The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 06, 1975, Image 1

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thursday, march 6, 1975
lincoln, nebraska vol. 98 no. 93
Sparks: $3 million essential
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ByRonWylie
The University of Nebraska
Medic J Center (UNMC) took
its turn in front of the
Unicameral's Appropriations
Committee Wednesday in the
third day of university budget
hearings,
UNMC Chancellor Robert
Sparks asked legislators to
provide more than" $2,000,000
for general hospital
expenditures and another
$1 ,000,000 for new equipment
and renovations.
Sparks said the center
erved as a critical laboratory
for Nebraska and provided the
same high-quality medical care
as any hospital its size.
Along' with its learning
program and its experimenta
tion in new types of treatment,
Sparks said the medical center
provided a valuable community
service by taking patients with
little or no money. The UNMC
was a last resort for many, he
said.
Good quality
"We're talking about
running a good quality hospital
as well as an institution of
learning here," Sparks said.
"People depend on us, and if
.we're not adequately funded, I
don't know what those people
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Photo by Kevin Kiglsy
Dr. Robert Sparks, chancellor of the University of Nebraska
Medical Center
UNMC chancellor put
on spot at Unicameral
Dr. Robert Sparks, University of Nebraska Medical Center
chancellor, may have discovered Wednesday how difficult it is to
make a presentation before the Nebraska Unicameral's
Appropriations Committee.
Committee members took nothing Sparks said for granted,
constantly asking for exact percentages and figures, sometimes
ignoring Sparks' earlier mention of them.
Lincoln Sen. Shirley Marsh questioned the discounts allowed
staff members on medical bills at UNMC; Sparks said the
discounting method is similar to those used at many hospitals.
Sparks said funds are needed because of the high number of
nonpayment cases incurred by UNMC. Sen. Robert Clark of Sidney
reminded Sparks that all hospitals have nonpayment cases, ignoring
Sparks's statement that -UNMC has a greater percentage of
non-payment cases than the average hospital.
Sen. John Savage of Omaha said he hoped UNMC would get
additional requested funds, but he said he couldn't predict the
likelihood of approval until the committee meets in executive
session.
Salary increases and the funds they will require will be the main
issue for approval or disapproval of spending hikes, Marsh said.
Committee Chairman Richard Marvel perhaps best summed up
Sparks's position at the hearing. Sparks was being questioned by
Marsh on a point that he had no figures on.
"You're putting me on the spot there," Sparks said.
"That's the purpose of these hearings," Marvel said.
John Dean to address
Omaha audience Friday
John Dean, former counsel to Richard Nixon, will speak Friday
at 8:30 p.m. in Omaha at the Civic Auditorium Music Hall.
Admission for students is $2.50 with student identification.
General admission is $4. Dean's speech is sponsored by the Student
Programming Organization of the University of Nebraska at
Omaha.
are going to do."
Declaring that the
equipment and renovation
request was a non-recurring
expense, Sparks said the
budget items were essential for
maintaining a modem hospital.
The legislative fiscal analyst
staff recommended $250,000
for UNMC's general hospital
fund, ten percent of the
amount requested by the
administrators. Staff members
told Sparks that state taxes
should aid the center only with
items which could not be
financed by hospital fees.
Low-income
Sparks countered the staff
proposal with illustrations of
medical center help to
low-income families in the
Omaha area.
"UNMC accepts patients,
and we know they aren't going
to be able to pay from the day
they arrive," Sparks said,
adding that the center also
made special agreements with
state agencies to provide
services beyond a person's
ability to pay.
Sidney Sen. Robert Clark
questioned Sparks' system of
bill collection. "You don't
pursue collections with
diligence," he said, "because
you know you can turn to the
state legislature to help you
out."
Program threatened
UNMC's Continuing
Education in Nursing program
is also threatened by budget
cuts, and Sparks asked for
restoration of funds for
continued expansion of the
center's program in nursing and
pharmacy.
Sparks said a projected 48
per cent expansion was needed
over the next five years.
