PANDAS, is an abbreviation for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. According to the National Institute for Mental Health, there are five diagnostic criteria that must be met for this to be a valid diagnosis.

1. Presence of Obsessive-compulsive disorder and/or a tic disorder
2. Pediatric onset of symptoms (age 3 years to puberty)
3. Episodic course of symptom severity
4. Association with group A Beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection (a positive throat culture for strep. or history of Scarlet Fever.)
5. Association with neurological abnormalities (motoric hyperactivity, or adventitious movements, such as choreiform movements)

By definition, PANDAS is a pediatric disorder. It is possible that adolescents and adults may have immune mediated OCD, but this is not known. The research studies at the NIMH are restricted to children.

Case discussion from the American Journal of Psychiatry Am J Psychiatry 1998;155:1592-1598

PANDAS is not a diagnostic label, but an acronym designating a subgroup of children with OCD and tic disorders whose symptoms appear to be triggered by streptococcal infections.

The fourth criterion, temporal association between GABHS infections and symptom exacerbations, is the most important one for determining whether or not a child should be included in the PANDAS subgroup. The relationship between symptom exacerbations and GABHS infections must be established by demonstrating that the symptoms worsen in association with streptococcal pharyngitis and remit when the child is free of GABHS.

From Pediatrics Vol. 113 No. 4 April 1, 2004 pp. 883 -886

Therapy
What treatment should be considered for patients who present with the manifestations associated with the PANDAS constellation of symptoms?

Neuropsychiatric Drugs
Children with disabling tics or OCD should receive appropriate treatment for their symptoms, including medications (eg, tic suppressants such as ?-agonists, classical or atypical antipsychotics, or antiobsessional drugs such as selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors) or nonpharmacologic approaches (eg, cognitive behavioral therapy for OCD).24

Antibiotics to Prevent Strep Infections
The only published clinical trial of prophylactic penicillin in children with this syndrome revealed no conclusive evidence that the antibiotic reduced clinical exacerbations.25 Admittedly, the duration of that study was too short to allow definite conclusions. A later report suggesting improvement of new-onset or acute exacerbations of symptoms in such children with antibiotics provides inadequate support for such an approach, because treatment was not placebo-controlled and was unblinded.26 It is well known in treatment studies of TS that there is a substantial placebo effect; the natural course of TS and OCD is such that exacerbations are followed by remissions. This latter phenomenon of “reversion to the mean” implies that virtually any intervention at the time of peak symptoms may seem successful. Only a double-blind, placebo-controlled study can identify a true therapeutic effect.

Another reason to feel comfortable with avoiding antibiotic treatment for these patients is that, to date, no cases have been reported to develop any rheumatic carditis as occurs in patients with Sydenham’s chorea. This is a very important point to remember, because some have attempted to relate this syndrome to rheumatic fever. It is recognized that as many as one third of patients with Sydenham’s chorea ultimately will have evidence of rheumatic valvular heart disease.27 This issue requires additional investigation, because the lack of heart disease strongly argues against a relationship between PANDAS and Sydenham’s chorea or other forms of rheumatic fever.

PANDAS references:
National Institute of Mental Health
NYS Department of Health report released February 3, 2012
Peter D. Springberg, M.D., FACP
International OCD Foundation PANDAS Fact Sheet
What every psychiatrist should know about PANDAS: a review Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health 2008, 4:13
PANDAS – PITAND Awareness & Research Support
International PANDAS Foundation
PANDAS Resource Network

The New York State Department of Health has released an interim report titled Investigation of Neurologic Symptoms among Le Roy Jr/Sr High School Students, October 2011 – January 2012. The report details the investigation of this illness outbreak to date and discusses the various diagnoses which have been talked about in the media. This report represents the clearest and most detailed public look at the medical, social and cultural demographics of the twelve young women involved.

