Banner Graphic, Volume 22, Number 102, Greencastle, Putnam County, 2 January 1992 — Page 3

Cuomo leads N.H. primary, poll indicates CONCORD, N.H. (AP) Mario Cuomo, who kept Democrats on tenterhooks for weeks before saying he would not seek the party’s presidential nomination, still is the most popular contender with New Hampshire voters, a poll says. With New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary less than two months away on Feb. 18, the poll found that the New York governor was preferred by 37 percent of respondents far more support than any of the six major declared Democratic candidates. THE SURVEY, conducted by the American Research Group of Manchester, N.H., found that Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton had 14 percent support. Former Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas and Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey each had 6 percent At the bottom were lowa Sen. Tom Harkin, 2 percent, and Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder and former California Gov. Jerry Brown, each with 1 percent. Thirtythree percent were undecided. Cuomo, who could only draw write-in votes in the primary because he did not file as a candidate, appeared to draw substantial support away from Tsongas. Without Cuomo as an option, Clinton and Tsongas were tied at 25 percent

Medicare changes will hurt elderly, doctor group warns

WASHINGTON (AP) New Medicare rules designed to steer more doctors toward general medicine could instead cause practitioners to drop Medicare patients, a doctors’ group says. The changes, effective with the new year, create a nationwide fee schedule that increases payments for family physicians and reduces payments to surgeons and other medical specialists. THE SCHEDULE replaces a payment system in which fees, based on each doctor’s “usual and customary fee,” varied widely across the country. Bush administration officials say the new system will be more fair and rational and will help correct long-standing price distortions that rewarded specialized services at the expense of office visits and consulations. Urban areas also tended to benefit at the expense of rural areas under the old rules. But others say the new system will have to be watched closely between now and 1996, when it is phased in fully, to make sure it stays on track. THE NEW SYSTEM “is on trial,” said Jack Guildroy, a member of the Physician Payment Review Commission, which advises Congress on Medicare physician reimbursement issues. “The prognosis looks good but the jury is still 0ut.... “The main focus ... between now and 1996 should be on monitoring the situation to see what happens with certain populations, rural and minority, the low income,” said Guildroy, who also sits on the board of directors of the American Association of Retired Persons. But the American Medical As-

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GOV. MARIO CUOMO A 23 percent lead

“WHILE THE practical difficulties of mounting a successful unauthorized Cuomo write-in campaign are not reflected in these results, the results do indicate that the support for Tsongas and Clinton ... is not based on very strong levels of commitment to either candidate,” American Research concluded. The telephone poll of 408 likely Democratic primary voters was conducted Dec. 27 to Dec. 30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.85 percentage points. Hours before the filing period closed for New Hampshire’s primary on Dec. 20, Cuomo said he will not run even if he is drafted at the party’s national convention next summer.

sociation already is predicting some of the effects of the new system. ‘THE LEVEL OF values for some of the procedures coordinated with geographic adjustments means that physicians in some parts of the country will be paid less for Medicare patients than for Medicaid, and everybody agrees that Medicaid payments are woefully inadequate to compensate for overhead let alone their personal time,” said James Todd, AMA executive vice president “Our feeling is it will have a significant effect on access to care for senior citizens,” Todd said. "It’s going to be increasingly difficult for physician practices with a large Medicare load to continue to carry that load.” ANOTHER NEW year’s change will further limit the amount physicians can charge Medicare patients beyond what Medicare will pay. Balance-billing by non-particiapting doctors will be limited to no more than 120 percent of the fee schedule in 1992 and to 115 percent the following year. In 1991, the limit was as high as 140 percent for certain costs. These limits, Todd said, will result in increased demand for care. “If it’s not going to cost the beneficiary as much, then they’re more likely to seek elective care,” he said. If more Medicare patients are seeking care but fewer doctors ar willing to provide it to them, “you’re going to see an inability (of seniors) to get the care in the fashion they’ve been accustomed to getting it,” he said. THE FEE schedule will be adjusted for geographic differences and updated annually for inflation.

