At The Top Of The Ladder

Prison term is ‘all right’, says troublemaker

0 Comments | Grimsby Telegraph, Jun 13, 2008

One of Grimsby’s most “famous troublemakers” has been jailed after attacking a pub doorman and committing a string of fraud offences.

Lee Harries (33), of Lawson Avenue, Grimsby, admitted assaulting Sebastian Jablonski twice on May 18 last year.

He also admitted handling a stolen credit card and eight offences of fraud between August and September and asked for 25 others to be considered .

Gordon Stables, prosecuting at Grimsby Crown Court, said Harries butted doorman Mr Jablonski at the town’s Pestle and Mortar pub on May 12 last year.

The pair clashed again on May 18 last year when Mr Jablonski, who branded Harries a “famous troublemaker around town”, tried to bar him.

Harries became aggressive and shouted: “Come on then, come on,” before pushing and shoving him.

Harries yelled: “You’re already dead” and later picked up a pool ball and threw it at the doorman, hitting him on the side of the head and causing bleeding.

In separate incidents, Harries used a stolen credit card fraudulently 33 times.

He obtained goods worth pounds251.91 and pounds1,150 cashback from Yates’s Wine Lodge, pounds166.71 in goods and pounds150 cashback from Spar on Laceby Road, Grimsby, and pounds57.58 in goods and pounds100 cashback from Spar on Yarborough Road, Grimsby.

Mr Stables branded the frauds “brazen and persistent”.

Andrew Bailey, mitigating, said: “He has been a fool to himself.”

There was a history between Harries and Mr Jablonski, who allegedly “took him off the ground very aggressively” and seemed to punch him.

Harries lost his temper after being restrained “in a heavy- handed manner”.

Judge John Swanson told Harries: “You have a bad record for causing disorder in this town and also for assaulting other people.”

Harries, a scaffolder, admitted breaching an unpaid work order imposed in August last year for dangerous driving.

He was jailed for eight months but left the dock grinning and told supporters in the public gallery: “That’s all right.”

Cash for abused

0 Comments | Western Daily Press, Dec 15, 2009

A seven-year-old girl who was abducted and abused by a paedophile has been granted a significant increase in compensation, her family’s solicitor has said.

The girl, known as Child A, was snatched from her home in Cardiff and sexually assaulted by Craig Sweeney when she was aged three in January 2006.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) originally awarded her more than Pounds 8,800, later increased to Pounds 12,177.50 after a review.

A further appeal to a tribunal service has led to the amount being “significantly increased” after the girl’s mother appeared at a hearing.

Coming health-care changes you may not know about

0 Comments | Charleston Gazette, The, Jul 10, 2010 | by Mary Agnes Carey

WASHINGTON – Several little-known provisions of the new health- care overhaul law take effect in coming months that could have a lasting impact on the nation’s health-care system.

They include eliminating co-payments for certain preventive services such as mammograms, giving the government more power to review health insurers’ premium increases and allowing states to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income adults without children.

Here’s a quick look at some of the changes that are occurring this year:

Prevention for less

What: Insurers won’t be able to require co-payments or deductibles for certain preventive services such as breast cancer screenings every one to two years, cholesterol blood tests and screenings for some sexually transmitted diseases. Insurers also will have to cover recommended immunizations at no cost to patients. Some health-care analysts have suggested that premiums may rise as a result of this and other new requirements, but administration officials say that any increase in premiums would be minuscule.

When: The change takes effect Sept. 23, which means it applies to plan years that begin after that. For many plans, their new years begin after Jan. 1.

Status: The Department of Health and Human Services says regulations are on their way. Paul Bonta, the associate executive director for policy and government affairs at the American College of Preventive Medicine, predicts that manufacturers of vaccines and diagnostic tests will push for their products to be labeled preventive services in a bid to have them covered at no cost to consumers.

Knowing which treatments work best

What: A nonprofit research institute will examine various medical treatments – by looking at data and conducting its own studies – to determine which methods work best. This often is called “comparative effectiveness research.”

When: The comptroller general of the United States – who runs the Government Accountability Office – will appoint the 17 members of the institute’s board of governors, which will oversee the institute’s operations.

Status: Everything about this institute, from its board members to its findings about treatments, is likely to generate great interest and potential controversy. The law says the board’s findings can’t be interpreted as requirements for how doctors practice medicine or what insurers cover. However, in the quest to control health-care costs, employers, insurers and others may point to such data as rationales for changes in coverage and treatment patterns.

Helping to cover early retirees’ health costs

What: A new program will help employers handle the cost of health care for retirees 55 and older who aren’t eligible for Medicare, the federal program for the elderly. The reimbursements will cover 80 percent of medical claims that are between $15,000 and $90,000 for retirees, their spouses and dependents.

When: Applications are being accepted now to help cover claims that date to June 1.

Status: The $5 billion program is intended to help employers cover retirees’ health costs until the health insurance exchanges – state-based insurance marketplaces – are up and running in 2014. A cautionary note: The Employee Benefit Research Institute found that if the subsidy were provided for all early retirees and their dependents, the $5 billion would last no more than two years.

Keeping tabs on premiums

What: Insurers must justify premium increases to the federal government and state insurance commissioners. If the hikes are deemed to be unreasonable – federal regulators have yet to define what “unreasonable” means – states could exclude those insurers from offering coverage on the health insurance exchanges.

When: The provision has gone into effect but federal regulations haven’t been issued yet.

Status: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is developing recommendations for federal regulators about what information insurers should provide to state and federal officials to justify premium increases. A draft proposed by a subcommittee of the association has drawn fire from consumer advocates, who say the government should demand much more detailed information. The federal government won’t have the power to regulate rates, but some states exercise that authority.

Expanded Medicaid coverage

What: In 2014, Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor, will expand to include everyone who earns less than 133 percent of the poverty line, which is $14,400 this year for individuals. Currently, the program doesn’t cover most poor people without children
low deductible health insurance