* 12 female patients ages 13 to 19
* Patient symptoms began at various times in the period May through October 2011.
* All attend LeRoy Central Junior/Senior High School. 10 in grades 10-12, 1 ninth grader, 1 eighth grader.
* Four cheerleaders, two soccer players.
* 1 patient with a pre-existing diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome and 2 patients with pre-existing medical conditions associated with tic disorders.
* 7 patients were tested and passed a drug test.
* 5 patients were tested and were negative in testing for heavy metals.
* 7 of the patients had received the vaccine Gardisil. 5 had not.
* 11 patients were found to have significant life stressors.
* 8 patients have been diagnosed with conversion disorder.
* None of the patients meet the diagnostic criteria for PANDAS, Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococci.
* Tests for mold, air quality, water quality and trichloroethene indicate no exposure risk for the patients.

The report concludes:

The wide dispersion of cases over time, lack of affected faculty/staff, and the involvement of only female students argue heavily against a common environmental or infectious source for the cases.

Review of clinical history, medical diagnoses, epidemiologic and environmental exposure information on the cases, as well as information from environmental assessments and case interviews revealed no common infectious etiology or environmental exposure.

The investigation continues by a number of public health agencies. The environmental activist Erin Brockovich has sent investigators to LeRoy. Eight of the girls were seen at the Dent Institute in Buffalo. Some of the girls have been examined at the University of Rochester Medical Center and by physicians in other cities.

NOAA photo of tornado damage to St. John's Mercy Hospital in Joplin

The heart of Joplin Missouri was, in many respects, St. John’s Mercy Hospital. The city’s residents were born there, healed there and often spent their final days there. On May 22, 2011, an F5 tornado tore its way through downtown Joplin and left the hospital in ruins. That ended an era but yesterday a new era was begun with the groundbreaking ceremony for a new Mercy Hospital Joplin.

NOAA photo of damage to St. John's Mercy Hospital in Joplin after the tornado.

The entire St. John’s campus will be leveled as the work begins on a new hospital on donated land at the intersection of I44 and Main Street. A farewell service was held in Joplin on Sunday for the old hospital and a groundbreaking ceremony for the new one.

St. John’s Mercy sits over abandoned lead mines that date to the mid 1800′s. Engineers were uncertain if a controlled demolition would be safe so the site will be cleared using conventional methods. During the six weeks of demolition, as much of the existing structure as possible will be salvaged. The buildings will be stripped of wiring and pipes that will go to the scrap yard. The concrete and asphalt will be ground up and used for fill on the site.

Science will also be served during the demolition. Some parts of the building will be sent to various labs for study of the effects of the tornado on the building and its components.

The hospital has donated about 12 acres of the old site to the Joplin schools. An elementary school will be built there to replace two schools destroyed by the tornado.

At the new site, an innovative project is rescuing about 400 trees from the bulldozers. The site was scoured by certified arborists for the best saplings. They were tagged and have been transplanted to a local nursery where they will be cared for. In 2014, in preparation for the opening of the new Mercy Hospital Joplin, they will be replanted as part of the final landscaping. The trees selected are the ones best suited for Joplin’s climate and soil.

The FEMA blog describes the recovery efforts in Joplin.

• 1.2 million cubic yards of debris removed
• 3,600 building permits issued
• 167 temporary classrooms and 67 temporary safe rooms
• 337 families in temporary housing
• 50 percent of the homes destroyed are being rebuilt
• 90 percent of the businesses damaged have reopened

The National Weather Service has released a report titled Joplin, Missouri, Tornado – May 22, 2011.

The tornado was rated EF-5 on the Enhanced-Fujita Scale, with its maximum winds estimated at more than 200 mph. The path of the entire tornado was 22.1 miles long and was up to 1 mile in width. The EF-4/EF-5 damage path was roughly 6 miles long from near Schifferdecker Avenue along the western portions of Joplin to near Interstate 44 east of Joplin, and generally ½ to ¾ of a mile wide along the path. NOAA map.