Woes fade in champagne fizz as Americans welcome 1992

By the Associated Press That old party pooper the recession didn’t succeed in crashing New Year’s celebrations as tens of thousands packed New York’s Times Square, and revelers crowded restaurants, hotels and showrooms from Los Angeles to Boston. Each city had its signature celebration: • In Atlanta, about 100,000 people waited downtown in nearfreezing weather for the “Peach” modeled after the brilliant white ball above Times Square to drop. “I plan on drinking all night and watching the Peach drop,” 21-year-old Jeff Lee said as he nursed his fifth drink early in the evening. • IN HEALTH-conscious San Francisco, fitness buffs kicked off the New Year with a 2-mile midnight run followed by a dance party that continued into the day. And more than 1,000 homebound AIDS patients received party packs on Tuesday with champagne, confetti, noisemakers and a hot meal. • In cosmopolitan, crowded New York, foreign tourists helped usher in 1992 in a babble of different accents and tongues. “We’re ready to party!” shouted 20-year-old Meream van Hove, a Dutch au pair who was among 200,000 people

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packed into Times Square. • In Bangor, Maine, population 32,000, the 16 drivers for Town Taxi were handling two to three times the usual business, said dispatcher Anna Caulkins. “We’ll be going all night long,” she said. • IN PASADENA, Calif., thousands lined the S’/z-mile, sundrenched route today of the 103rd Tournament of Roses Parade. Some spectators had camped out since Monday for choice spots. The top honor among 60 flowerladen floats went to the General Motors entry “Looking to the Future” which featured a spacecraft in the solar system. The parade’s theme was “Voyages of Discovery.” Former American hostage Joseph Cicippio, released last month, and his wife were guests of honor. IN HISTORY-rich Philadelphia, the 92nd annual Mummers Parade got under way under sunny skies at 7:45 a.m. The first group, the Murray Comic Club, displayed a Persian Gulf war motif, complete with “Stormin’ Norman,” President Bush and caddy Saddam Hussein on a “gulf” course. More than 25,000 people were set to cake-walk, strut and strum their way for 12 hours along the

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2!6 miles from South Philadelphia to City Hall. Forty-seven clubs were competing for $286,470 in cash prizes. The event takes its name from the tradition of masked actors mummers ringing in the holiday, sometimes by shooting guns. MORE MODERN weaponry was on the minds of police in several cities, who warned gun owners not to use their firearms as high-powered noisemakers. In Los Angeles, police said they received 265 reports of shots fired into the air shortly after midnight, far fewer than the 586 reports a year ago and 706 in 1990. Officers made at least 28 weapons-related arrests, Lt. Bruce Hagerty said. Since police cracked down on the practice of firing into the air in 1989, the number of injuries has dropped sharply and nobody has been killed or wounded by a stray bullet in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. FEARS OF violence were especially troubling to officials in Atlanta, where teen-agers went on a rampage two years ago in the downtown Marriott Marquis and caused $250,000 worth of damage. This year, the hotel issued identification bracelets to guests, and

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January 2,1992 THE BANNERGRAPHIC

only those wearing them were allowed inside. But for most celebrators including the Grateful Dead’s hardcore band of followers New Year’s Eve was a time to be with family and old friends. The veteran San Francisco-based rock group gave its annual sold-out concert at the Oakland Coliseum. IN LAS VEGAS, Frank Sinatra fans paid up to SSOO a ticket to see his show on the glittery Strip while other resorts offered Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Rich Little, Wayne Newton, Harry Connick Jr. and the Righteous Brothers. Tickets for the Billy Idol show at the China Club in Aspen, Colo., cost S4OO, and among those who had bought them were Sylvester Stallone and Harry Hamlin, said publicist Susan Price. In Boston, more than 1,000 artists performed everything from comic opera to country music in 70 locations. Boston launched its First Night arts celebration in 1976 as an alternative to drunken revelry, and this year New York City followed suit in Grand Central Terminal.

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