•April 20, 2016•

By Jerry Ginther
NP Columnist

Well, post retirement age has arrived and the spontaneous trips and desired vacations that we looked forward to taking have not often materialized.

More free time and less debt being the supposed catalysts for travel and adventure have not produced the expected result.

As a matter of fact, those two items seem to be the least responsible for not hitting the road more often. Now, we seem to have a list of “what ifs” that get more than its share of considerations.

Planning these excursions was thought to be part of the fun, and indeed should be, but deciding where to go is the only easy part of this fun. Planning the routing, places to stay en route, figuring the costs of gasoline and all of the other necessities take time.

Staying on a schedule is also important and includes allowing extra time for unexpected occurrences. When one starts figuring how much time to allot, sometimes halting considerations come to mind that might preclude the trip altogether. Here is one of those “what ifs” I alluded to earlier. What if we can’t find anyone to take care of our chickens for an extended period of time? Easy answer: Sell the chickens or stay home. Okay, the chickens are getting a new home. Move on.

Now, I consider myself a thoughtful planner and usually have little trouble getting my ducks in a row. However, my wife’s list of “what ifs” encompasses so many more “unlikely to occur incidents” that I could never manage that row of ducks. Still, I do what I can to assure her that I’ve considered all of the remote possibilities even if I’m barely in the ballpark. So, I pretend to have everything under control, and she pretends to buy it. Yep, we pretty well know each other’s game. Read More

•March 23, 2016•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

While Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan continue to joust selfishly, and to the great harm of our state, over an unresolved state budget from 2015, the governor appears to be on track to notch a win over the state’s major public employee union.

Both Rauner and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 31 (AFSCME), which represents 37,000 state workers, recently filed complaints with the Illinois Labor Relations Board (ILRB) in which they charge the other party with failure to bargain in good faith.

If ILRB, with a majority of members appointed by Rauner, finds the 14-month negotiations over a new contract to be at an impasse (a legal term of art), as the governor contends, then he can impose his last, final, best offer.

AFSCME could then strike, but it won’t. I don’t believe the public would stand for it. In addition, many union members would stay on the job, and Rauner could begin hiring permanent replacements for striking state workers.

First, some background.

Former Republican governor Jim Thompson signed the state’s collective bargaining law in 1984, which provides a right-to-strike with the exception of employees essential to public safety and health (prison guards, for example).

During the 2000s, former Democratic governors Rod Blagojevich and then Pat Quinn inked sweetheart contracts with AFSCME. Read More

•March 16, 2016•

By Jerry L. Ginther
NP Columnist

Visiting a famous battlefield such as Gettysburg and standing on the very ground where so many brave men had fought and died takes one back in time. It becomes more than just a place which one has read about in American History. Several years ago, when our children were in school, we made the journey to Pennsylvania and legendary Gettysburg.

We moved about the battlefield to the different locations of interest and discussed what had occurred at each. From each site we had the view of the terrain as the soldiers would have had during the bloody conflict.

We read aloud the words of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and they yielded stronger meaning than when we had read them from our history book. Being there made longer lasting impressions than photographs or written accounts could ever furnish. It was a day of learning for our family and an unforgettable family experience.

Much to their teacher’s surprise, my kids had much to share and became the authorities in their classrooms on that battle of the Civil War because they had actually been to the battlefield.

Springfield, Ill. is another town rich in American History pertaining to Abraham Lincoln. It exhibits the home and the tomb of our illustrious 16th president. The tomb itself is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery and is visited by thousands of history buffs from around the globe each year.  Read More

•March 9, 2016•

Dear Editor,

What is a community leader?  Is it somebody who tells you all they do for their community or is it someone that quietly behind the scenes takes care of their fellow neighbors and citizens for no financial reward.

The latter would describe Tim and Tonya Rose, owners of TnT Pizzeria. Did you know when schools are closed and Peace Meal Nutrition Program (located at the Sullivan Senior Center) cannot provide meals to our homebound seniors in Sullivan, that TnT makes extra food on their hot bar and delivers a hot meal to every shut-in senior who is on the Peace Meal Homebound list. For free.   Read More

•March 2, 2016•

By Trudy Lieberman,
Rural Health News Service

What would make your medicines cheaper?

That’s a question Americans are asking every time they go to the pharmacy and find the price of a maintenance drug they’ve been taking has doubled or tripled, or that a new medicine, like one of the new diabetes drugs, their doctors have prescribed is beyond their means.

Increasingly the answer from the drug industry, which pretty much can charge whatever it wishes, is more patient assistance programs that come in the form of coupons, co-pay cards, or vouchers to help people buy their drugs. People needing help can also apply directly to a pharmaceutical company, and if their income is low enough, the company simply sends a supply of medicine to their home or doctor’s office. How many times have you heard on TV that AstraZeneca can help?

The coupon, co-pay route to helping patients is easiest to understand. The industry calls the coupons “pay-no-more “ cards telling patients they will pay no more than $50 or $100 for a prescription. Discounts vary by the type of drug. Some work like airline loyalty programs: Buy so many drugs and get the next one free.

E-vouchers are more complicated and hardly transparent. A pharmacy sends a prescription to a middleman vendor. The vendor works with the drug company to figure out how much of the patient’s cost sharing that’s required by the insurer it will pay on the patient’s behalf. Rules and amounts patients receive vary depending on the kind of drug.

Andrew Pollpeter, a senior principal with the Amundsen Group, an IMS Health Company, told me the company sets the amount of the voucher, and the patient doesn’t know much about it. But, he said, “they are happier when they see a lower copay.”

All this sounds great for patients, right? It may not be in the long-run. Read More