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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
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GUEST COLUMN
Pay close attention to avoid being overcharged
By Rep. Paul Anderson
I had first-hand experience this month when paying bills with a practice that left me wondering. After paying the same amount for phone service with my local company for many months, the bill just received was about $15 higher than normal. After examining the bill’s content, it appeared I was being charged by another company I had never heard of for voice-mail service. That seemed strange because I was already receiving that service from my local phone company.
After consulting with local telephone personnel, I called the 800 number of this new addition to my bill. The lady on the other end of the line, who was difficult to understand, said that they had a record of me approving the service. I replied that was simply not possible, because I was already getting that service and wouldn’t want to pay for it twice. “Just a minute,” she said, “while I talk with my supervisor.” When she finally came back on the line, I was told that the service would be cancelled and a credit issued within three months.
I don’t know how often this type of thing happens, but the lesson here is to check your bills to make sure it isn’t happening to you. If one just assumes a monthly bill has increased, it may be the result of a similar situation. Personal information is relatively easy to get these days, and one may be giving approval to something without realizing it.
A recent article in the Mankato Free Press gives details of a new $8.8 million forensic nursing home at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center sitting unused. A year after construction was finished on the facility, meant to house aging convicts and sex offenders, and eight months after an official ribbon-cutting celebration, it’s still unable to open.
The reason? As many as two dozen Health Dept. and 14 fire code citations. One has to wonder who was in charge of construction at this state facility, especially when one of the violations is for a hallway that’s too narrow---by less than two inches. That’s right, a hallway in one of the building’s wings needs to be eight feet wide, and it came up 1 ½ inches short. Officials are busy negotiating who will pay for the job of removing and re-constructing one wall of the hallway.
The House Health Care and Human Services Finance Division will be holding a series of meetings in Greater Minnesota to learn what is or isn’t working with the new GAMC program. The meetings will give hospital administrators and staff, along with clinics, social service agencies, and others the opportunity to tell the committee how they are implementing the new program, designed to serve the healthcare needs of Minnesota’s most needy residents. The first of these meeting is (was) scheduled for St. Cloud the morning of July 12.
A hot and steamy Fourth of July weekend produced welcome rains over much of the area. To get moisture this time of year without severe weather is most fortunate. The corn crop will be tassling soon, and wheat harvest is just weeks away. We are fortunate in this immediate area to have missed storms as close as Wadena causing much damage. Enjoy what’s left of summer, because pretty soon it'll be back to school and football games on Friday night.
—30—
Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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