified civil penalties.
Brown’s license is in good standing with the Iowa Board of Nursing, and she has no record of any disciplinary action against her license. Barton Associates is not a party to the lawsuit, and federal court records indicate there are no pending criminal charges in the case.
In 2022, a Kentucky doctor agreed to pay $561,800 to resolve allegations that while partnering with Barton, he violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare for unnecessary equipment.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch’s calls to Barton Associates were answered by an automated service offering callers a “very expensive” medical-alert device free of charge. When reached by instant messaging, the company routed inquiries for its media affairs office to a website where payment of a “refundable fee” was required.
The company did not immediately respond to an email sent to the corporate office.
Iowa nurse accused of role in million-dollar scheme to defraud Medicare • Iowa Capital Dispatch
An Iowa nurse is accused of bilking taxpayers out of $1 million by prescribing unneeded, Medicare-funded medical devices.
iowacapitaldispatch.com
No worries. Unlike kids, Iowa lawmakers won’t go hungry
- By cigaretteman
- Off Topic
- 3 Replies
Todd Dorman
Apr. 20, 2024 11:59 am, Updated: Apr. 21, 2024 12:05 pm
The Iowa House approved a bill this past week raising salaries for lawmakers and statewide government officials. But as legislators hurtled toward adjournment Friday and into Saturday, the Senate said “No thanks” to an election year pay increase.
Excuse me while I shed a very small tear.
Under the bill, rank and file lawmakers would have seen their pay increased from $25,000 annually to $35,000 in 2025, after this fall’s election. That’s a 40% raise. Top legislative leaders would make $47,500. The governor’s pay would increase to $140,000 and the attorney general would be paid $133,669. Other statewide officials, including the state auditor, treasurer, secretary of agriculture and lieutenant governor would make $113,212 after the pay boost.
That’s nearly $1.9 million in pay increases by Fiscal Year 2026, according to the Legislative Services Agency. Lawmakers haven’t approved pay raises for Statehouse politicians since 2005, with pay hikes taking full effect in 2007. Approving a pay increase is always politically dicey, so this time the legislation includes a mechanism providing for cost-of-living increases. Smart.
On the House floor Thursday, Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola, argued the pay increase is needed to attract and retain quality Iowans in public service. He said the raise would assure Iowa’s “future and brightness.” That will come in handy on gloomy days in February.
The bill cleared the House 58-38, with Democrats and Republicans on both sides.
Normally, my rational side would lead me to support a pay increase. I don’t begrudge elected officials a reasonable salary. Periodic raises make sense if we want to encourage membership in our august legislative bodies beyond the wealthy and retired. I get it.
Unfortunately, I’m feeling more indignant than rational after watching this Republican-controlled Statehouse regime operate, too often with contempt, callousness and cruelty toward its fellow Iowans. So, excuse me if I don’t get all the feels for underpaid lawmakers.
Gov. Kim Reynolds turned down $29 million to provide federal food assistance to Iowa kids, arguing it didn’t mandate the purchase of nutritious food. Instead, Reynolds created $900,000 in competitive grants for summer meals. Some folks on social media are calling Reynolds’ program “The Hunger Games.”
May the odds be ever in your favor, grant applicants.
But the governor stopped President Biden from scoring a win for Iowa kids. And that’s what matters.
Through all this, Republican lawmakers sat on their hands. Bills for expanding free and reduced school lunches, which likely have enough support to pass, didn’t even get a committee hearing.
Last year, the Legislature and governor threw up new bureaucratic barriers for families seeking help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. More than 40% of SNAP households include kids. But the governor insists safety net programs have become a “hammock.” So clever.
All of this in a state where nearly 240,000 people face hunger, according to Feeding America, including one in 11 children. Unmet food needs in Iowa total more than $144 million.
But don’t you worry. Even without a raise, lawmakers won’t go hungry.
During the current legislative session, special interest groups spent nearly $330,000 on more than 80 receptions for lawmakers, with most of the bucks going for food and drinks. Was this free grub nutritious? Hard to say.