Whip inflation now - Gerald Ford

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) keeps track of the average retail price for a number of common items as a U.S. city average. Let’s take a look at a few. We used the price for the month President Obmam was inaugurated, January 2009, and the last month of data available, December 2011. The items are sorted in descending order by the percentage increase of the price during the Obama administration.

Graph of BLS data on average gasoline prices from January 2001 to December 2011

Graph of BLS data on average fuel oil prices from January 2001 to December 2011

Now, we are told repeatedly that inflation is low. We looked at the Consumer Price Index data at the BLS.

The increase for all items works out to be 6.9 percent for the period.

BLS graph of the Consumer Price Index CPI-U for 2009 to 2011. 1984 is base of 100.

The increase for food prices during the period works out to be 4.7 percent.

BLS graph of the CPI-U for food from 2009 to 2011

Something just doesn’t seem right here. How can the CPI show so little increase when compared to some individual items?

Really? OK, so we went to the BLS page with the item data, copied it to a spreadsheet, and deleted unnecessary columns. Here is the BLS list of price changes from December 2010 to December 2011, sorted by percentage change. Two pages of items with price increases year over year and about a half page of price decreases. Take a look and use the comments to comment.

An aerial view of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort, shows the devastation of the 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti Jan. 12, 2010. Approximately 230,000 Haitians are reported to have died as a result of the earthquake. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Chelsea Kennedy. Click for a larger image.

January 12, 2010: The United Nations reports

The earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January 2010 affected almost 3.5 million people, including the entire population of 2.8 million people living in Port-au-Prince. The Government of Haiti estimates that the earthquake killed 222,570 and injured another 300,572 people. Displacement peaked at close to 2.3 million people, including 302,000 children. At least 188,383 houses were badly damaged and 105,000 were destroyed by the earthquake. Sixty per cent of Government and administrative buildings, 80 per cent of schools in Port-au-Prince and 60 per cent of schools in the South and West Departments were destroyed or damaged. Total earthquake-related loss is estimated at $7.8 billion, equivalent to more than 120 per cent of Haiti’s 2009 gross domestic product.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jay Wamsley holds a Haitian toddler during a humanitarian visit to one of many small villages outside Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 2, 2010. Wamsley, an environmental health and safety officer, is temporarily assigned to Port Security Unit 307. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Eggers.

In October 2010, cases of cholera began to appear in Haiti. The illness had not been seen for generations and it spread rapidly. As of December 26, 2011, the Haitian Ministry of Health reports 522,946 cases of cholera since then, and a total of at least 7,011 deaths.

The situation two years after the earthquake remains grim. Over 500,000 Haitians remain in nearly 1,000 refugee camps. The deaths and illnesses from cholera continue, though improvements in sanitation and availability of treatment have cut the death rate nearly in half.

The World Food Program states

Haiti is a food deficit country. It relies heavily on imported food – 50 percent of national requirements are imported. Food prices have been rising since the end of 2010. In a country where approximately half of the population lives with less than $1 a day and three quarters have less than $2 per day, this increase has led to an overall loss of purchasing power for the majority of Haitians. WFP is using its three main programmes – school meals, nutrition and cash and food for work- to alleviate the impact of rising food prices on the most vulnerable.

Still, for the first time in 25 years, the Haitian government has all three branches functioning. The Caracol Industrial Park will open in March and its first tenant, Korean textile firm Sae-A, has committed to creating 20,000 new jobs. About half of the rubble created by the earthquake has been removed with 30-40 percent having been recycled into new construction. Much of the remaining “rubble” consists of buildings that have been condemned but the owners believe they can be salvaged.

U.S. Southern Command has conveyed a supply of disaster response equipment to the Haitian government. The United States has donated 12 boats, four sport utility vehicles, and 11,000 hand-crank radios to Haiti’s Direction de la Protection Civile (DPC).

The Coast Guard Cutter Healy breaks ice near the city of Nome Alaska Jan. 14, 2012. The Healy is breaking ice near Nome to assist the Russian tanker Renda move into final position for offloading nearly 1.3 million gallons of petroleum products to the city. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow.

