Today's letters: Readers comment on insurance payments at a wellness center and drug use
Insurance should be accepted
I have a concern with the taxpayer support provided to South Lake Hospital (a subsidiary of Orlando Health). I'm a resident of Clermont and own both residential and commercial pieces of property in South Lake County and pay property taxes thereon.
My concern centers around the fact that a subsidiary of South Lake Hospital is their wellness center, known as the National Training Center. I, along with many others, have used this facility for many years for their gym, swimming pool and other facilities contained in the NTC (adjacent to the main hospital). Recently we received a letter from the NTC saying that they could no longer accept insurance payment for membership. They allege that these payments are insufficient and so they are canceling any form of insurance underwriting and will, beginning Jan. 1, 2022, expect full monthly payment from those using the facility ($38 per month, per person). They currently accept insurance payments from "Prime," "Silver Sneakers" and "Tivity," but they claim that "the rate at which insurance companies reimburse the NTC continues to decline," so these subsidized memberships will no longer be honored.
It would seem to me that a facility such as South Lake Hospital, which receives a considerable amount of their funding from taxpayers, should have an obligation to "give back" to residents as part of their services offered to the community.
I understand that a business decision has to be made to support the NTC, but it seems patently unfair to no longer accept any insurance company compensation for members. A fairer approach might be to take whatever amount the insurance companies provide on a monthly basis, and subtract that amount from the monthly NTC fee, and charge the members the difference between the two. To make a hypothetical example, let's say that an insurance company (of a covered member) pays the NTC $24 per month for that member and the total cost would be $38 per month; then the NTC should expect the member to pay the extra $14 per month "out of pocket" as their copay (to use an insurance-coverage term).
If South Lake Hospital and the NTC were a private business, then I'd say that private business has to make business decisions based on a sustainable revenue source. They are not a private business; they are a taxpayer-funded and supported business operating as a public service to residents. Hence my complaint, which has gone without response to local officials at the NTC.
Jeff Ladd, Clermont
Drugs can be laced
As drugs become more dangerous with each passing year, they are increasingly being cut with very dangerous drugs that can cause quick overdoses, such as fentanyl. For other ingredients, suppliers will sometimes cut the drugs with whatever they can get their hands on to increase their profits.
Last year a batch of laced heroin contained Rizzy Powder, a substance used to preserve flowers. This powder caused severe skin necrosis in several users. This is another example of how dangerous it is for addicts and further exemplifies the need for more drug education, awareness and treatment. For more information on this case, go to bit.ly/heroinskin. If you are in need of a referral to a treatment center, call Narconon Suncoast at 877-841-5509.
Shauna Krout, Narconon Suncoast
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Dec. 12 letters: Readers comment on insurance and illegal drugs
