This Week In Black History , inventor u r re irun pr ce , w born. 1 17 - J Pol n d t r, B p t i Churchman, born. Which [am ou hall' board denied Marian Ander on and Hazel Scott the right to perform be­ cau e of color? MARCH 19, 1 72 - T.J. Boyd patent ap- paratus detaching hor e from c rrla . 1919 - Herb rt i hoi', trum­ wa. b r n. 1624 - m fu k r , ftr t hild born in the US chri t ned at Jame town, VA, Name the thre prates­ tant church groups which first accepted B lack in large numbers, MARCH 20, 18 - J n MatzeUnger patents hoe­ lasting machine. 1914 - John L ngford, lawyer, was born. Were freed slaves given- 40 acres and a mule at the close of the Civil War? MARCH 21, 1965 - Martin Luther King .Jr. lead thousands of marchers from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. 1918 - ir Charle Thomp 'on, saxophonist, was born. Where and when were the first slaves settled in the US? MARCH 22, 189 J.W. Smith patcnts the lawn sprinklcr. 1919-­ Charles Ch r-Is t iu n. gui tarist, was born, Which Black s i en u st developed the camera/spec­ tograph for the Apollo 1 (j space flight? MARCH 23, 1873 - Siaveryaholi hed in Puer­ to Rico. 1943 - Lee May, basebal1 player, W8 "b·o'hi." , How many Black jockeys 'ilave been Kentucky Derby . ? winners, ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS March 17 to 23 17th - They were al­ most universally Republican - the party of Abraham Lincoln. 18th - Constitution Hall in WaShington, DC, controlled by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). 19th Baptists, Methodist, and Pres­ byterians, 20th - No. It was a , rumor, but based upon (act, in that such a request was . made of the government by congressman Char le Sum­ mer of Mas achu ells. 21st -. In what later be­ came the US, slave were in South Carolina in 1526 along the bank of the Pee Dee River - Tidewater country. 22nd - George E. Car­ ruthers. 23 - Fourteen between 1875 and 1902. . Clack calls for �ights Bill • State Representative Floyd �lack (D-Flint) has intro­ duced a resolution calling on �ongress to enact a federal oivil rights bill, aying it would be e pecially p­ propriate for returning D sert Storm troops to have in­ creased assuranc of equality Ut employment, housin and other areas. • "A disproportionate num­ ber of front Hnc tr op in the lersian Gulf conflict were ftlinorities," Clack said. "We Dwe them more than a parade and a handshake. We owe them meaningful jobs and op­ portunitie , a safe, afforda Ie place to live and freedom from discriminatory policies - nd practice ." • The bil'l before Congre's would not put an end to all Vestige of di crimination. the Flint tate repre entative ·aid but it would help move ,he nation ahead. , i ne fi­ cho r­ o ve r no r ' chief dvi e r. "It i id commen- t ry th t people h to pend o mu h bo unc m g b c nd forth between progr m ." horn aid th t the time it t people 8 they arc huf led be tw en different pro r m y omething bout the current ize of t te gov rnm nr, and that the ad­ mini tr at io n will try to reduce t he onfu ion by creating foc I 'poi nt . "We're trong believer in one- top hopping for e r­ vice . tt h added. One of the i ue i that the tate ha a y tern, or lack of a sy tern, of epar te, elf­ contained program that have no regard or how they inter­ act with other program, aid Harry Smith, pre ident of the . National Rehabilitation A - sociation. ttl don't think we fully un­ der tand the magnitude of the lawyer tac "We w a te � t r e m e n d u amount of money th way we do thi ng now." added Gam­ botto, who i al 0 a member of the Mtc higan Commi ion on Handic pper Concern . With attempts to reduce the size of the bureaucracy be- Doctor , leaving the state becau e of the fear of being sued and Michigan's high in ur a nc c co t. LANSING-A the roop in the Persian Gulf get ready to MICHIGAN RANKS third come home. people may begin for liability insurance rates to hear about another battle as for .o b s te t r l c i a ns and doctors andJawyers prepare gynecologist. who pay al- to fight over the issue of most $80,000 per year for in- medical liability and surance. This cost i then negligence. passed to health care con- Both organizations, the surne rs. Mic.hig.an Trial Lawyers As- ,.ll�t J nc Bailey, executive . s o c ta u cn (M.'FLA) nd th.c.' d ir e c to r of. the MTLA, said Mi�h' ,'t t� ..... e . al:,) that report of doctors leaving Society (MSMS), are about to Michigan arc false. Referring wage a full-scale media war to a 1990 study by the Office to convince Mi c h i g a n r cs i- of Health and Medical Af- dent and the Legislature to fairs, Michigan Department sup ort their cause. of Management and Budget, Medical profe io na ls are the state has 60 percent