Appealing for full funding
for UNMC's programs, Sparks
said, "We have 43 services we
offer right now, and if we're
not adequately funded, we will
have to cut back on our
services."
Thursday, the last day of
Appropriations hearings on
university budgets, the
legislators will hear testimony
on funding for the State
University of Nebraska (SUN),
computer services, and data
systems.
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Thomas Wolfe, author and journalist
Wolfe: basic drive
is status-seeking
Status-seeking is the most basic drive in every individual, Tom
Wolfe, author and journalist, said in an interview Wednesday.
The results of this status-seeking include class conflict, violence
and the current rash of hostage-taking crimes, he said.
Class and status resentment exist in the lower class, according to
Wolfe, because the lower class wants something it doesn't have, and
the upper class has it.
The only result of this conflict is a form of ceremonial,
symbolic violence, he said, which is not intended to seize power,
but is a highly elaborate form of "thumbing their noses" at the
upper class.
Opening a Symposium on the Future sponsored by the Union
Program Council, Wolfe earlier spoke to an overflow crowd in the
Union Ballroom on "Class Conflict and Violence in America's
Future."
In his speech, Wolfe said that young people are becoming more
and more intensely aware of.class conflict, but less and less willing
to admit it.
According to Wolfe, there is pressure among students to act as if
there is no difference between them and the working class, but he
said this attempt "comes across as very phony."
He said there may be no way to ever bridge the class gap
because it may be an inevitable part of society.
The same status-seeking which leads to class violence also leads
to hostage-taking as "the Perfect Crime of the 1970's," Wolfe said.
He said that fame is more important than money today, because
it is proof of status and importance. It is the publicity the
hostage-taker wants, and, according to Wolfe, it is the publicity
which gives him the power to have his demands met.
Wolfe, who said he has called himself a journalist ever since a
biography he wrote came back from the publisher reading "author;
journalist," is a member of a growing profession referred to as
"new journalism."
New journalism is a development in which writers of non-fiction
use every effective device known to prose fiction while still
observing standards of accuracy, according to Wolfe.
Until recently, made-up stories were the only source for people
to get certain sides of life, he said, particularly the psychological
and social sides.
With the advent of the non-fiction novel, he said, they not only
see those sides of life, but they have the additional knowledge that
the scenes, dialogue and characters are real.
Cohen: social plans growing
By Mary Kay Roth
Within five years everyone in the United
States will be covered under a national insurance
plan, Wilbur Cohen, former Secretary of Health,
Education and Welfare, said Wednesday.
A revolution in social welfare legislation is
evolving out of the present recession, Cohen said,
and national insurance is only a part of the new
era.
Cohen spoke at a news conference and speech
session in the Nebraska Union Wednesday
afternoon.
He compared today with the 1930s
depression, when he said the entire
government-citizen relationship was changed.
In the 1930s, Cohen said, self-sustaining
people admitted they needed government aid. As
a result, he said, social security, welfare and
private pensions were started.
In the same way, Cohen stated, people who
thought they were reasonably well off five years
ago are now willing to go along with increased
social welfare legislation.
Cohen said the U.S. is moving toward a
"human service oriented society.' This new
emphasis on the human quality of life, he
continued, may result in legislation such as
national health insurance, social security reform,
day care centers and guaranteed annual incomes.
When Medicare was approved in 1965, Cohen
said, a major obstacle ,in health care was
overcome. Those who claimed that Medicare
would bring regimentation of doctors and
patients were proven wrong, he said.
"Now we're down to the nitty gritty of the
problem;" Cohen said, "answering questions of
how to finance and administer a national health
care program-how to make it work."
The national health insurance bill that will be
passed probably hasn't been introduced yet,
.because a compromise will be necessary, he said.
He said more than ten bills have been introduced
in Congress to deal with health insurance
programs.
Cohen recommended a step-by-step approach
to national health insurance, because he said it
will affect so many people-four to five million
in the health profession, including 7,000
physicians.
"Compared to the implications this program
will make," he predicted, "D-Day on the
Normandy beaches will look like a minor
managerial problem."