IN 7th, Week In Review

Here is what happened this week in the 7th Indiana U.S. House Distrct left vacant by the death of 6 term Democrat Julia Carson:

On the Democrat side, Indianpolis Council member (and grandson of Julia Carson) Andre Carson, Marion County Treasurer Michael Rodman, and Ice Miller Attorney Randle Pollard are the only three candidates to officially file their intention to run in the special election.  Other expected Democratic candidates are state Reps. David Orentlicher, Gregory W. Porter and Carolene Mays of Indianapolis, former state party chairman Robin Winston and former state health commissioner Woody Myers.  Advance Indiana reported Randle Pollard set up a blog to inform voters of his candidacy.  The democrats will caucus on January 12 to choose their nominee for the special election.  The deadline to file is Wednesday.

The Republicans will hold their caucus on January 13.  State Rep. Jon Elrod of Indianapolis has announced his intention to run for the seat. But GOP party officials said no one had submitted the paperwork to run by Thursday, a week before the deadline.  However, today the Indy Star is reporting, “Tom Rose, a public policy adviser to former Mayor Stephen Goldsmith” has filed the appropriate paperwork.  The deadline to file is Thursday.

 Neither party wanted to go without representation until the May primary, when Governor Daniels suggested the special election be held.  The parties initially agreed on a March 1 date, but that date did not meet the statutory requirements.  Later in the week they agreed to hold the election on March 11. 

Confused?  Your not the only one.  However, the Indy Star Published this timeline to help:

WHAT’S NEXT

• Saturday: Democrats hold a caucus to choose their nominee for the special election to complete Julia Carson’s term.

• Jan. 13: Republicans hold their own caucus but also choose whom to slate for the seat in the May primary.

• Feb. 16: Democrats hold a caucus to choose a slate of preferred candidates for the May primary.

• March 11: The agreed-upon date for a special election, though the governor still must officially sign off.

• May 6: Primary election.

• Nov. 4: General election.

Sources:  Indy Star and Indy Star unless indicated above.

APA Elections: Big Pharma’s Candidate

This should scare everyone whether you see a psychiatrist or not.  The practice of “paying” doctors with the unspoken agreement they will prescribe more of a company’s drug is prevalent in all areas of medicine.  Today, Dr. Daniel Carlot, a psychiatrist campaigning against such practices, brings to light ties one of the candidates for the American Psychiatric Association’s presidency has with Big Pharma.

In one corner, we have Donna Norris, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist who has been active in APA governance for 25 years. She is currently the secretary-treasurer of the APA, chair of the Ethics Appeals Board, and a past speaker of the APA Assembly. More to the point, she is concerned about the pharmaceutical industry’s influence on our profession. She chairs a special task force in charge of screening all potential members of the DSM-5 committee for commercial conflicts of interest. On a more personal note, she receives no financial compensation from drug companies, depending on her private practice for all of her income.

By contrast, Alan Schatzberg, M.D., has no APA governance experience, although he once served as vice president of the Northern California Psychiatric Society. Even more troubling, he was involved in what many consider an ethical breach in 2002, when he wrote an article endorsing mifepristone for psychotic depression without disclosing the full extent of his financial involvement in Corcept, the company that has tried to develop the drug for this purpose. At that time he owned 3 million shares; the current value of these shares is about $12 million. Currently, Schatzberg is the editor-in-chief of a journal entitled the “International Journal of Sleep and Wakefulness” which is funded wholly by Cephalon, a pharmaceutical company that sells Provigil. The purpose of this pseudo-journal appears to be to convince readers that sleepiness is a huge public health problem and that Provigil is the mainstay of treatment.

[Blogmeister Note:  DSM-5, referred to above, stands for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition.  Currently under development, it is the "Bible" of psychiatric diagnosis and treatment.]

Everyone should be aware of Pharma’s practices in medical treatment.  The Blogmeister would even go so far as to encourage you to ask your physician if they have received ANYTHING from the company who makes the drug you are prescribed (they ethically have to tell you).  If so, you could be prescribed medication that has less to do with your physical condition, than how much they are compensating your physician.

In the spirit of full disclosure, the Blogmeister barely gets paid by insurance companies and patients, let alone Big Pharma.

Bills and Resolutions Updated

Here are the current bills and resolutions filed in the statehouse this week.  The master list has been updated and is here.

House:

HB 1060 — Great Lakes compact.

HB 1061 — Application of landlord-tenant statutes.

HB 1062 — Architectural salvage material dealers.

HB 1064 — Partition fences.

HB 1065 — PERF beneficiary change after divorce.

HB 1066 — Recovery for indirect injury in restraint of trade.

HB 1067 — United States flag protocol for Indiana soldiers.

HB 1068 — Drivers of vehicles carrying school children.

HB 1069 — Local ordinances to reduce speed limits.

HB 1070 — Legislators’ defined contribution plan.

