Reimbursement

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- After the United States has spent more than $5 billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani military campaign against militants from al-Qaida and the Taliban, some American officials now acknowledge that there were too few controls over how the money was spent, and that the strategy to improve the Pakistani military needs to be completely revamped. In interviews in Islamabad and Washington, officials in the U.S. military and in the Bush administration said they believed that much of the American money was not making its way to front-line Pakistani units.

WASHINGTON -- White House aides refused to rule out yesterday that President Clinton will seek a taxpayer reimbursement of the $5 million he owes his attorneys for fees incurred during independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's Whitewater investigation.Press accounts during the weekend quoted anonymous sources who maintained that the president and first lady were "seriously considering" filing for reimbursement, a statement that White House officials denied. They said the Clintons have not thought much about the issue, though they have not ruled it out.White House spokesman Joe Lockhart blamed "mischievous people" in the independent counsel's office for raising the issue long before the Clintons could apply for reimbursement.

Baltimore's Abell Foundation is making current and would-be Patterson Park homeowners an offer they might find hard to refuse. Starting in January, house buyers and owners will be able to enroll in a unique program that guarantees their property values will not decrease.Abell Foundation and community officials are banking on such an offer, found in only a handful of neighborhoods nationwide, to bolster area home sales and property values, which have slipped slightly in recent years. They were to announce the initiative today.

Maryland Del. Marilyn R. Goldwater, a Montgomery County Democrat, and Del. Barbara Frush, a Prince George's Democrat, JTC will talk about recent legislative developments pertaining to the prevention of osteoporosis, education about the disease and reimbursement of bone-density testing for the disease from 10 a.m. to noon tomorrow at a meeting of the Osteoporosis Awareness Group at Laurel Regional Hospital, 7300 Van Duesen Road, Laurel.The group meets quarterly. Admission is free. Light refreshments will be served.

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15.Q: I received tuition reimbursement this year as part of a graduate assistantship at the University of Maryland. Is this benefit taxed as income? Do I need to declare it as income on my 1040?A: Probably not, but it depends on a number of factors. Generally, employers cannot reimburse employees for graduate-level courses after June 1, 1996 (see IRC Section 127). There is an exception for teaching and research assistants at qualified institutions who are engaged in teaching or research activities for the institution.

If Carroll doesn't get a $2 million reimbursement from the state for construction work at Sandymount Elementary School, the county will have to trim its proposed capital budget, officials learned last night.State reimbursement early in May is "critical for local funding," Vernon Smith, director of school support services, told the County Commissioners last night at a hearing on the school board's proposed $43.7 million capital budget for fiscal 1999.A repair project at Eldersburg Elementary School and a proposed media center addition at Sykesville Middle School would be in jeopardy, Smith said, as would a new roof planned for North Carroll High School.

As the fish kill afflicting the lower Pocomoke River appeared to end yesterday, officials allowed watermen to briefly enter the 7-mile closed stretch to retrieve their gear.About six pulled in their traps, most of which were full, and dumped their catch overboard. As the fishermen and crabbers worked, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources decided reimburse them for their losses.For the past week, watermen have been hit hard by the closing of the river because they could neither sell their catch nor move their equipment from the Pocomoke to fish elsewhere.

The ambulance company owned by a Baltimore businessman who is a major contributor to Democratic campaigns has agreed to pay $1.475 million to resolve allegations it improperly billed Medicare and Medicaid for ambulance trips to doctors' offices, the U.S. attorney said yesterday.American Ambulance and Oxygen Co., which is owned by Willie Runyon, a political fund-raiser at the local, state and federal levels, acknowledged its submission of claims was not consistent with Medicare reimbursement policy, but otherwise denied the allegations and disputes that its claims were improper.

AFTER 40 HOURS of hospitalization with intravenous fluids, IV antibiotics and oxygen, I began to resume humanoid form. Perhaps the most salient evidence of this was that I began to worry, most specifically about the looming financial calamity of being self-employed and without income for an extended illness.My physician appeared, presumably to update my initial progress. Instead he told me that my health insurer's medical director had left a scorched-earth telephone message denying reimbursement for my hospital stay.

Proposals this week by the Clinton administration to trim federal Medicare reimbursement rates have area HMOs and hospitals worried, but teaching hospitals were encouraged by another element in the plan.If approved by Congress, the cuts could deflate profits in Medicare HMOs, which have been competing aggressively to sign up seniors. Medicare HMO enrollment in the state has quadrupled from about 10,000 in December 1995 to about 42,000 as of Jan. 1.Although Maryland hospitals are not directly affected by proposals to tighten Medicare hospital rates -- under Maryland's unique regulatory system, Medicare pays the rates set by a state commission rather than those set nationally -- hospitals still fear an effect.

