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ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Tuesday, December 7, 2004
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St. Louis to Receive Additional $15 Million in Homeland Security Funds
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) December 5, 2004 - Missouri will receive more than $46 million from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to increase homeland security throughout the state, including funds for Missouri's two major urban centers.
In an announcement, U.S. Senator Kit Bond said, "It is critical that we remain vigilant in the War on Terror. This funding will help boost Missouri's preparedness and continue our efforts to prevent and defend against terrorist strikes in the heartland.
Missouri will receive a total $46,951,640 in fiscal year 2005 funds from DHS, $31,697,775 as part of the Homeland Security grants program to fund first responders and support state and local resources necessary to prevent, respond and recover from acts of terrorism and other disasters.
As part of the DHS's Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), Missouri's two major urban centers, Kansas City and St. Louis, will receive $15,253,865. Kansas City will receive $8,213,126 and St. Louis will receive $7,040,739.
The UASI provides additional resources to areas with greater security needs based on a formula that considers a number of factors including population and population density; critical infrastructure; threat information; formal mutual aid cooperation; and law enforcement investigations and enforcement activity.
On Friday, December, President George W. Busch announced Bernard Kerik as his nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security to succeed Secretary Tom Ridge.
"My nominee to succeed Secretary Ridge has the background and the passion that are needed to protect our citizens," stated President Bush. "As police commissioner on September the 11th, 2001, Bernie Kerik arrived at the World Trade Center minutes after the first plane hit. He was there when the Twin Towers collapsed. He knew the faces of the rescuers who rushed toward danger. He attended the funeral of the officers who didn't come back. Bernie Kerik understands the duties that came to America on September the 11th. The resolve he felt that morning will guide him every day on his job. And every first responder defending our homeland will have a faithful ally in Bernie Kerik."
Missouri to Share in Settlement From a Health Care Company
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) December 5, 2004 - Missouri has reached an agreement in principle to receive a share of a $15 million settlement from a health care company that engaged in improper billing practices for dialysis services to patients on Medicaid in 44 states.
The agreement was concurrent with Gambro Healthcare Inc. - a company with head offices in Nashville and Denver - settling a $310 million civil claim with the federal government. In addition, Gambro Healthcare's sister company, Gambro Supply Corp., entered a guilty plea in federal court in St. Louis to a felony charge of making a false statement to the Medicare program. Gambro Supply Corp. will pay a $25 million criminal fine.
Under the agreement in principle, an additional $15 million will be shared by Missouri and 43 other states with claims under Medicaid, a health care program for low-income individuals that is administered on the state level.
Attorney General Jay Nixon's office was part of the negotiating team that obtained the $15 million agreement. Over the next several weeks, a determination will be made regarding how much of that agreement each state will receive.
"Missouri's Medicaid program was put in place as a safety net for those individuals who find themselves without medical care. For a company to steal from that program for their own financial gain is tantamount to stealing from the church poor box," Nixon said. "I am pleased that several states were able to join forces to resolve this issue and return these funds for the purpose for which they were intended."
New Tax Compliance System Projected to Recover Millions of Dollars
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com) December 5, 2004 - The State of Missouri has selected Teradata, a division of NCR Corporation, to be its partner in the development of its new Tax Compliance System, using Teradata(R) Tax Solutions. The benefits-based partnership between the public and private sectors is projected to recover millions of dollars in additional revenue for Missouri.
"We selected Teradata because of its proven track record in benefits-based tax compliance systems," said Stan Farmer, Missouri Department of Revenue director of taxation and collection. "Our new Tax Compliance System has been designed to improve compliance in the business and individual income tax, sales tax and corporate/franchise tax areas."
The benefits-based partnership means that Teradata will be compensated based on additional revenue recovered by the State of Missouri. Documented results by other states using Teradata Tax Solutions show recovery of millions of dollars in additional income. For example, the State of Iowa recovered over $40 million in additional revenue as of June 2004, a one-thousand percent return on investment, with $10 million a year in recovered revenue expected going forward.
"We are confident that this new program for Missouri will experience the same success Teradata has produced for Iowa and other states, such as Arizona and Texas," said Rocky Blanton, Teradata vice president for the Americas. "We are proud to be selected for this important partnership between the public and private sectors, in which both have the opportunity to benefit - a true win-win for both Missouri and Teradata."
Teradata has helped state governments to discover thousands of non-compliant individual and business taxpayers, optimize enforcement resources, improve access to information to better equip state case workers and better serve taxpayers as well as to reduce the effects on compliant citizens.
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