HB 1071 — Funding for voting machine replacement.

HB 1072 — Unlimited lifetime handgun permit endorsements.

HB 1073 — Sales tax exemption for college textbooks.

HB 1074 — Disarming a law enforcement officer.

HB 1075 — Abandoned embryo adoption.

HB 1077 — Funding for local Memorial Day celebrations.

HB 1078 — Redistricting commission.

HB 1079 — Subjects of educational discussion and bargaining.

HB 1080 — Homeowners associations.

HB 1081 — Resisting law enforcement.

HB 1083 — Hoosier Inland Port study.

HB 1084 — Taxation of civil service annuities.

HB 1085 — Whistle stop signs.

HB 1086 — Penalties for failure to pay state taxes.

HB 1088 — Student mobility rates.

HB 1089 — Fire sprinkler contractors and installers.

HB 1090 — Climate registry.

HB 1091 — Growth and development study committee.

HB 1092 — School starting and ending dates.

HB 1093 — Charity gaming.

HB 1094 — Sales tax exemption for vending machine sales.

HB 1096 — Various provisions concerning courts.

HB 1098 — Net metering and interconnection rules.

HB 1099 — Shortfall loans from the common school fund.

HB 1100 — Halloween enticement.

HB 1101 — Utility receipts tax.

HB 1104 — Fire protection district excess property tax levy.

HB 1105 — Transfer of property to fire departments.

HB 1107 — Cultural competency.

HB 1108 — Sheriff’s compensation.

HB 1112 — Learner’s permits and driver’s licenses.

HB 1113 — Birth certificate fraud.

HB 1114 — Town police officer residency.

HB 1115 — Wabash River heritage corridor commission.

HB 1116 — State agency fines and penalties.

HB 1117 — Coal gasification and substitute natural gas.

HB 1118 — Alcoholic beverages.

Senate:

SB 0117 — Parole issues.

SB 0118 — DOC superintendent qualifications.

SB 0119 — Cell phone use while driving.

SB 0120 — Employer immunity for hiring offenders.

SB 0121 — Donations by local units to community foundations.

SB 0122 — Coverage for stereotactic radiotherapy.

SB 0123 — Grading and certification of meat products.

SB 0124 — Child seduction.

SB 0125 — Reentry courts and community transition.

SB 0126 — License plate cycle for certain plates.

SB 0127 — Local port authority eminent domain procedures.

SB 0128 — Equivalent jobs and wage discrimination.

SB 0129 — Notice of meetings.

SB 0130 — Conversion by failure to return rented property.

SB 0131 — Jurisdiction of university and college police.

SB 0132 — Definition of “serious bodily injury”.

SB 0133 — PERF COLA and thirteenth check.

SB 0134 — Consolidation of certain environmental and natural resources proceedings.

SB 0135 — Relocation of a riverboat.

SB 0136 — Challenges to a candidate’s eligibility.

SB 0137 — Public safety employees.

SB 0138 — Income tax withholding.

SB 0139 — Violation of probation.

SB 0140 — Tort claims against governmental entities.

SB 0141 — Sales tax exemption for college textbooks.

SB 0142 — Teacher professional development days.

SB 0144 — Residency of police officers and firefighters.

SB 0145 — Voter identification.

SB 0146 — Information preceding an abortion.

SB 0147 — Abandoned embryo adoption.

SB 0148 — Repeal of expiration dates for state offices.

SB 0149 — Coroner and deputy coroner training.

SB 0150 — Physical therapists.

SB 0151 — Checkoff for cancer research.

SB 0152 — Automated external defibrillators in health clubs.

SB 0153 — Extension of dentist instructor license.

SB 0154 — Regulated occupation definition.

SB 0155 — Study on domestic violence program.

SB 0156 — Communicable disease rules.

SB 0157 — Opioid treatment programs.

(Not) Back Home Again in Indiana

This is by far the least scientific method of determining if people are fleeing the state, but a measure none the less.

From the Evansville Courrier Press:

Last year, Atlas moved 1,980 residents out of Indiana and only 1,329 to it from other states, according to a report the Evansville company released today. That gave Indiana the third highest percentage of emigration in the country.

Barbara Cox, director of marketing communications with Atlas, said that about 75 percent of the moving company’s business comes from other companies. They have often hired Atlas to move employees who are taking a new job or have been transferred. The remainder are moves made for personal reasons. Residents may want to live in a temperate climate or closer to their family, she said.

Cox said Atlas, when conducting its survey, refrains from asking customers why they decided to move. She speculated that many are going elsewhere because they have found better jobs.

“It could be that the manufacturing market is not as strong as it used to be,” Cox said.

States in the Midwest saw the greatest emigration to other states. Ohio had the highest percentage of people leaving, and Michigan had the fifth highest. The report cites a lack of jobs int he Midwest as a reason behind the moves out.

