European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 4, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes saturday. June 4,1988 catastrophic health Bill approved by House Washington a the House thursday overwhelmingly approved and sent to the Senate a catastrophic health insurance Bill designed to protect medicare beneficiaries from the financial devastation Ofa prolonged acute illness. The Bill the most sweeping expansion of medicare in its 13-year history includes the program s first Ever outpatient prescription drug Benefit. Approval by the Senate is Likely after its memorial us recess. Health and human services Secretary Otis r. In win has said he will recommend that president Reagan sign the legislation despite earlier administration i is i Ings that the Bill is too Broad. The House voted for the Bill 328-72. Rep. Dan Rostonkowski d-lll., chairman of the ways and Means committee called inc plan a Good reasonable and responsible agreement and said he expected approval by the president. Under the legislation the out of pocket deductible for doctors Bills covered by medicare the amount paid by each recipient before government Aid lakes Over All costs will wind up somewhere Between s1,320 a year and $ 1,400. The Hospital Benefit is already set full 365 Day a year coverage after a one Day deductible that rises along with average Hospital costs. The 1988 deductible Georgia drought being colled one of its worst Atlanta a Georgia s drought is gripping Farmers and City dwellers alike and officials compare it to some of the stale s worst dry spells. All crops and pastures arc in a stressful situation if rain does i come soon there s a Chance Well be losing the crops Jerry Midden agricultural statistician for the Sci Rita crop reporting service said thursday. Row cups such As peanuts soybeans and Corn arc in serious trouble. Midden said. They re sitting in the dry soil and withering away there was a Chance of thundershowers Friday and Caily next week but the rain was not expected to pro vide significant Relief the National weather service said. For the fourth week in a Row the Georgia crop re port showed More than half of the stale s soil had less than adequate moisture. In the Atlanta area local gov Ern Menis tightened water use Pesiri Eions already in place. This has got to be treated As a major drought on a Par with the 50s, the 30s" and three other major droughts dating Back to the 1840s, said stale Limato Logist pay Thor Plummer California is suffering a Milder drought. In a meet ing thursday officials reported general Success in reducing water use last month in the san Francisco Bay area san Jose and Santa Ciara and Marin counties in Northern California. Rationing has reduced water con sumption by 22 percent in san Francisco said Matt  water department. In Georgia the Northern Section of the stale is in the worst shape running 50 percent of Normal rainfall for the first four months of 1988.1 Lummer said. The stale usually averages 50 inches of rainfall annually but has had Only 120 inches in most areas Over the past five years like almost one year of rainfall missing Plum mar  latest crop report showed 30 percent of Georgia s soil had adequate moisture 52 percent was Short and 18 percent very Short. And that s inc fourth consecutive week for those figures. It s the lowest rating of the season Midden  of dry pastures. Agriculture commissioner Tommy Irvin has gotten permission for Farmers to Graze livestock on land set aside under the food Secu Rity act of 985 that normally must lie fallow. Without the additional feed Farmers could be forced to sell off their Herd leading to a shortage of cows later this year Irvin said wednesday. The Atlanta area is also Short of water. The Region is 5.4 inches or 23 percent Short on water for the year according to the weather service. Is $540. Once fully implemented in 1993, the new prescription drug Benefit will pay 80 percent of those costs aftera $655 deductible. By contrast medicare now pays no More than 80 percent of doctors Bills no matter How High they climb and Only 60 Days of full Hospital coverage Afler a one Day deductible. The Only prescription drugs now covered by medi care Are a handful of particularly expensive ones such As anti rejection medication for Organ transplant patients. All of the additional benefits Are to be paid for by additional charges to medicare unroll pcs. The charges will be a blend of Flat monthly Premium increases de ducted Frum social Security checks and an additional sliding scale supplemental Premium charged the Esti mated 40 percent of the elderly to be subject to Federal income taxes. The additional Flat Premium will Start at about $4 a month in 1989, climbing to is 0,20 in 1993. The so called supplemental Premium tantamount to an income tax surcharge is expected to total an additional $22 a year for each is so of income Las owed in 1989, climbing to an additional $42 a year on each $ 150 of Las liability by 1993. A photo Duarte leaves clinic appearing Pale and drawn salvadoran president Jose no Poletti Duarte Waves to reporters thurs Day As he leaves waiter Reed army medical Cen Ter in Washington. D.c., where a underwent testing for gastric cancer. Stateside British airways planning concorde flights to Dallas Grapevine Texas a British airways will inaugurate Dallas to London service aboard the super sonic concorde Jet on june 16, pending British govern ment approval spokesman John lamp said thursday. The airline plans to offer two nights per week proceeding at below the Speed or sound across inc United Stales and above the Speed of sound crossing the at lactic Ocean Lampl said. The Cost for a one Way ticket from Washington to London on inc concorde is nearly $3,000. Lamp said he expects roughly the same fare to apply to flights from Dallas to London. Lamp said the airline will continue to offer its sub sonic nights which connect Dallas fort Worth inter National Airport to London through Houston. Concorde travel time from Dallas to London will be seven hours and 25 minutes whereas travel time aboard a subsonic Jet is nine hours and is minutes. 20 injured in Chicago after elevated trains bump Chicago a an Csc valid train bumped into another train on Chicago s South Side Friday sending at least 20 people to hospitals for treatment or minor injuries authorities said. The train was travelling about 5 Mph when it hit a work train carrying five Chicago transit authority repairmen supervisor Joe a Aquitante said electric Power was temporarily pm so Rescue Crews could get to the trains but traffic resumed shortly after the incident Daquilante said. Three hospitals reported 20 people in their emergency rooms. Another half dozen were treated and released at holy Cross Hospital and Michael Reese Hospital and medical Center treated two people with neck and Back pain. Animal rights group loses bid to Stop steer dressing evermore Calif. A the cily has decided it s of if steers Wear the pants at rodeos. Animal rights activists had asked the Livermore area recreation and Park District Board to ban the use of electric prods and the steer dressing event at the Livermore Rodeo. Odd animal events arc the main Issue not the Rodeo said Paul Miller from the Peninsula humane society. But the Board decided to allow both the prods and the steer dressing event in which cowboys Chase steers and try to dress their Hind legs in a pair of Blue jeans. Many Rodeo events Don t represent what is done on the ranch and should be slopped said doll Stanley a member of the fund for animals. Embezzlement scheme uncovered at la Airport los Angeles a parking Cashiers at los Angeles International Airport skimmed As much As $2 million from customers parking fees by substituting Low value tickets Tor higher priced ones court documents said. The Cashiers obtained bogus parking tickets by Roll ing shopping carts Over sensors and then traded j2 stubs for those turned in by customers who paid up to $ 100, according to documents. The Cashiers pocketed up to $250 an hour police said in affidavits seeking search warrants. More than 30 employees of parking concepts inc., which operates uie 25,000-space Airport parking con cession were indicted May 19 on charges of embezzling Eily funds. Officials estimate that As much As s2 million had been skimmed. According to the documents new applicants for parking cashier positions were forced to pay up to $3,000 to gain the St an hour jobs but were assured by managers that they could make that Money Back through the alleged embezzlement scheme