Day: June 18, 2018

$40 Million in Charity Care Plus $29 Million in Writeoffs at Nashville General Hospital Last Year

Tennessee Star Staff
Metro General Hospital

Nashville General Hospital recorded an operating loss of $41.1 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017, and required $50.2 million from the Metro Nashville/Davidson County Government to stay afloat, according to its audited financial statements. A review of the income statement summary suggests that $29.8 million of that loss was due to “allowances and discounts,” or writeoffs of bad debts. Here’s a summary of what that income statement looks like: Year ended June 30, 2017 Total Patient Revenue: $ 72,250,432 Allowance & discounts (writeoffs): 29,859,449 Net Patient Revenue: 42,390,983 Operating Loss: 41,187,886 Amount Received from Metro Government: 50, 296,226 A more thorough examination of the financial statements reveals another stunning fact. Nashville General Hospital provides care without charge to those who meet certain requirements. These amounts are not reported as revenue. For the year ended June 30, 2017 the amount of “charity care” revenue not reported in revenue was $40,318,922. “The Hospital provides care to patients who meet certain criteria under its charity care policy without charges or at amounts less than its established customary rates,” page 16 of Nashville General Hospital’s FY 2017 Financial Statements says. “Since the Hospital does not pursue collection of accounts determined…

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President Trump on Illegal Immigration: ‘The United States Will Not Be a Migrant Camp’

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Donald Trump, Mike Pence

During the announcement of the new Pentagon ‘Space Force’ directive, President Trump took a moment at the beginning of his remarks to address the media’s outrage at his administration’s enforcement of laws regarding the arrest and prosecution of illegal aliens and the disposition of any minor children that may accompany them. After a brief recap of the recent economic numbers that show the lowest unemployment rates in recent memory – with historic lows in the minority sectors of Black, Hispanic, and women – Mr. Trump said, “If I might, I just wanted to make a brief statement on immigration and what’s happening.  And I’ll say it very honestly and I’ll say it very straight: Immigration is the fault, and all of the problems that we’re having — because we cannot get them to sign legislation; we cannot get them even to the negotiating table.  And I say it’s, very strongly, the Democrats’ fault.  They’re obstructing.  They’re really obstructionists.  And they are obstructing.” Democrats have, in fact, steadfastly refused to support any legislation that fully implements his four-part immigration and border security agenda of a physical barrier to entry to the United States (The Wall), and end to the practice of…

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Complaint Targets Bill Lee’s Business, Campaign Advertising

Jason M. Reynolds
Bill Lee

The Tennessean reported Friday that a complaint alleges that gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee is using a tax-sheltered trust to illegally donate money to his own campaign. The complaint, filed by Joe Darke of Dover, Tennessee, also alleges that the Republican candidate has accepted illegal contributions from some individuals and businesses while raising questions about Lee’s frequent use of television ads for his company. The complaint was filed with Tennessee’s Registry of Election Finance, WKRN said, and claims Lee uses his businesses to supplement his campaign without disclosure and beyond limits. More specifically, the complaint says Lee Company commercials featured Lee, while campaign ads have touted Lee’s company experience. It speculates Lee is running company ads for a business expense deduction to avoid more income taxes. Campaign spokesman Chris Walker called the complaint “nonsense,” WKRN said. The complaint contains at least two errors, which could lead campaign finance officials to dismiss it, The Tennessean said. A campaign spokesman said the complaint was evidence he was gaining momentum.        

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State Rep. Jay Reedy Endorses Bill Lee for Governor

Tennessee Star Staff
Reedy Bill Lee

State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin) endorsed Williamson County businessman Bill Lee for governor at a joint town hall appearance on Thursday. Reedy released a statement that same day announcing his endorsement: In 2014, I was running for State Representative of District 74, Houston, Humphreys, and part of Montgomery Counties. I was called an outsider in politics because I never held and elected office. People of district 74 was looking for change! They asked if I was a Christian, Conservative, and where I stood on the 2nd Amendment. Yes, to the first two questions and my reply for the 2nd Amendment is that I am an NRA Life Member since 1986. I passed some common-sense legislation in my first term and just completed some worthwhile legislation in my second term, with Anti-Sanctuary Cities 2018 legislation. This will protect Tennesseans and Tennessee borders from criminal illegal aliens. With my time as a non-politician outsider, I have proven that an outsider can go to Capitol Hill and make a difference for Tennessee. With my passed experience as a state representative, I believe there is more work that can been accomplished by “outsiders” and with this being said, I publicly announce my endorsement of…

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Once Again, Obamacare’s Constitutionality Comes Into Question