Washington D.C. saw the highest percentage of people moving there. States in the West, such as Washington, Nevada, Oregon and Alaska, were also popular places to immigrate to.

So were states in the Southwest. Texas saw the greatest total number of immigrants. Colorado and New Mexico were also popular destinations, according to the report.

FBI Needs Your Help!

Okay, this isn’t anywhere close to relevant to the purpose of this blog.  Still, the Blogmeister found it interesting in an “In Search Of…” sort of way (anyone remember that show?).

From the Evansville Courrier Press:

On the stormy night of Nov. 24, 1971, a middle-aged man identifying himself as one D.B. Cooper stepped out of the rear exit of a skyjacked Northwest airliner and plummeted into southwestern Washington state and the stuff of legend.

He took with him $200,000 in ransom money and two commandeered parachutes. There has been no sign of Cooper or the parachutes since, but $5,800 in tattered 20s from the stolen money turned up on the banks of the Columbia River in 1980.

The time being the ’70s, Cooper became a folk hero of sorts to rebellious young people, but his name is fading from memory. Well, all but one agency’s memory. The FBI hasn’t forgotten him or the missing loot. The reasonable assumption has been that Cooper did not survive the fall and if, as many believe, his chute never opened he would quickly have become one with the forest floor. But the FBI would like to know for sure.

To kick off the new year, the bureau has, in its words, ‘reignited’ the case and is asking the public’s help, posting on its Web site artist’s renderings of Cooper and photos of the money, a map of the area where he might have landed and some items he left behind on the plane – a backup parachute, its canvas bag and a tie, a black clip-on, judging from the picture – in hopes they might jog somebody’s memory.

Over the years, various claimants to being Cooper have surfaced but the feds have been able to recover the skyjacker’s DNA from the tie so they’ll know for sure if they’ve got their man. It seems like a long odds proposition. The flight attendants estimated he was in his mid-40s, which would put him in his mid- to late 70s today.

You can play amateur sleuth at http://www.fbi.gov/page2/dec07/dbcooper123107.html.

Let me know if you find him!

Wyoming Republican Caucus: Romney Wins

In the little covered Wyoming Republican Caucus CNN is reporting Mitt Romney has won with 67% of the vote.  Here is how all the contenders did:

Romney 67%

Thompson 25%

Hunter 8%

Giuliani 0%

Huckabee 0%

McCain 0%

Paul 0%

Uncommitted 0%

Sneak Peek: SB 181, Advance Directives

From the Muncie Star Press:

State Sen. Sue Errington, D-Muncie, wants to make state law clear on who is responsible for making health care decisions for the incapacitated.

“The best option is to put your health-care choices in writing,” said Errington. “In cases where advanced directives have not been established, this measure will provide guidance and avoid confusion for doctors and family members.”

Senate Bill 181, which will be assigned to a Senate committee next week, was modeled after a South Carolina law that provides priority and exceptions for people who make health-care decisions for a patient who is unable to consent.

Indiana law allows a court to appoint a representative or decisions made by a spouse, parent, adult child or sibling with no particular prioritization.

Jon Hendrix, a retired Ball State University biology professor, helped Errington draft the legislation. He is a bioethicist and an authority on ethics in human genetics.

Hendrix said he believed the legislation would prevent cases like the Terri Schiavo case where the parents and spouse disagreed on continuing life support that resulted in intervention by the state of Florida and the U.S. Congress.

About 80 percent of adults in the country do not have an advanced directive for health-care decisions, Hendrix said.

Medicaid: Indiana Paying Docs More

From the ‘About D*mn Time’ file comes reports from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, News Sentinel, and WTHR concerning Medicaid payments.  The state is increasing some Medicaid payments to physicians, who haven’t seen a raise from the program in 14 years.  The state will also pay higher bonuses for patients seen over the last 18 months.The raises are approximately 25%, or about $32 million, while the bonuses are around $39 million dollars.  The bonuses are based on the size of a doctor’s Medicaid clientele and the number of procedures performed, including baby deliveries.  Medicaid pays for about half of the newborn deliveries in Indiana

The state is hoping more physicians will see Medicaid patients, whose care, because of the lack of an increase, often costs physicians money. 

Approximately 1 in 7 Hoosiers are enrolled in the program.  Medicaid is jointly funded by state and federal dollars, with both entities sharing in the increased costs.

Mixed Media: TDW Gets Some Print

In looking through a story in the Muncie Star Press about the upcoming (May 8th) primary, Indiana State Democratic Party Communications Director Jennifer Wagner said,

“While we’re not one of the states at the very front of the pack, with a race as close as this one may end up being, there’s a possibility that Hoosiers may still have a say in the presidential primary,”

Jennifer is the blogmistress of  Taking Down Words, and has been described as “the meanest woman in Indiana politics”.

The Blogmeister has corresponded with Ms. Wagner and never found her to be all that mean