One January reception hosted by FUELIowa (PMCI), the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, Iowa Biotechnology Association, Iowa Communications Alliance and the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives cost $27,446. The food bill topped $22,000 and beverages nearly hit $4,000. I hope lawmakers weren’t fooled into eating lab meat by the biotech folks.
Lawmakers also receive per diem payments for daily expenses, such as housing and food. Each legislator living in Polk County received $14,685 in expense payments this session, according to the Legislative Services Agency. Lawmakers who live outside of Polk County each received $19,580 during the 100-day session.
Do you know who else hasn’t received a raise since 2007? Minimum wage workers.
Iowa’s wage floor remains at $7.25 per-hour even as voters in surrounding states have approved increases. A 40% increase in the minimum wage would raise it to $10.15 and indexing it for inflation could decouple it from the Dickensian politics of the moment.
So long as Republicans remain in control, that’s not going to happen.
Public schools received a 3 percent increase in state funding. In some districts, teachers and other school staff are getting pink slips, not raises.
And with conservative think tanks and bill mills working overtime to fill the Iowa Code with great ideas, do we even need legislators? Just bring in the Opportunity Solutions Project from Florida and let them have at it. Or just Xerox everything other red states do.
Yes, there are thoughtful, hardworking lawmakers who deserve a raise. Trouble is, we must give it to every legislator. There’s no merit pay in the General Assembly, lucky for them.
Raise or no raise, I just hope all this government money and free stuff doesn’t lead lawmakers to lounge on one of the governor’s famous hammocks. Better toss in some bootstraps just to be sure.
(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
Apr. 20, 2024 11:59 am, Updated: Apr. 21, 2024 12:05 pm
The Iowa House approved a bill this past week raising salaries for lawmakers and statewide government officials. But as legislators hurtled toward adjournment Friday and into Saturday, the Senate said “No thanks” to an election year pay increase.
Excuse me while I shed a very small tear.
Under the bill, rank and file lawmakers would have seen their pay increased from $25,000 annually to $35,000 in 2025, after this fall’s election. That’s a 40% raise. Top legislative leaders would make $47,500. The governor’s pay would increase to $140,000 and the attorney general would be paid $133,669. Other statewide officials, including the state auditor, treasurer, secretary of agriculture and lieutenant governor would make $113,212 after the pay boost.
That’s nearly $1.9 million in pay increases by Fiscal Year 2026, according to the Legislative Services Agency. Lawmakers haven’t approved pay raises for Statehouse politicians since 2005, with pay hikes taking full effect in 2007. Approving a pay increase is always politically dicey, so this time the legislation includes a mechanism providing for cost-of-living increases. Smart.
On the House floor Thursday, Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola, argued the pay increase is needed to attract and retain quality Iowans in public service. He said the raise would assure Iowa’s “future and brightness.” That will come in handy on gloomy days in February.
The bill cleared the House 58-38, with Democrats and Republicans on both sides.
Normally, my rational side would lead me to support a pay increase. I don’t begrudge elected officials a reasonable salary. Periodic raises make sense if we want to encourage membership in our august legislative bodies beyond the wealthy and retired. I get it.
Unfortunately, I’m feeling more indignant than rational after watching this Republican-controlled Statehouse regime operate, too often with contempt, callousness and cruelty toward its fellow Iowans. So, excuse me if I don’t get all the feels for underpaid lawmakers.
Gov. Kim Reynolds turned down $29 million to provide federal food assistance to Iowa kids, arguing it didn’t mandate the purchase of nutritious food. Instead, Reynolds created $900,000 in competitive grants for summer meals. Some folks on social media are calling Reynolds’ program “The Hunger Games.”
May the odds be ever in your favor, grant applicants.
But the governor stopped President Biden from scoring a win for Iowa kids. And that’s what matters.
Through all this, Republican lawmakers sat on their hands. Bills for expanding free and reduced school lunches, which likely have enough support to pass, didn’t even get a committee hearing.