Reporter Ben Matheson, on scene in Nome, reports that TV Renda began pumping fuel to Nome just before sunset today. With five hours of daylight available to workers, yesterday and today were spent preparing for this moment.

The Coast Guard Cutter Healy guides the Russian tanker Renda closer to the fuel transfer mooring point Jan. 14, 2012. Fuel transfer preparations are in full swing as the vessels maneuver into fuel transfer position. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Charly Hengen.

The Renda is about 700 yards from the Nome causeway and the fuel header on the causeway. A path through the ice had to be made, the segments of the hoses involved laid out and then joined, and the hoses had to be pressure tested.

Stacey Smith, speaking for the fuel contractor Vitus Marine by telephone, provided some important details.

The Russian tanker, TV Renda, is carrying about 1.4 million gallons of ultra low sulfur arctic grade diesel and gasoline. The majority of the cargo, around 1 million gallons, is the diesel. It can be used for vehicles, generators and even for heating. It is designed to reduce emissions and to remain fluid under most arctic conditions. Ordinary diesel will turn to gel at the temperatures seen in Nome in the last week.

Smith indicated that two four inch diameter hoses will be used. One product will be unloaded and then the other. The state of Alaska and other authorities mandated that pumping begin in daylight, but it can continue around the clock after that point. Vitus Marine employees will be patrolling the 2,100 feet of house every thirty minutes on foot to search for leaks or other issues. Each segment joint is in a prepared containment area.

Unloading the Renda may take as much as forty-eight hours. There are about six Vitus employees on scene in Nome and another six elsewhere actively involved in this operation. Vitus supplies fuel by sea throughout Alaska and has ongoing operations in southern Alaska which is free of pack ice. The firm did not have the contract for the last fuel barge, which was unable to reach Nome due to the early development of the ice pack. They were successful in developing the solution now being used, using a chartered Russian ice tanker to supply the beleaguered city.

Receiving the fuel is Bonanza Fuel, Inc., a company owned and operated by the Sitnasuak Native Corporation (SNC). Bonanza is just one of several fuel companies that utilize the shared header on Nome’s causeway.

The first fuel sample of gasoline taken at the City of Nome marine header this evening just before sundown. Mark Smith -Vitus Marine, LLC-, Scot Henderson -Bonanza Fuel-, David Gains -Intertek-, Joy Baker -Nome Harbor Master-. Photo from Vitus Marine.

Previous reporting:
January 2, 2012: Russians Sail to Rescue of Ice Bound Alaska Community
January 9, 2012: Relief Nears Nome as U.S. Icebreaker Opens Sea Lane
January 13, 2012: Fuel Convoy Reaches Nome
January 15, 2012: Fuel Supplies Reach Nome

Coast Guard Forces Valdez personnel stand next to snow machines at the Nome harbor Jan. 12, 2012. The Forces Valdez personnel are preparing to enforce the safety zone during the fuel transfer from the Russian tanker Renda. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Charly Hengen.

Fresh reporting at Yahoo! Voices

Fuel Convoy Reaches Nome

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow briefed by telephone a short time ago. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy and the Russian tanker TV Renda have arrived off the city of Nome, Alaska. Their 300-mile journey through the polar icepack took six days longer than originally anticipated.

Wadlow described the primary issue at this time as safety. The depth of the water offshore requires that the Healy and the Renda move very slowly towards the harbor at Nome. The two ships’ captains will determine where to anchor. The Chief pointed out that the Healy and the Renda have to be able to leave after the fuel is offloaded so the Anchorage may be further out than first planned.

More at the link

A Spanish SEA HARRIER overflies SPS PATINO. NATO photo by Jens Grypstrom, RNN

Update 1-14-2012: Six pirates were detained, all with injuries. Two of the six will require additional medical treatment. A report that a seventh pirate was killed in the firefight and tossed overboard by his mates has not been confirmed.