Baltimore officials say they will not use federal stimulus funds for a rally to raise awareness of infant mortality after determining such spending would not be appropriate. Officials are seeking private donations for the event. The decision came after The Baltimore Sun reported that the city planned to spend $17,828.50 in federal money on food and party rentals for a "Fit Family Festival & Rally for Healthy Babies" scheduled for Saturday in Clifton Park. The party, sponsored by the city health department, is expected to cost a total of $40,000, and all of those funds were to have come from the city's share of stimulus grants.

With his contribution of $1,000 to the Baltimore Police Department's mounted unit and his reimbursement of $300 to the department, has Del. Jon Cardin done enough to atone for his marriage proposal stunt that involved a fake police raid? Yes 40% No 60% (965 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Is it proper for President Barack Obama to give a speech broadcast to public school students nationwide? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

Most Maryland auto dealers participating in "Cash for Clunkers" have yet to be reimbursed by the federal government, raising concerns about the financial pressure the program is putting on dealers. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it is working overtime to process an overwhelming number of claims and trying to make sure that taxpayer money is paid out only for legitimate transactions. The Car Allowance Rebate System, better known as Cash for Clunkers, offers $3,500 or $4,500 to consumers who scrap a gas-guzzler and buy a more fuel-efficient new vehicle.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- After the United States has spent more than $5 billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani military campaign against militants from al-Qaida and the Taliban, some American officials now acknowledge that there were too few controls over how the money was spent, and that the strategy to improve the Pakistani military needs to be completely revamped. In interviews in Islamabad and Washington, officials in the U.S. military and in the Bush administration said they believed that much of the American money was not making its way to front-line Pakistani units.

A new state task force set out yesterday to determine if there is a problem with physician reimbursement and, if so whether it is affecting the availability of doctors in the state. Its findings could spotlight what so far has been primarily a simmering issue between doctors and insurers. For years, the state's doctors have complained that they're being underpaid by insurance companies. The Maryland Health Care Commission estimated that Maryland is in the bottom quarter of states nationally in how much doctors are paid for each unit of service.

For a vacation to Italy in June, Dominique Linchet had packed everything she thought her family of four would need when they arrived: toiletries, bathing suits, dental retainers. But when they stepped off their Alitalia flight in Rome, the suitcases they had checked were missing. After filing a claim with the airline and being reassured by an Alitalia employee that they would be reimbursed for half of the expenses incurred because of the delay, the family frantically shopped for bare necessities.

As summer approaches and travelers plunk down nonrefundable deposits to secure their vacation plans, many will inevitably be pressed -- or at least invited -- to purchase travel insurance. But is it really worth it? Some travelers don't think so, having taken trip after trip without any problems, or, because of some exclusion, found out they weren't covered when they thought they were. Others have been relieved to be reimbursed for lost airfare and hotel fees when illness or some other misfortune unexpectedly kept them home.

What does the future hold for my shares of Humana Inc.? - K.C., via Internet Recent success of the large health insurer is tied to its strong commitment to Medicare and its ability to capitalize on changes in that system. Membership in its Medicare Advantage prescription-drug plans exceeded 1 million in 2006, an 80 percent increase for the year. An additional 100,000 members joined during January. Shares of Humana (HUM) are up 8 percent this year after gains of 2 percent last year and 83 percent in 2005.

Editor's note: Every Tuesday through the end of tax season, The Sun will run an edited transcript of Baltimoresun.com's weekly tax-advice column featuring three experts from the Hunt Valley accounting firm SC&H Group. My husband and I reside in Texas. I have a daughter that attended a university in Virginia after graduating from high school in 2006 and resided in the dorm. She worked a [part-time] job (two, to be exact) for a short while in Virginia during the year 2006. My husband and I are unsure if we can claim her as a dependent since she lived in the dorm.

Anyone writing a text on abuse of power ought to include an entry on the Ehrlich administration's handling of Stephen P. Amos. This week, Mr. Amos was reimbursed for $193,194 in legal bills he amassed defending himself from charges that he misused a federal grant back when he ran the governor's crime control office under Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s predecessor. He was never charged with profiting from the grant. What was alleged was that he had essentially used federal money to pay the salaries of staffers who were political operatives of then-Lt.