Last year, the Legislature and governor threw up new bureaucratic barriers for families seeking help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. More than 40% of SNAP households include kids. But the governor insists safety net programs have become a “hammock.” So clever.
All of this in a state where nearly 240,000 people face hunger, according to Feeding America, including one in 11 children. Unmet food needs in Iowa total more than $144 million.
But don’t you worry. Even without a raise, lawmakers won’t go hungry.
During the current legislative session, special interest groups spent nearly $330,000 on more than 80 receptions for lawmakers, with most of the bucks going for food and drinks. Was this free grub nutritious? Hard to say.
One January reception hosted by FUELIowa (PMCI), the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, Iowa Biotechnology Association, Iowa Communications Alliance and the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives cost $27,446. The food bill topped $22,000 and beverages nearly hit $4,000. I hope lawmakers weren’t fooled into eating lab meat by the biotech folks.
Lawmakers also receive per diem payments for daily expenses, such as housing and food. Each legislator living in Polk County received $14,685 in expense payments this session, according to the Legislative Services Agency. Lawmakers who live outside of Polk County each received $19,580 during the 100-day session.
Do you know who else hasn’t received a raise since 2007? Minimum wage workers.
Iowa’s wage floor remains at $7.25 per-hour even as voters in surrounding states have approved increases. A 40% increase in the minimum wage would raise it to $10.15 and indexing it for inflation could decouple it from the Dickensian politics of the moment.
So long as Republicans remain in control, that’s not going to happen.
Public schools received a 3 percent increase in state funding. In some districts, teachers and other school staff are getting pink slips, not raises.
And with conservative think tanks and bill mills working overtime to fill the Iowa Code with great ideas, do we even need legislators? Just bring in the Opportunity Solutions Project from Florida and let them have at it. Or just Xerox everything other red states do.
Yes, there are thoughtful, hardworking lawmakers who deserve a raise. Trouble is, we must give it to every legislator. There’s no merit pay in the General Assembly, lucky for them.
Raise or no raise, I just hope all this government money and free stuff doesn’t lead lawmakers to lounge on one of the governor’s famous hammocks. Better toss in some bootstraps just to be sure.
(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com
Opinion: No worries. Unlike kids, Iowa lawmakers won’t go hungry
The Iowa Senate conducts business on the floor during the first day of the 2024 session of the Iowa Legislature …
www.thegazette.com
Spencer Lee wins Olympic Team Trials
- By Todd Conner
- Iowa Wrestling
- 20 Replies
Spencer Lee wins Olympic Team Trials
Spencer Lee won two straight matches against Thomas Gilman in the All-Hawkeye Best-of Three Finals at 57kg to win the Olympic Team Trials in State College, Pennsylvania. In the first match Gilman was up 1-0 at the end of the first period. Lee got his offense going in the second period to win...
iowawrestlingblog.com
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
How do we have an impeachment inquiry and Bob Menendez is still in government?
- By Jimmy McGill
- Off Topic
- 8 Replies
Sen. Bob Menendez hit with obstruction of justice charges in bribery case
The new charges allege that the New Jersey Democrat claimed payments made to him and his wife were loans when he “well knew” that they “were not loans, but bribe payments.”
www.nbcnews.com
Vaccine breakthrough means no more chasing strains (RNA tech)
- By Morrison71
- Off Topic
- 3 Replies
Vaccine breakthrough means no more chasing strains
Scientists at UC Riverside have demonstrated a new, RNA-based vaccine strategy that is effective against any strain of a virus and can be used safely even by babies or the immunocompromised.
Every year, researchers try to predict the four influenza strains that are most likely to be prevalent during the upcoming flu season. And every year, people line up to get their updated vaccine, hoping the researchers formulated the shot correctly.
The same is true of COVID vaccines, which have been reformulated to target sub-variants of the most prevalent strains circulating in the U.S.
This new strategy would eliminate the need to create all these different shots, because it targets a part of the viral genome that is common to all strains of a virus. The vaccine, how it works, and a demonstration of its efficacy in mice is described in a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.