About 3:30 a.m. local time on January 12, a skiff with six pirates on board opened fire on the SPS Patino. The Spanish auxiliary oiler and replenishment ship, the SPS Patino, is currently the Flagship of the European Union Naval Force Somalia. It carries Spanish Marines and helicopters, as well as housing the command staff for the EUNavFor. The ship resembles a merchant vessel in many respects and the pirates may not have realized in the darkness that it was not a civilian ship.

The press release from the Ministry of Defense reports that the gunfire was returned by Patino. The skiff fled and was pursued by a helicopter. The crew of the helicopter observed several weapons on board the skiff. When hailed, the crew of the skiff surrendered. The Spanish have five pirates in custody. One additional pirate was killed in the action and tossed overboard by his crewmates. No injuries were sustained by Spanish personnel.

Press release in Spanish

The SPS Patino escorted a convoy of three merchant ships to Somalia in mid December, carrying humanitarian assistance. The ships were under charter to the World Food Program. This was a first for Patino, and unusual in that three ships were involved. Normally only one civilian vessel is escorted at a time.

The USCG Healy breaks ice around the Russian-flagged tanker Renda 250 miles south of Nome, Alaska, Jan. 6, 2012. The Healy is the Coast Guard's only currently operating polar icebreaker. January 6 2012. DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis, U.S. Coast Guard

The convoy consisting of the USCGC Healy, a polar icebreaker, and the tanker Renda is making slow and uneven progress as it approaches the ice bound community of Nome Alaska. Wind, currents and heavy ice conditions have created conditions that have prevented the ships from sailing with any speed. The convoy is now two day beyond its original arrival date at Nome.

Latest Coast Guard report on USCGC Healy and TV Renda

The Coast Guard Cutter Healy and Russian tanker Renda are experiencing dynamic ice conditions and the transit to Nome is slow but continuous. The vessels are approximately 100 miles from Nome as of Wednesday evening.

Fairbanks Daily News reports on Tuesday’s struggles

Jason Evans, chairman of Sitnasuak Native Corp., the company arranging the delivery, said the mission remains challenging.

“I think there continues to be a lot of pressure on the ice, so when they break the ice it wants to immediately squeeze together, or the broken ice wants to shoot back into the hole they just made,” he said Tuesday.

Shifting ice, described as dynamic ice, has slowed the progress of the paired vessels. The ice tends to close in, cutting off the path between the two ships. When that happens, the icebreaker doubles back and makes a relief cut to take pressure off the tanker and open a pathway.

“I think they continue to do well with the circumstances,” Evans said.

He said the tanker and the icebreaker were expected to go through a large section of thinner ice and then encounter thicker ice again near Nome.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute has researchers in Nome evaluating the ice conditions. The Daily News reports that they are using a small drone (UAV). A pressure ridge of ice about 25 feet thick is closing the harbor.

Coast Guard Lt. William Albright and Lt. Nicole Auth prepare to mark the planned fuel transfer safety zone in the Nome Harbor Jan. 11, 2012. The safety zone will be established to ensure Nome residents are safe while the Russian tanker Renda offloads fuel to storage facilities in Nome. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Charly Hengen

Coast Guard track map for the Healy

Sailwx.info track map for the Healy

Tanker Renda Twitter account for this mission

Testimony of Jeffrey M. Garrett, Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired) December 1, 2011

With only USCGC Healy in operational condition during the upcoming year, consequences of icebreaker disinvestment are beginning to emerge. The Coast Guard has been unable to deploy an icebreaker for Arctic multi-mission purposes for over two years, and planned science missions for USCGC Polar Sea have had to be cancelled. Perhaps most ominously, a Coast Guard icebreaker will not be available for critical U.S. Antarctic Program support two months from now, after the unexpected withdrawal of foreign contracted icebreaking services. When Healy is engaged in dedicated science support, or undergoing maintenance, the Coast Guard has no polar icebreakers for other Arctic or Antarctic missions or contingencies.