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Obamacare

by Paul Larkin   Readers might recall that, in 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, by a 5-4 vote in a case captioned NFIB v. Sebelius. Last year, Congress revised Obamacare. In the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Congress eliminated the penalty imposed on people who do not purchase health insurance by reducing the penalty to $0 effective January 2019. What makes that 2017 law interesting for present purposes is this: Chief Justice Roberts wrote the controlling opinion in NFIB v. Sebelius; he concluded that the Obamacare penalty can be characterized as a “tax”; and he decided that, so viewed, Obamacare was a constitutional exercise of Congress’s power to raise taxes. Enter Texas. In February of this year, Texas and several other states filed a lawsuit alleging that, by reducing the Obamacare tax to zero, Congress eliminated the only basis on which the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare. A sine qua non of a tax is that it generates revenue, Texas argued, and beginning in January 2019 Obamacare will no longer do so. Accordingly, concluded Texas, starting next…

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DOJ IG: McCabe Used Strzok’s Mistress To Bypass Chain Of Command To Monitor Clinton Probe

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McCabe Page and Strzock

by Luke Rosiak    – Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe used Peter Strzok’s mistress, Lisa Page, to get information on the FBI probe into investigation of Clinton’s private servery  – McCabe used Page to “circumvented the official chain of command”  – Other bureau officials took issue with the decision Then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe tasked the mistress of lead agent Peter Strzok to stay appraised of the probe into Hillary Clinton’s private server — a decision that other bureau officials took issue with at the time, according to the Department of Justice Inspector General’s bombshell report. McCabe was supposed to be insulated from the probe by two levels of management: Strzok worked for counterintelligence head Bill Priestap, who worked for national security head Michael Steinbach, who reported up to McCabe. However, Strzok communicated about the probe with his mistress, Lisa Page, who worked directly for McCabe and acted as a liaison for the Clinton investigation for the deputy director. The report says: Lisa Page, who was Special Counsel to McCabe, became involved in the Midyear investigation after McCabe became the Deputy Director in February 2016. Page told the OIG that part of her function was to serve as a liaison between the Midyear team and…

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‘We’re Getting Close:’ Nunes Says Impeachment Is On The Table For Rod Rosenstein

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Devin Nunes, Rod Rosenstein

by Chuck Ross   House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said Sunday that “there will be hell to pay” — including impeachment for top Justice Department officials — if the agency fails this week to give Congress documents about an FBI informant used to spy on the Trump campaign. “We can’t force the resignation, but we can hold in contempt, we can pass resolutions, we can impeach. I think we’re getting close to there,” Nunes said of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” Nunes has battled Rosenstein for months over other documents related to the Russia investigation. The Justice Department and FBI stalled for months to provide information about the Steele dossier as well as about a secret surveillance warrant taken out against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The most recent standoff concerns Nunes’ request for documents related to a longtime FBI and CIA source who the bureau tasked to meet with three Trump campaign advisers, including Page. Nunes and other members of the so-called Gang of Eight met with Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday to discuss Intelligence Committee’s requests for documents about the informant,…

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Trump Rips Schumer, ‘Fake News’ Over Criticism Of North Korea Meeting

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President Trump and Chuck Schumer

by Will Racke   President Donald Trump on Sunday lambasted two of his favorite targets — Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the media — for their critical assessment of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Trump led off a series of tweets by taking a swipe at the New York senator, who had previously criticized the president’s meeting with him as “all cattle, no hat” — a botched version of the Texas colloquialism “all hat and no cattle.” “Chuck Schumer said ‘the Summit was what the Texans call all cattle and no hat,’” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Thank you Chuck, but are you sure you got that right? No more nuclear testing or rockets flying all over the place, blew up launch sites. Hostages already back, hero remains coming home & much more!” Chuck Schumer said “the Summit was what the Texans call all cattle and no hat.” Thank you Chuck, but are you sure you got that right? No more nuclear testing or rockets flying all over the place, blew up launch sites. Hostages already back, hero remains coming home & much more! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 17, 2018 Trump met with Kim in Singapore on…

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Commentary: Liberal Doctors Claim Gun Ownership Is A Disease

Tennessee Star Staff
gun ownership a disease

by George Rasley, CHQ Editor   Last week, the American Medical Association passed a series of gun-related resolutions, including calling for a ban on “assault weapons” and came out against arming teachers to fight what it claims is a public health crisis. The Associated Press reports Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency-medicine specialist at Brown University, said Gun violence a diseaseat the meeting, “We as physicians are the witnesses to the human toll of this disease.” What exactly is the “disease” that stirred Dr. Ranney’s emotional outburst? Apparently, it is gun ownership. AMA delegates voted to adopt several of nearly a dozen gun-related proposals presented by doctor groups that are part of the AMA’s membership. AP reports they agreed to: Support any bans on the purchase or possession of guns and ammunition by people under 21. Back laws that would require licensing and safety courses for gun owners and registration of all firearms. Press for legislation that would allow relatives of suicidal people or those who have threatened imminent violence to seek court-ordered removal of guns from the home. Encourage better training for physicians in how to recognize patients at risk for suicide. Push to eliminate loopholes in laws preventing the…

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