European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 12, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes Friday july 12, 1991 costs to nearly triple by 1996 by the Washington Post Washington Quot a medicaid costs split Between the Federal and state governments will Rise from $72 billion in 1990 to $200 billion in 1996, a government task Force reported wednesday. A escalating Cost increases in medicaid spending have since 1990, been one of the biggest growth factors in both Federal and state budgets a said a joint press release from health and human services Secretary Louis w. Sullivan and office of management and budget director Richard g. Darman that accompanied the study. The task Force was made up of officials from both agencies. A if these costs Are not contained a the statement said a Federal and state medicaid costs will surpass medicare costs by 1995 and exceed $200 billion by 1996�?� the Federal share of that $200 billion would be $120 billion. Medicaid pays for health care for certain categories of the needy aged Blind and disabled and for Low in come families with children. The elderly and disabled Are also covered by medicare. The task Force said inflation congressionally mandated expansions in numbers of people eligible and in Fra orders halt to aids test sales Washington up the food and drug administration told companies wednesday to Stop Selling urine and saliva tests Tor aids because such tests have not been approved by the government. The warning came As the Agency announced that two companies had agreed to comply with an order to Stop Selling the test kits to insurance companies. Epitome inc. Of Beaverton ore., and Home office reference Laboratory inc. Of Lenexa kan., agreed to the of Day a june 28 demand to Stop marketing erasure test kits for aids the Fra said. Home office which had been marketing a Large quantities Quot of the test kits to insurance companies to screen potential policyholders since january also will retrieve any kits that have already been distributed the Fra said. Although the Fra is reviewing applications for approval to sell saliva aids tests including epitome a the Only tests that have been improved for marketing Are those based on blood the Fra said. Epitome has said the test kits were marketed to insurance companies because the firm believed that tests used exclusively by the insurance Industry would not require Fra approval. The Fra said however that All aids tests must undergo review by the Agency to ensure accuracy. The a improper commercialization of an unapproved medical device represented a serious breach of the pre Market approval system which allows Fra to determine the safety and Efficacy of such devices a Fra commissioner David Kessler said in a statement. Creased costs of health care were the major reasons for increases in medicaid which pays for care for about 27 million Low income people. For several years states have been complaining of extreme financial stress from Cost increases and Federal mandates to expand medicaid coverage to new categories of patients. In 1970, medicaid took about 4 percent of state budgets the National governors association said. The figure increased to 14 percent for 1990. A health and human services team is looking at ways to control health costs in All programs Public and private but so far the group has made no recommendations. . Health costs reached 12.2 percent of the Gross National product in 1990, the highest for any developed nation. The figure for 1960 was 5.3 percent. It is projected that americans will spend about $755 billion for health care this year. It a the task Force was created in. April to study Why medicaid outlays by the states had risen far faster than projected by the states and Federal agencies Over the past few years. Its report focused primarily on the need for new systems of estimating projected costs that would give the government More accurate Advance assessments. A break out the cigars its a bouncing baby boy. Romani a 14>year-old elephant hovers protectively Over her new baby delivered at the Burnet Park zoo in Syracuse . The 220-Pound infant measuring 30 inches tall was born wednesday morning. Staff veterinarian Carolee Wallace tends the Newborn while senior elephant keeper Chuck Boyle keeps an Eye on the mom. Cut pesticides in foods experts urge by the los Angeles times Washington a the Federal government should lower the Legal limits of pesticide residue allowed in the food Supply to protect infants and children from dangerous amounts of toxic chemicals researchers said wednesday. Methods used by the environmental Protection Agency and food and drug administration to determine a acceptable Quot Levels of pesticide contamination fail to take into account several key factors such As the size of the humans eating the food and eating habits the experts said. The officials appeared before the Senate labor and human resources committee in support of the safety of pesticides in food act of 1991. The measure would lower