Medicaid’s At Risk & Catalytic Converter Thieves Are Caught
November 4, 2022
Meddling With Medicaid Management
The Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments for a key healthcare lawsuit on election day. The case, Health and Hospital Corporation v. Talevski, pits plaintiff Gorgi Talevski, a dementia patient, against the Health and Hospital Corp of Marion County, Indiana (HHC). Talevski’s lawyers allege that the HHC abused Talevski during his time as a patient at a nursing home, using psychotropic drugs to keep him docile while also attempting to involuntarily discharge him to a dementia facility. The defendants are essentially asking the Supreme Court to strip Medicaid patients of their ability to privately sue Medicaid-funded facilities for violations of compliance with federal requirements.
Currently, states and state-run Medicaid-funded facilities only receive federal Medicaid funding on two conditions: they comply with federal guidelines, and they cover care for “categorically needy individuals.”. The two main ways that compliance with these conditions is overseen are through inspection by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and through private lawsuits in federal courts.
The HHC argues that Section 1983 of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which allows private individuals to sue facilities in violation of Medicaid compliance, has been interpreted incorrectly for decades. The law allows individuals to sue state officials and, sometimes, healthcare providers, if they deprive someone of “any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws.” Their argument hinges on a single line from a 1981 case, which states that conditional grant programs like Medicaid funding are “much in the nature of a contract,” and that 19th-century contract law did not allow third parties to sue for violations of the contract. In essence, if the Supreme Court sides with the HHC in this case, private individuals will no longer be able to sue Medicaid-funded providers for violations of federal Medicaid requirements, robbing patients and overseers of a key method of healthcare regulation going forward. (Vox)
This past week, we shared a story about how important gas prices are to the president’s approval rating. It got us thinking about how important gas prices really are to the average voter, so we decided to ask our Daily Pnut readers! Please fill out this survey, and feel free to share with your family and friends.
Something Unhealthy In the Air Tonight
- According to India’s Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi experienced an air quality index (AQI) reaching “severe” and “hazardous” levels on Thursday, endangering the city’s 20 million residents. The AQI rose past 450 in some areas of the city.
- An AQI above 400 has health impacts on fully healthy people and can have serious impacts on individuals with existing diseases. “It’s not NORMAL to breathe 500+ AQI, not for our children, where every third child already has some pulmonary challenge,” said environmental activist Vimlendu Jha over Twitter. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee found that AQI reached over 800 in some areas of the city.
- Every winter, Delhi’s air gets worse as cold, heavy air traps pollutants lower down in the atmosphere. Pollutants also rise when nearby states add vehicle emissions and smoke to the air as they burn crop stubble in order to clear fields for next year’s harvest. (Reuters)
Bank of England vs. Inflation, Episode 2
- As the empire where the sun never sets continues to grapple with the inflation crisis that it can never seem to deal with, the Bank of England has enacted a historic interest rate hike. On Thursday, the U.K.’s central bank announced that it would be raising interest rates by 0.75 percentage points, from 2.25% to 3%, the highest interest rate increase since 1989, in order to bring down soaring inflation.
- The bank also did a bit of fortune-telling in the tea leaves, predicting that the nation is facing the beginning of its longest recession since records began in the 1920s. The bank predicts inflation will top out at a 40-year high of roughly 11% this quarter, over five times the government’s 2% target for the period. It also thinks that the British economy will contract in both 2023 and 2024, shrinking 2.9% in total. While unemployment is currently just 3.5%, it’s predicted to rise to 6.4% by late 2025.
- In response to the rate hike, the pound dropped 2%, down to 1.12 against the dollar, also down 0.7% against the euro. Brits can expect an increase in the price of imported goods thanks to the pound’s dip, and those with mortgages, credit card debt, and bank loans will also be hit by the interest rate bump. (BBC, Reuters)
Additional World News
- Three major developments in 2022 may shift the world’s climate trajectory (WaPo, $)
- U.S. calls for expulsion of Iran from U.N. panel on women (NBC)
- U.N. Security Council rejects Russia’s call to probe debunked U.S.-Ukraine biological weapons claims (CBS)
- China says U.S. has ‘no right’ to interfere in Hamburg port deal (Reuters)
- U.S. unlikely to work with Jewish supremacist expected to be made Israeli minister (Axios)
- Kenya deploys troops to Congo to help end decades of bloodshed (Reuters)
- Russia strips protester and his family of citizenship (Al Jazeera)
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.” – C.S. Lewis
A Warm-Up Act
- The Biden administration is distributing $4.5 billion in federal assistance for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help Americans pay their heating bills as we head into the cold season and natural gas prices remain high. The money can also be used to pay off energy-related debts or make home repairs that will help keep energy bills lower in the future.