Nick Dowling was in several policy making positions during the two Bill Clinton administrations. He was Director for European Affairs, National Security Council, for three years. He was the Executive Director of the Navy Globalization Study in 1999. He saw the last draw down of American military forces, both the cuts in personnel and procurement as well as the cuts in funding. In an interview by telephone on January 6, he talked about the Obama Administration’s Defense Strategic Guidance. Dowling believes that there are cuts to be made in the defense budget but the Guidance document fails to correctly anticipate military realities in the next decade.

Force Size
Dowling feels that the anticipated cuts to Army and Marine force levels are wrong. He points out that every conflict since World War II has required troops on the ground. He worries that the Army will become too small for the missions that it will be given. Underinvestment in land warfare is a mistake he sees being made in the Guidance.

Technology
The United States currently has eleven carrier battle groups and is the the process of developing a fifth generation stealth fighter. Mr. Dowling thinks that both these investments ought to be questioned. The carrier battle group was originally intended to keep the sea lanes open for supply convoys during a war with the Soviet Union. He asks “Why do we need eleven carriers?” He sees future combat in the littorals, along the coasts and in shallow waters where carriers cannot risk sailing.

Looking at fighter planes, Dowling points out that the United States is far ahead of any other nation in technology. The dogfight is the type of fight no one does anymore. Missiles have replaced aerial combat between planes. Investments in new fighter aircraft designs are misplaced, in his view.

Asia-Pacific
Dowling believes that it may have been a mistake to publicly announce that the U.S. is shifting forces to the Pacific. “I don’t see a compelling case that Asia-Pacific needs more attention than it is already receiving. We’re not good at predicting where the next war will be.” He tosses out scenarios such as intervention in a chaotic Mexico or engaging Chinese client states in Africa.

Nome, Alaska, and the other small communities on Alaska’s west coast, rely upon the sea for most of their supplies. A hurricane-like winter storm in early November blocked access to the port of Nome with a layer of sea ice and prevented the final fuel supply barge of the year from arriving. Nome was left with a 1.6 million gallon shortfall of gasoline, fuel oil and diesel for the winter.

Officials from the Nome Sitnasuak Native Corporation searched for a solution. Airlifting in the fuel would take hundreds of flights and cost a great deal of money. The search went world-wide. Nearly all the tankers capable of breaching the ice were in use, as were the various private ice breaking ships. In the end, the Renda, a Russian two hulled tanker with proven experience in the ice, was found and contracted to supply the community.

Russian tanker MV Renda

The United States Coast Guard has only one large icebreaker operational, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Healy. Two others are out of service. Healy was about to depart Alaskan waters for its home port in Seattle when the call came.

US Coast Guard Cutter Healy in sea ice

Renda took on diesel in Asia and sailed to the Alaskan port of Dutch Harbor. The Coast Guard has announced that on January 3, the ship passed inspection and would be allowed to load gasoline at the port. The process is being supervised by a number of state and federal agencies, and additional safety precautions have been taken both in Dutch Harbor and in Nome.

Dutch Harbor Alaska

The plan is challenging. The USCGC Healy will lead the Renda through the sea ice to just off the Alaskan coast. The three hundred mile journey is expected to end about January 8, 2012. Renda will have to break the remaining distance herself, to a point just outside the harbor. A ridge of sea ice has built up preventing access into the harbor at Nome. The fuel will be offloaded using hoses.

This will be the first petroleum resupply in ice conditions to western Alaska. If successful, it may lead to future, similar missions that may increase supplies and reduce costs for the residents of this area.

The Coast Guard has repeatedly asked for additional icebreaking capability. The Healy is based in Seattle and used primarily for research. The Coast Guard has no permanent personnel stationed north of Kodiak Island, Alaska, and is challenged to meet all of its assigned duties in the Bering Sea and along the North Slope.