allowable pesticide residue Levels and simplify procedures for recalling unsafe products. Because children tend to eat fewer kinds of food the produce they consume constitutes a larger percentage of their body weight said Richard j. Jackson chairman of the american Academy of paediatrics committee on environmental health in Sacramento Calif. A if a 17-Pound baby cats one banana contaminated with the pesticide Aldi carb sulfite he is getting 30 times the Legal limit for chemical contamination Jackson told the panel. Moreover children Are typically exposed to High concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals during the first five years of life when their bodies Are developing and very sensitive to toxins he added. Jackson who also Heads the California depart int of health services risk assessment office argued that if Federal guidelines were tightened to allow i amp Fly us much pesticide residue As is now considered Safe for children All Consumers would Benefit. But Epa and Fra officials appearing before the committee said they opposed stricter standards insisting that present guidelines Are adequate. Also tightening All 8,000 a acceptable Quot pesticide residue guidelines would overburden agencies already hard pressed to enforce current rules the officials said. Administrators of the agencies would prefer to wait to adjust regulatory procedures until after a National Academy of sciences report on pesticide contamination in food has been issued perhaps Early this Winter said Linda j. Fisher assistant administrator of the Epars office of pesticides and toxic substances. 2 welders die in blast at Indianapolis Plant from wire reports Indianapolis a an explosion at a Coke fuel Plant wednesday killed two welders and injured three other workers. Two other welders and a third worker were treated for minor injuries after the blast near an ammonia storage tank at the citizens Gas amp Coke Utility Plant. The exact cause Wasny to immediately Clear Utility spokesman Dan of Brien said. But City fire capt. Gary Campbell said a they were using cutting torches and something ignited causing the  1 four workers had been changing a Seal on the 86,000-gallon tank which is about 40 feet tall and 15 feet in diameter of Brien said. It contained a flammable mixture of water and ammonia used to Cool gases. But of Brien would t speculate whether it was involved in the explosion. The Plant manufactures Coke a fuck made from Coal residue for use in foundries and blast furnaces. City to use ethanol fuel St. Louis a the City of is. Louis will use ethanol blended fuel for its Fleet of 1,400 vehicles becoming the largest City in the United states i make the change. The switch is being made because ethanol blended fuel Burns cleaner than gasoline alone mayor Vincent Schoemehl said. The mayor also noted that ethanol is derived from Corn a renewable resource rather than imported Petroleum that can be used Only once. Schoemehl said it was important to provide markets for Corn because Missouri is a leading Corn producing state. Carbon monoxide emissions have been reduced by 25 percent to 30 percent in cities where ethanol blends and other oxygenated fuels have. Been used Schoemehl said. Tourist Dies from Burns Dillingham Alaska a a German tourist fell into a campfire after a night of drinking and died. Nikolaus Kozsar 54, was burned Over 70 percent of his body according to Alaska state troopers who also said he had a bad heart. Kozsar and three friends were on a fishing trip near the mulch Atna River on alaskans West coast Over the weekend trooper . Charlton said. The friends dozed off Early sunday while Kozsar drank by the fire. They awoke to his screams and saw him running through the Woods with his clothes ablaze Charlton said. Kozsar died monday in an Anchorage Hospital. Shootout brings Reward Sumrall miss. A a teen Ager who killed a murder suspect during a shootout at the youths Home was rewarded with $2,500 by county officials. Mickey Sanford 15, shot Jerry Barnes on july 2 As the suspect tried to steal a Van parked outside Sanford a Home in Forrest county authorities said. The youths father William was shot in the Arm by Barnes during an Exchange . Authorities had sought Barnes in the killing of two men and the kidnapping of two girls in Covington county Cartel suspect arrested Washington a police seized 26.4 pounds of cocaine and arrested an alleged member of the Cali Colombia cocaine Cartel on wednesday aboard an Amtrak train. Police approached the passenger on the Amtrak Crescent at Union station after observing a suspicious activity Quot said a District of Columbia narcotics official who requested anonymity. The train was in route from new York to Atlanta. Authorities arrested Alexander Espana 24, of Cali and charged him with Possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute which carries a penalty of at least 10 years in jail the official said. Espana had consented to a search and police found the cocaine in 12 bricks wrapped in a bag the official said