Hamilton Herald Masthead

News - Friday, June 19, 2009

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Miller & Martin prepares healthcare clients for RAC audits
For the past few years, The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or “CMS,” has been conducting a pilot program aimed at identifying and recovering improper Medicare overpayments to healthcare providers. Conducted in a handful of states, the Recovery Audit Contractor program, also called the “RAC program,” recovered $1.03 billion in overpayments from 2005 to 2008.

Orange Grove helping developmentally disabled live remarkably
As human beings, we naturally follow certain paths through life. To earn a living, for example, we go to school and then enter the labor force. In doing so, we become self-sufficient and grow up to be a part of the economic lifeblood of a community.

Read all about it...
Wife’s pocketbook often becomes husband’s millstone
Wife’s pocketbook often becomes husband’s millstone
One day recently, I was making a visit to my local orthopedic trainer’s office for some therapy on my back when I realized I was about 45 minutes too early for my appointment. Knowing what was ahead for me on this certain day, and not overly excited about getting my back stretched, I decided to not arrive early; but instead checked out the benches located in the facility’s lobby.

Case Digests - Tennessee court of appeals syllabus
John P. Konvalinka vs. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority
Hamilton County - John P. Konvalinka (“Petitioner”) filed a petition for access to public records seeking access to certain records in the possession of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority (“the Hospital” or “Erlanger”). These documents were created pursuant to the provisions of a Corporate Integrity Agreement entered into between the Hospital and the federal Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services following an investigation into allegations of illegal conduct by the Hospital. The Hospital filed a motion for protective order claiming the requested documents were confidential and protected from disclosure pursuant to: (1) the Tennessee Public Records Act; (2) the federal Freedom of Information Act; and/or (3) federal regulations implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services. The Trial Court found that the documents were protected from disclosure by the Tennessee Public Records Act; specifically, Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-504(a)(2)(A). This finding rendered moot whether the documents were protected from disclosure pursuant to either or both the Freedom of Information Act or the regulations developed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Petitioner appeals. We hold that the documents at issue are not protected from disclosure by the Tennessee Public Records Act, and the judgment of the Trial Court holding otherwise is vacated. We remand this case to the Trial Court for a determination of whether the documents at issue are protected from disclosure pursuant to applicable federal law.

Are We There Yet?
The Boss, a rooster and mom
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
My daughter and her friends survived another year at Bonnaroo, the third for them, I think. For those of you who may not know, I’m talking about the annual Woodstock-like music festival at the 700-acre farm near Manchester, Tenn.

I Swear...
Life as a puzzle: Part 3
This series of columns begin with the admission that I never had a hankering to be like Samson, the Biblical word game guy. Even though he slew 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. Even though he was Israel’s ruler for 20 years, during the time when “judges” ruled the land.

Weekly Indulgence
Last Saturday, my now 8-year-old friend Maiya and I headed to the Pot Point House at the foot of Signal Mountain for Butterfly Field Day in the Tennessee River Gorge. I’d stumbled upon the event online and it sounded right up our alley – exploring the riverside meadows, and learning about and taking inventory of native butterflies.

Lookout Mountain Flight Park taking hang gliders to new heights
People from all over the world come to Lookout Mountain to see the Eighth Wonder of the World. It’s not the Incline or Rock City; rather, it’s the launch ramp at Lookout Mountain Flight Park, which allows hang gliders to leap off the side of the mountain and take to the air, 1,300 feet above the ground. At least that’s what Dan Zink, an instructor at the school, says.

Yves Delorme offers fine linens, accessories in Warehouse Row
When Warehouse Row was opening as an outlet mall, a small, fine linen store called Yves Delorme moved in. The company, which began making linens in the 1860s, moved into the Chattanooga complex in 1980, carrying linens for bath, bed and table, as well as soaps, lotions, candles and room sprays.

‘Buyer Agents’ course to give Georgia Realtors new perspective
National media outlets – as well as Realtors, brokers and experts around the country – have been proclaiming for nearly two years that the real estate industry is experiencing a buyer’s market.
Currently, there are more people looking to sell homes than there are people looking to buy them. There are more houses on the market (“supply”) than there are people who need to purchase them (“demand”). And when the supply outweighs the demand, prices become lower and the buyers get the advantage.

Madison Street offers potential homeowners modern alternative
Thanks to Christian Rushing, Chattanooga Realtors can finally tell clients the city has something for everyone. While the market has always offered a robust selection of homes, developers have almost exclusively employed traditional architecture and established building techniques. When Rushing and his wife wanted to move into something more modern, they discovered they were going to have to forge that path on their own. The result was Madison Street, a small development of polished, Earth-friendly homes located in Chattanooga’s beautifully restored Southside.

Real Estate Facts
Buyers are gaining steam
A recent profile of buyers and sellers compiled by the National Association of Realtors has revealed promising, if not surprising statistics about the changing face of the marketplace. The percentage of first-time buyers is on the rise, and they are making their purchases for the long term.

Kay's Cooking Corner
It is summer and the heat is on – and no one knows exactly what that is all about better than me, as our air conditioner went out sometime during the night. It probably just needs some Freon, but the service company said it would be tomorrow before they could get here. I guess the good thing is today’s temperature is just a high of 88 degrees. I’m not complaining though – I know there are plenty of people who live without air conditioning on a daily basis. For some of us, just getting our electricity back on after the recent onslaught of storms has been difficult.

The Critic's Corner
As a movie, “The Hangover” is a lot like Vegas, the city in which most of its action takes place: all set up with no payoff. In the raunchy road trip comedy, four buddies travel to Sin City to celebrate the impending nuptials of one of their own. When three of them wake up the next morning sans the groom and any memory of what took place the night before, a race to find their friend and return home before the wedding begins.

Bessie Smith Heritage Festival brings jazz, blues, art to ML King
For the second year in a row, the Bessie Smith Heritage Festival will draw people from all walks of life to the grounds of the African American History Museum for a weekend of family fun.
“It is the mission of the Bessie Smith Heritage Festival to expose and entertain a diverse audience of music lovers to a unique blend of culture, music, arts and food,” says Erskine Oglesby, chairman of the festival. “We encourage all residents of Chattanooga and the surrounding areas to attend, as the festival will offer something for everyone.”

Real Estate Facts
Take the plunge
Are you looking for some good reasons to take the plunge into homeownership? Certainly, there are many, but here are a few to chew on before you call an agent and begin your search.
If you haven’t owned a home in the last three years, then you qualify as a “first time buyer,” and you are eligible for up to an $8,000 tax credit if you purchase a home before December 1, 2009.