1995_09 The Daily Collegian September 1995

              THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN
Tuesday, September 19,1995
O
PINION
Managing/Opinion Editor: Celeste Cox
Telephone: (209) 278-5732
News Not Worthy
Shannon Wentworth
Campus parking police
* vehicular extortionists'
The parking situation on campus has finally surpassed
the ridiculous. I'll admit that I have borne the brunt of
more than my fair share of parking tickets. Indeed, I have
put more than one parking cop through school.
I have gladly paid those tickets that I was absolutely
at fault for (i.e. expired meter, faculty lot tickets).
I have also cursed while writing out checks for those
"improperly displayed permit." I chose to rebel against
the rules clearly written on the permit I garnered for a
mere $50.
I personally expect valet parking for that kind of
money, but when I bought the permit, it did specify its
proper usage. Solbegrudgingly paid those petty tickets.
Wednesday, I got the mother of all the inane, money-
grubbing tickets.
They really should post this rule at the entrance of the
parking lot.
This semester I have been buying day permits for $ 1.50
because I am only on campus two days a week, and had
I $50 to spend all at once, I have a dozen things on my
list before '^arkjn^permit."
My financial woes aside, I purchased a day permit. I
displayed it properly. I parked in a student lot (inconve¬
niently located in Clovis). I left my car safe - nay, smug
- in the knowledge that I was not risking a dreaded green
notice.
At the end? of a rather long day, I climbed into my car
only to have my vision blocked by, you guessed it,' yet
another ticket.
Baffled, I hurriedly open the horrible little thing,
dumbfounded that something could have gone wrong.
I'U tell you up front: I am not Raying this little bugger.
I am definitely appealing it.
Ridiculous doesn't even begin to describe this "in¬
fraction." I purchased av parking space on campus for a
dollar and a half.
I should, in a sane world, be able to park my vehicle
in any way, shape or form I choose as long as I am within
the prescribed parallel perimeters.
So what was the ticket for? "Backing into stall" is
what the $15 ticket says.
I don't know why it would matter, but apparently the
campus cops are working on some sort of aerial aes¬
thetic of vehicular dormancy.
Regardless of their reasoning, they are wrong1.1 abso¬
lutely did not back up into that stall.
My car was "backwards" because I pulled forward
from one stall to the another, a crime I was unaware ex¬
isted.
This is tantamount to public notice campus parking
patrol. You'll be hearing from me a lot until this matter
is resolved to my satisfaction.
I have put up with your petty, puerile parking policies
long enough. You are nothing more than vehicular ex¬
tortionists.
Find another way to make money and quit changing
your parking policies to help pay for your ever-increas¬
ing staff.
In addition, post your ridiculous rules or send every
student a list of ticketable offenses.
How can we not break your expensive rules, if we
don't know what they are?
Current health care system an
expensive imbalanced pendulum
First and foremost,
we must achieve a better balance
between containing costs
and assuring quality health care.
By Russ Newman, Ph. D.
American Psychological Association
- Courtesy-of National Forum
Recent reports iruthe national media have, high¬
lighted a number oisignificant problems created by
overly zealous cosf-containment strategics of some
managed care companies. The reports highlighted, for
i example, patients denied reimbursement for emer¬
gency room treatment and new mothers who were
forced to leave the hospital within 24 hours of deliv¬
ery.
Such reports expose the central problem with our
health care system: ___^___^__
In the rush to take
steps to reduce
■medical costs, the
system has become
too focused on dol¬
lars at the expense
of quality health
care.
Changes in our
health care system have occurred so rapidly that qual¬
ity control regulations and other checks and balances
have not yet caught up.
The resulting imbalance must be remedied if this
country is to maintain its leadership in delivering qual¬
ity health care.
First and foremost, we must achieve a better bal¬
ance between containing costs and assuring quality
health care.
Without question, managed care systems were
originally designed to attempt to control the skyrock¬
eting costs for health care provided in a traditional
fee-for-service system.
Traditionally, no incentives existed for providers,
consumers, or even payers to think twice about the
amount of services provided and resources consumed.
This created a system vulnerable to overutilize ser¬
vices, particularly in an era of increasing malpractice
litigation when defensive medicine meant more tests
and more treatment rather than less.
By contrast, managed care systems generally con¬
tain costs by "capitation" — charging fixed fees per
patient to cover all care provided, whether a little or a
lot.
This, however, creates an incentive to underutilize
services. While this system ideally is intended to maxi- .
mize efficiency and eliminate unnecessary services, it
has become a system vulnerable to withholding neces¬
sary care.
No doubt increased attention to costs, resource uti¬
lization and fiscal accountability is a positive step to¬
ward deflating skyrocketing health care cpsts. Regret¬
tably, however, the pendulum has swung too far in the
direction of cost containment. There are far too many
instances in which efforts to contain costs have over¬
shadowed, and even sacrificed, a concern for patients
receiving quality services.
A better balance between physical and psychologi¬
cal health care must be created in our evolving health
care system.
m^m^mm^m^mmmmmmmm The current sys¬
tem, with its dispro¬
portionate focus on
cost containment,
treats behavioral
and mental health
care as a supple¬
ment to physical
health care* rather
than as an integral
part of good health care. However, seven out of 10 of
the leading causes of death in this country are behav¬
ior-related.
Quality psychological services can, in many cases,
help people change their behavior in ways that pro¬
long life and lessen the^extent of physical health prob¬
lems.
A recent nationwide poll conducted by Penn +
Schoen Associates showed that 90 percent of Ameri¬
can adults believed that good psychological health plays
a role in maintaining good physical health.
The irony of attempting to save money by limiting
behavioral and mental health care is that research has
consistently shown that providing psychological care
reduces the costs of physical health care.
As the health care system changes, we must ensure
that a better balance is struck between containing costs
and providing quality health services.
Employers, administrators and other third-party
payers of health care need to understand that provid¬
ing appropriate quality care at the outset is the most
cost-effective strategy in the long run.
Perhaps the recent media attention devoted to the
growing instances of inadequate care will help move
the pendulum back toward the balanced position where
it rightly belongs.
Clambake ...
Every Friday, we bake dams so you don't have to.
DThe       /H
AILY LOLLEGIAN
 California State Unversity, Fresno	
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