Gary Hughes, Director of Media Relations at MVP, has provided a clearer explanation of the situation in a e-mail received this afternoon.

The situation is related to Medicare Advantage Insurance Premiums withheld from Social Security. A Medicare contractor made an error that affected people in Medicare Advantage plans who have their plan premium deducted from their Social Security payment. This affected about 3,000 MVP Medicare members and approximately 140,000 nationwide . This is not an MVP error, but Medicare has directed MVP and other Medicare Advantage plans to collect the premium amount that should have been deducted directly from the affected members.

The specific announcement from CMS states:
Due to an error in the End of Year MARx process that updates the premiums for 2012, some beneficiaries that were in SSA withhold status during 2011 have been changed to direct bill for 2012. The error was not immediately known so Plans were not notified at that time. SSA has processed the transactions and sent notices to the beneficiaries to advise of the change to direct bill.

The story below has been updated. MVP did not submit incorrect data to the Social Security Administration. The numbers nationally and for MVP of affected members have been corrected.

MVP Health Care is a family of insurance companies that provide to over 750,000 subscribers in New York as well as Vermont and New Hampshire. Just in time for the new year, MVP and the Social Security Administration have teamed up to give MVP Medicare Advantage plan members an unpleasant holiday surprise. Social Security has stopped automatically deducting and paying the insurance premiums for this plan from the monthly benefits of MVP subscribers.

Social Security notification letter. Click for a larger image.

Just before Christmas, around 140,000 people across the United States received a letter from Social Security. That letter informed them that beginning with the December 2011 benefit payment to be made in January 2012, Social Security would “no longer deduct money for health plan premiums and Medicare prescription drug plan costs.” No explanation was provided in the letter and beneficiaries were directed to contact their health insurance provider with any questions. Our phone call to Social Security resulted in the same statement.

Social Security has withheld these premiums and paid MVP directly for many years. The subscriber is charged with telling MVP how they would like their bill handled. All of these subscribers had told MVP that they would like to have the premiums deducted from their monthly Social Security benefit payment.

We spent much of December 22 and 23 trying to track down an explanation. An MVP customer service rep was the first to tell us that “lots” of people were affected. He also indicated that this situation involved other insurance carriers. No one at Senator Charles Schumer’s office or Congresswoman Louise Slaughter’s office was able to provide any clarification. Gary Hughes, Director of Media Relations at MVP, told us by phone that he was unaware of the situation and that after reviewing our just sent e-mail he would respond.

Letter from MVP about premium problems. Click for a larger image.

A letter from MVP to plan members was received on December 24. It spells out two problems. The Social Security Administration (SSA) had received inaccurate premium amounts for 2012 billings. The SSA has stopped the automatic withdrawal of the monthly premium from benefits.

MVP states that about 3,000 plan members have been affected by one or both of these issues. The company promises that the situation will be corrected by March 1 and deductions will resume after that date.

MVP’s present to their plan members affected by these issues is to bill the members directly. In mid-January, these members will receive a bill for two months insurance premium, January and February. The amount of the Social Security benefit that these members will receive “may” increase for January and February. The MVP payment for both months, however, must be received by MVP by February 1 for the subscriber’s MVP membership not to be affected.

To recap the facts as we understand them:

1. MVP submitted incorrect premium amounts for 2012 to the SSA.
2. The SSA has advised up to 3,000 beneficiaries that it will no longer withhold MVP premiums from their benefits.
3. MVP will bill these plan members in mid-January for two months premium, January and February.
4. The payment for the two month billing must be received by MVP by February 1 in order for the member’s plan not to be affected in any way.
5. Because no premium will be deducted, the January and February Social Security benefit amount “may” increase.
6. The benefit for the month of February will be paid to beneficiaries after February 1.

