European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 09, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes monday december 9, 1985 medicare patients getting reduced care Ama Survey claims Washington api two thirds of he doctors responding in an american medical association Survey say medicare Impi cols arc gelling .1 inner level at care in hospitals because of payment a Corr is instituted by the Reagan administration a report to be presented to the Ama House of delegates this week says thai 66 percent of those responding said the Quality of Hospital care has deteriorated since implementation of the so called prospective payment system that limits Hospital pay mems for medicare patients. But an administration spokesman said the report As described by a reporter appeared to be speculative with Little hard data to support the conclusions. He said the administration has seen no conclusive Evi Dence of Oclerio rating Quality. The report by the Ama Board of trus tees was not a scientific Survey based on rigorous polling techniques. The Board Sim ply sought comments through letters to hos Pital staff doctors and through ads in medi Cal journals As part of a continuing monitoring program. It said it based the report an 3k9 written responses represent a about 7,800 doctors in 40 states. Hut the comments arc consistent with fears expressed by administration critics that the Hospital payment limits could re sult it hospitals crimping on their Quality i t care rather than achieving greater efficiency. The prospective payment system re placed one in which hospitals simply submitted their Bills and the government paid. Medical inflation soared under that system and the administration argued that there was no incentive for hospitals to control costs or limit spending. The new system established a schedule of fees based on the patient s diagnosis upon admission. Medicare pays that amount regardless of the Hospital s actual Cost. The administration said the set fee would put hospitals on a budget and Force them to economie through greater efficiency if they hoped to urn a profit. Quality review panels would assure that paints did not suffer the administration said. However critics have charged since the program began that hospitals would Dis charge patients quicker and sicker under the system because they could male a greater profit off a Short stay than a Long one. And recent statistical data while con firming a marked drop in medical inflation also show a Sharp drop in the average length of Hospital slays for older people served by medicare. The Ama Survey said that two thirds of those responding cited deteriorating Quality of care under the new system but 34 per cent said Quality remained the same or improved. Many physicians no figure was cited reported administrative pressure to limit Laboratory tests on medicare patients As one Way of holding Down costs the report said. Forty three percent said there was pres sure to discharge patients Early. However .12 percent said discharge policies had changed for the better under the new sys tem with 25 percent noticing no change. The report says 42 percent of the physicians responding reported a deterioration in relations Between doctors and Hospital administrators because of the new system while 28 percent said relations had improved and 30 percent reported no change. The four Day meeting of the Ama House of delegates convened Here sunday. Rolling into town a Lii re  toasts inc arrival of his newly acquired 85 Rolls Royce automobiles in Carrollton Texas. The Dallas area Auto dealer transported the cars to Texas on 12 trucks after be purchased them from the recently Dis mantled commune of Bhagwan Shrek rain Cash in Oregon. No. Schools prepare for Young aids victims  Brunswick . A education and health officials called saturday for an information Campaign to prepare teachers students and parents for the grow ing number of aids victims who will be attending school when you re dealing with an Issue that is As precarious As this one. It is essential that people have time to in Crnalic the inform  Octavius Reid executive director of the new pc icy school boards association said at a meeting of More than 300 teachers parents medical experts and state officials. Twenty five new Jersey children younger than 13 have been diagnosed As having aids said association spokesman Frank Belluscio. Five of the youngsters have reached school age. Two of them 5-Ycar-pld girls in Washington township and Plainfield have been barred from attending school while officials amazing but True creator Doug Storer Dies at 86 Clearwater Fla. A Doug Storer a radio Pioneer who authored the amazing but True newspaper column and helped the Early careers of a Host of top stars has died of heart failure at 86. Storer was the author of More than 20 amazing but True books newspaper columns cartoons radio and to series and specials. Me managed writer Bob Considine and Robert Ripley of Ripley s believe it or not. Storer was also involved in the Early careers of such stars As Bing Crosby Frank Sinatra Perry Como. Jackie. Gleason Jimmy Durant the Mills Brothers and Lena Home. Challenge a state order that they be admitted. The emotionally charged opposition by parents in the two districts shows that we must be prepared in Advance before the crises occur Reid said. It s very difficult once the hysteria is there to turn it around because of the re mors that will go flying through a Community said Laurie filch Cut outgoing presi Dent of the new Jersey Pat. Under state guidelines aids victims Are allowed to attend Public school unless they exhibit behavioural problems excessive drooling or a Lack of control Over bodily functions. Disputed cases arc reviewed by a stale appointed panel of doctors. Or. Jack Ruthc dec Deputy commissioner of health said the guidelines offered limited justification for excluding students from school because there had been no reported cases of people contracting aids through casual Contact. We have to believe that people ultimately will come to tire same conclusion said rut ledge. It s in the Best interest of society for these children to be  the virus that causes the disease can be transmitted by sexual Contact the sharing of contaminated Needles by intravenous drug abusers transfusions of blood or blood products or infection from Mother to child before or around the time of birth medical experts according to figures released by the Federal centers for disease control in Atlanta earlier this year. New Jersey ranks fourth nationwide with 6.4 percent of All aids cases but it has 126 percent of All Pydi Atria victims. Janice Fitzsimmons who was recent la named new Jersey s teacher of the year for 1986, said Many of her colleagues Are not satisfied that it is Safe to have aids victims attend school. When you Deal with a fatal disease you re dealing with everyone s emotional slate she said. There is no cure and Yoa get conflicting reports in the medical com  she said Many teachers Lack even Basic information about aids. Aids or acquired immune deficiency syndrome is an affliction in which the body s immune system becomes unable to resist disease. As of nov. 18, 1985, aids had struck 14,862 people in the United states and claimed 7,628 lives since 1979. Most of in victims have been male homosexuals and drug abusers. Compiled by the new York times fiction 1 the Mammoth Hunters by Jean m. Auel a Lake Wobegon Days by Garry Lon k-lllor3texas by Jan a. Mill Mike secrets by Dan Lelu sled 5contact by Carl Saban 4galapagos by Kurl Vonnegut a world s fair by . Doctorow r7imeach,tn""� Wal through is by 9-the accidental tourist by Ann. Tyler 10-the secrets of Harry Bright by  a House to Tracy Kinder knee Ada " Jam Hansel Adams by an Adamm a 15-Charles and Diana by Ralph g. Marlin paperback fiction the sicilian by Mario up Sofr so Long. And thanks for All the fish by Douglas alarm 9-Dreaa of orchids 6y Pnyllis a. Cwm dec 10the Bachman books by a Lennon King nonfiction 1the Road less travelled by m. Scoll pkg a the Good War by Ludl tcrkel3iacocca by David Abadan or 4one writer s beginnings by Eudora Welly a in search of excellence 6v Thomm up Tori and Roberl h. Waterman or. 4-out on a limb by Shirley Maclane 7-50n of the morning Star by Evan s. Contu grow Tig up Catholic by Mary Jam Francot Cavolina Meara. Jeffrey Allen Joseph Stone Mau Reffi Anne Teresa Kelly and Richard Glen Mac Tael Dave singlets by Rich Hall and friends 10-Penguin dreams and stranger thing by Burke dreamed