Somerset Medical Center's Lack of Care!

Many times have my family and friends gone to Somerset Medical Center (in central New Jersey) seeking help with their health needs, and many of the times have they been turned away for either not having proper insurance coverage or the wrong kind. I remember going to the patient advocates office many times in the past trying to (within the system) correct the flaws in the care of family and friends in the past without much real positive results but instead get a pad on the back for comfort. This hospital claims to be a heart and stroke center yet when a patient comes in with clear symptoms of a possible stroke, they choose not to proceed in checking properly the patient with the minimal tests because of health insurance coverage. Today I experienced another episode with them on the case of a friend that came into the emergency room with clear symptoms of shingles disease and because this person was only covered by medicaid, the patient was sent home with cream to alleviate the problem with no regard to the deseases nature of being contagious and dangerous to othors. How can we fix the health care problem if the people in charge of making health critical decisions make that not based on health but as to how much insurance premiums reward them monetarily? If this was another problem like the H1N1 virus, I am afraid they would turn the patient away and put the public at large in risk of an epidemic just because they could not get a more sweeter deal or a larger charge for their services. The CDC has been informed but apparently they also take a tolerant stance on the subject. So can you really trust your doctor or local hospital in making vital decisions like the ones describe above when it really matters to both you and the public around you? I know I can not in the case of Somerset Medical Center, a hospital with a locally well known falling reputation of care. The local state government agencies are absent in this matter and so are the fed's. With this nationwide discussion about changing the health care insurance coverage, should we really dump more money on an already faulty health care bureaucracy or should the little we have be rechecked and corrected before investing more money on a poorly managed and corrupt health care pyramid?

Foreclosure Help Confusion & the Stimulas Promise for NJ Residents!

In a recent TV commercial I just happened to see a few days ago, I saw our Governor announce a special toll free hot-line and a web site to contact if you are among the many people facing foreclosure in the state of New Jersey. The current economic times have left us with a very harsh and pity-full reality in the housing market and dismal employment future. As we all struggle to keep control of our finances, many of us are facing loosing their homes with the threat of foreclosures. Banks and Mortgage Lenders have not been very helpful in this situation nor have they been trying to resolve issues on their own with their clients in trouble. With all the bank tarp bail-out money going out the door of the American tax payers (through the Federal Government), and more to come, you would think that they would try to resolve these issues peacefully with their clients before it reaches the congress and or the White House, but they are not. The confusion in the programs, spewed out before the new administration and the scams taking place by many law firms ( claiming to represent the government) is wide spread and will only get worse if the White House and the Congress do not get involved and put a stop to this spiral of disaster. Many of the scams taking place are done so thanks to the leaks of the so called Hope program (some refer to it as the Hopeless program) of the Federal Government from the previous administration. Utilizing the large database of names of people asking for help to questionable 3rd party law firms and others, these scammers in turn contact the trouble borrower trying to confuse them into something that will not resolve their issue (scams mostly) but further put them into something even worse.

So what does the troubled borrower do with so much information out there and so little direction to go on? One direction to go is first at your state level like the link I have posted above with the picture for the state of New jersey. Another is contacting your congressman/ women, senator(s), and or the White house directly (President Obamas open Door Policy to help). Remember to be careful with misinformation from scammers trying to make a buck from your misery, they are out there and very smart in there approach on how to obtain your confidence.

In the next posting I will review the steps that I have found in the state of New Jersey that many of you facing pending Foreclosures may find useful and to let you know what to expect with references and more information on links. One tip before I end this article you might find useful if you are facing foreclosure and have been served with a court summons, respond to it and do not ignore the summons. It will not go away nor will it get better by ignoring it. Seek legal counseling immediately at a reputable law firm referred by either the NJ Bar Association or Legal Services if you are also facing income restraints and economic hard times.

VA in New Jersey Denies Service Connected Veteran(s) Travel Pay Benefits!

Veterans with Service Connected Disability of 30% (+) and incomes of less then $10k per year being denied travel pay compensation benefits they have a right too!

In this time of economic unrest and with so many service connected disabled veterans living on a meager, small, and fixed income, it is just about criminal when they are abused by the system or the people in charge and in power. The old way was to just keep denying the veteran until they got tired and gave up, which many veterans did (reality not fantasy). This was a policy that financially benefitted the VA system and was apparently supported by the previous administration but now change is in the air, at least I hope so. It is in this context that I write this article in the hope it will serve to help out those of us who gave so much when serving, and now require our I help due to injuries and a very limited means to provide a fair income.

Every veteran knows that every year the VA requires all veterans to submit a ‘Means Test’ which is a disclosure on their income and other information that will determine whether or not the veteran has to make a co-pay for their prescriptions and also if they will get paid a full amount when traveling to a VA facility (deductible) and more, a huge difference in benefits and pay especially for those on limited income. The veteran must remember to do this every year at the same date or they will automatically start being charged for services. I guess it’s not enough that they would report to the IRS their real income, the VA must have their own means to confuse the already confused veteran and their families.

This procedure or policy (‘Means Test’) has been established for some time, and although some details on the ceiling of income allowed (qualifying for full protection) and other information has changed slightly, it has basically remain the same for years. The main VA financial section is aware of this established policy (Atlanta,GA) and you would think that the rest of the VA system as well, but a few places are not so educated on established acceptable policy. In fact some veterans (especially those service connected or injured while serving under honorable conditions) are being systematically denied these rights even after bringing this to the attention of the so called people in charge. There is no real issue for veterans who are lucky enough to get a service connected rating of 100% (if you can call that lucky), I am basically addressing those veterans of 30% or more and that fall under the guidelines of the VA especially income. Remember that when I say service connected disabled veterans, I am not talking about those who served and walked away from their service healthy and with a gold watch and a hefty pension plan, I am talking about those who were injured. These veterans served and were injured through no fault of their own, and in some crazy way, earned the right to these benefits that have been established. One such case exists in the VA facility in East Orange, New Jersey. and other institutions or clinics (Lyons to some extent).

When a case was brought to the attention (just rescently) to the head in charge of Travel Pay & Finances at in the East Orange facility, instead of getting the problem resolved this person in authority chose to punish the complaining veteran. She did so by having this benefit, that was already put into place properly with the aid of a state senators office on a previous ocasion in another institution, dropped improperly imposing her own policy and will. In fact she went out of her way to punish the veteran when the issue was brought to her attention and feared no reprisals from anyone.

Her actions were reported to the so called veterans rights official and yet no action has been taken. It is almost like the blue wall of silence that many believe exists in the police force protecting their own, showing its ugly face at the VA in East Orange, New Jersey. The actions of these people has been reported to elected officials and other government offices, I am hoping this is not allowed to continue. If it happens to 1 vet then there is no guarentee that is is not happening to others, many others. This office and the people involved should be investigated for their actions. Where there is smoke, I honestly believe there is fire. I will keep all posted on the outcome and will start nameing the people responsible. More to come so keep in touch.