USGS shake map for the first Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake

Three large earthquakes have rocked the Christchurch, New Zealand region. The first, currently listed as a magnitude 5.8 by the US Geological Survey, struck at 1:58 pm local time. It was followed by a shock measuring magnitude 5.3 at 2:06 pm. A third earthquake of magnitude 5.8 occurred on the south Island of New Zealand while this report was being prepared. (Third quake may be an error by USGS.)

The New Zealand region was devastated by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on February 21, 2011. That quake all but wiped out the central business district of Christchurch, resulting in dozens of deaths and millions in property damage.

The local Christchurch Emergency Operations Center has been activated. Initial reports are that rockfalls and some liquefaction has occurred. The local airport and the central business district (CBD) are closed. No deaths and only very minor injuries are being reported at this time. There is no tsunami threat.

Sam Law was in the Riccarton mall. His tweets from the earthquake:

Wow large aftershock. The mall is terrifying.
Standing in Stevens while glasses and plates break and people scream and run. My hands are shaking but I’m ok.
Normally people are fairly calm but this time upstairs in Riccarton mall was pandemonium. People dropping things to run to the escalators.
I assume people freaked out because we haven’t had a good shake in a while, and there were so many people in the mall.

News from Twitter:

• @3NewsBreaking
• @nzherald
• @Project7NZ_eqnz

Here are just a few of our recent pieces that have appeared on Yahoo! News. There is no way to create and RSS feed for these so we’ll feature them as a post every so often.

Santa’s Gifts for (Mostly Naughty) Politicians – Yahoo! News

By Charles Simmins | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Yahoo! News asked readers and contributors to play Santa for some U.S. politicians

New York Condo Goes for $88 Million – Yahoo! News

By Charles Simmins | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Dec 20, 2011. An eye-opening purchase of a New York condominium is making news.

Tropical Storm Sendong Kills Over 600 in Philippines – Yahoo! News

By Charles Simmins | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Mon, Dec 19, 2011. Tropical Storm Sendong has moved out to sea, but the death and destruction in the …

U.S. Spy Drone Crashes in Seychelles – Yahoo! News

By Charles Simmins | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Wed, Dec 14, 2011. The U.S. Air Force has announced the loss of an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the island …

Michelle Obama Helps Break World Record – Yahoo! News

By Charles Simmins. 

CIA Factbook map of North Korea

North Korean state television is reporting that Kim Jong Il, the reclusive leader of North Korea, has died. Both the Associated Press and Reuters are confirming the announcement on Monday morning. AP states:

In a “special broadcast” Monday, North Korea’s state media said Kim died of a heart ailment on a train due to a “great mental and physical strain” on Saturday during a “high intensity field inspection.”

Rare photo of Kim Jong Il

Navy Adm. Robert F. Willard briefed reporters in September 2011 about the heir apparent.

Kim Jong-un’s rise to prominence as North Korea’s likely next ruler, following his father, Kim Jong-il, may mean further provocations will come, Willard said.

“In the past, succession has come with provocation as the new leadership has attempted to establish their bona fides with the North Korean military,” the admiral said.

Kim Jong-un’s prominence during the 2010 attacks “was not lost on us,” Willard said. “The prospects that he could be somehow accountable in a next provocation [are] important to understand as well,” he added.

In April, 2011, Army Gen. Walter “Skip” Sharp, commander for United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, testified before the Senate about military readiness in Korea.

“We have been working on a whole range of possible provocations from North Korea,” Sharp said. If North Korea should stage an act of provocation or aggression, he said, then South Korea “will immediately strike back in a proportionate self-defense manner. I do believe we are prepared.”

U.S. Pacific Command commander Navy Adm. Robert F. Willard also testified. He is quoted as stating:

“I do agree that North Korea is becoming a direct threat to the United States,” Willard said, noting that North Korea’s ballistic missile programs are working toward an intercontinental capability.

“It becomes an international threat and, for sure, a potential future threat to the United States,” the admiral said.

For more information about North Korea:
CIA World Factbook
U.S. State Department brief on North Korea
United States Forces – Korea
Defense Department Korean War memorial site