- The Department of Health and Human Services said the cash is coming from regular appropriations by Congress, additional emergency funding lawmakers included in September’s continuing resolution, and $100 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law that passed last year. More than 5.3 million households were served this past year, but Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, said the cost of home energy this winter is at the highest level in more than 15 years.
- The cost of heating a home with natural gas this winter is expected to jump about 28%, on average, to $931, according to an Energy Information Administration report released last month. Those who heat with oil can expect to pay 27% more and pay $2,354 for the season. Electric heat costs are projected to rise 10% to $1,359, while heating with propane is expected to cost 5% more, with a $1,688 bill. (CNN)
Louis-ing Control
- Louisiana is having a rough week. About 3,000 residents in Plaquemines Parish, a community south of New Orleans, were warned saltwater permeated their drinking water supply. Though a boil water advisory hasn’t been issued, those with high blood pressure or heart issues were encouraged not to drink the water.
- Severe drought caused the levels of the Mississippi River to drop so low that its flow is struggling to push saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico out. Plaquemines Parish President Kirk Lepine said, “We can boil seafood now,” before adding, “We are trying to have a sense of humor about it, but it’s concerning, and we are watching it closely.”
- Residents in St. James Parish, located about 50 miles west of New Orleans, were evacuated after a train derailment caused an acid leak. A railcar holding about 20,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid, which can irritate the respiratory system, derailed. An “extended cleanup” is anticipated, police warned. (CNN, ABC)
Additional USA News
- DoJ mulls immunity deal for Trump ally to secure testimony in Mar-a-Lago case (Guardian)
- Obama warns ‘more people are going to get hurt’ if political climate persists (Reuters)
- The Midterms Are About Minority Rule (Slate)
- Parkland Gunman Gets 34 Life Sentences (NYT, $)
- ‘A renewed sense of urgency’: climate on the ballot in US midterm elections (Guardian)
- Tim Ryan distances himself from national Democratic Party in tight Ohio Senate race (CNN)
- The health policy Rand Paul and Elizabeth Warren agree on (Politico)
Catalytic Converter Cabal
- Spooky season might have ended Monday night, but one of the spookiest stories in recent years only found its conclusion midway through this week. According to the Justice Department, a multilevel team of local, state, and federal law enforcement arrested a team of 21 individuals Wednesday night, accusing them of being responsible for a wave of catalytic converter theft that has swept the nation.
- The federal government is reportedly seeking $545 million total in forfeitures from the group and has already seized hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of financial assets from the individuals. “This national network of criminals hurt victims across the country,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “They made hundreds of millions of dollars in the process — on the backs of thousands of innocent car owners.”
- The DOJ’s case against the defendants reveals a national system for monetizing the theft and sale of catalytic converters. Fifteen of the defendants are accused of buying catalytic converters from thieves for sale to a business called DG Auto. Six defendants at DG Auto are accused of “de-canning” the stolen catalytic converters for valuable metal powders, which they sold to metal refineries in California to the tune of $545 million. Catalytic converters contain rare metals like rhodium platinum and palladium, which have become increasingly valuable thanks to the pandemic’s impact on supply chains. (NPR)
Additional Reads
- After nearly 50 years, FBI identifies “Lady of the Dunes” murder victim (Ars Technica)
- Climate change: Kilimanjaro’s and Africa’s last glaciers to go by 2050, says UN (BBC)
- Stone Age child’s grave site in Finland reveals surprises (CNN)
- Christian monastery possibly pre-dating Islam found in UAE (NBC)
- Drinking alcohol may increase the risk of having a stroke in your 20s and 30s, study finds (USA Today)
- Europe has warmed faster than any other region in the past 30 years (CNN)
- AP PHOTOS: Farmers in Kashmir try growing saffron indoors (AP)