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Eric Fox’s Oct. 27 letter revealed he was uninformed that Fort Worth Councilman "Zim" Zimmerman began in early summer to remind residents of the Crime Control and Prevention District tax renewal. Homeland Security considers Fort Worth a major crime distribution point, which Code Blue volunteers and neighborhoods understand. Since the summer, Zim has talked with many neighborhoods and at National Night Out Against Crime events about the renewal of CCPD. On Oct.13, he reminded Colonial Country Club Friends, and it was announced there again Oct. 27.Perhaps Fox was uniformed because of a very busy desk. — Beverly Branham, Fort Worth The cost of healthcare fraud The Star-Telegram recently published articles on healthcare fraud. The first dealt with the loss of billions of dollars in pharmaceutical prescriptions. The next addressed greater losses from Medicare fraud. These examples most likely do little more than touch the surface of the overall fraud in healthcare. Keeping this in mind, it is interesting to see the administration’s justification for government healthcare reform: weeding out corruption to achieve savings that would lessen the deficit. Is this an accurate analysis? Medicare is a federal program in which the government cannot, or will not, control gross fraud. How does it plan to weed out corruption from a federal health plan? My guess is that fraud would increase.— Bill W. Berry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Alex Branch wrote a brilliant piece of journalism with his Nov. 1 expose, "Medicare fraud’s heavy toll." It sure enough passes the litmus test for legalized machinations committed by state, federal and pharmaceutical contractors. When state and federal governments contract with civilians to furnish services and products to Medicare, etc., paid for by the taxpayers, it opens an automatic door to the lucrative practice of fraud. These people are predators and malignant narcissists who practice their mercenary talents because the government is lackadaisical in overseeing the programs that they trust contractors to do. Fraud is inevitable. The prison sentence handed out to those who are apprehended is negligible compared to someone who robs a bank or deals in drugs. They can receive a life sentence for their economic crimes. The estimated $60 billion cost of fraud to taxpayers annually would pay for healthcare for all the uninsured U. S. citizens that Obama is trying to cover at this time.— Rick Orton, Fort Worth Situational discriminationDr. Bruce Jacobson says that refusing to allow a Muslim doctor to wear a head scarf at work isn’t discrimination. (See: Letters to the editor, "Is this discrimination?," Nov. 3)Every day I wear a James Avery ring with a cross. I just wear it — I don’t flaunt it or call attention to it or try to convert anyone with it. For me, it is a physical link with Jesus Christ.I wonder if Jacobson would allow anyone in his office to wear a religious symbol other than that of the Muslim religion?
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