more proclaiming there is a crisis, phystcians than it did 20 years With outrageous l a suits ago, Bailey said. c a u ing increa ed insurance "It' not Shortage problem. rates and higher medical cost. It is a distribution problem," Attorneys s ay there is no Bailey aid, "Doctor are crisis, but tl at doctors are leaving the urban areas where trying to get the Legislature you've got poor people on to pass bi l ls that will protect Medicaid. They're leaving doctors and their incomes. and going to the suburbs Dr. Susan Hershberg Adel- where thc y 've got rich people man, president MSMS, said with private insurance." that about 61 percent of the One problem is that doctors tate's medical residents arc arc having troubl� staying in By DENNIS MANSFIELD Capital Ntw Service Legi lature e'yes liability reform by HEATHER L. HARRIS Capital News Service ANSINO -Michigan resi­ dent may be on the verge of lower health care co t a the tate Legi laturc turns it at­ tention to the problem of liabilit}' reform. "There' no reason the Legi lature can't get moving right now on th problem," Gov. Engler said. "There's no reason it can't be done early." "The governor want to put together a package of bills on liability reform to introduce into the Legislature this spring or ummer," said John Tlu coat Engler's press ·ccretary. "It is a huge deter­ rent to hu iness in Michigan." A bill wa introduced in the enate at the end of January "hich would put a cap of $225,000 on award for non! c�onomic damage and 10 S. The bill currently reside in the judiciary committee. "In general, Michigan has the wor t climate in the country (regarding liability)," said Pat FOley, a spoke per- on for �he Michigan Ho pital' A ociation. arbitration and mediation for liabi ll ty clai ms, place a cap on awards for non-economic damages and place a ceiling on contingency fees for lawyers. in liability cases, he aid. Currently, lawyers usually receive about 33 percent of each liability award, Foley said. " T h, e p I a i n t iff r are t y recover 50 percent of the award," Foley said. "It's not a very efficient system." MiChigan has the third highest liability iinsurance premium in the nation for obstetricians and gyneCOlogist. according to an October survey by the MiChigan State Medical Society. Only Florida and New York rank higher. Physicians are able to write their professional liability premi ums off on their income taxes as a business expe nse, however, a�cording to the society. Judith Allen, a spokesper­ son for Sen. Dan DeGrow' (R-Port Huron).office aid Sen. DeGrow is currently working on drafts which cover what' not in the bill introduced in January. The d raft also conta in cap on attorney fees, he said. Allen said he expects .the draft to be fini hed in a couple of weeks. FQLEY SAID LIABILITY co t are the greatest propor­ ti n of ho pital expen es. The MHA is lobbying for legi lation which would cre­ ate an out-of-court y tern of i not n t r p dd d. Smith dded cut will only "e the problem. H . id the i u of "need" get confu ed ith "dollar availability" becau. e of how progr m re en ct d and be au e 0 f t he I c k 0 coordination, m king thing "even more in ne ." "We haven't dealt with the i ue of need (when I okrng at budget cut )", Smith aid. "We've d alt with the i sue dollar availahility. Tho e arc different thing ." Budget cut ould com- pound the problem because "the way the Legi lature look' at (cuts) i very com­ partmentalized it elf," Smith aid. Lc gi lator may not un­ d ,e r tan d how a bud get cut H I 0 e rvlce 1- read yin place to a i 1 hand­ icapper find the help they nc d. The commi ion on Handi pp r Concern, with thc D partment of Labor, ha reated a toll-free number called the "Action Ability Line" a a ingle entry point for information. Patrick Cannon, executive director, said the agency has received more than 500 call per month on the toll-free number, 1-800 SAY-ABLE, which ha been in operation for mor than a year. t, 'no -ing what's available to you is important," Cannon off over liability bu iness in areas with a high number of patients on Medicaid, aid Da v i-d Fox, chief of media relations for MSMS. Fox aid there is a problem in certain, arc as of the state. such a the inner­ ci ty of De trol r, wi th high con­ centrations of Medicaid patients where doctor reim­ bursement i only 40 cents on the dollar. "Physicians can't justify paying the in.urance rate . they do to make a practice work there and literally go out of business," he added. NOT ONLY ARE medical residcnts leaving Mtchtga n, but practicing physicians are retiring c a r l i c r hcfore they Families get "that one big law suit" filed again t them, Fox said. According to Bailey, the MSMS loves it when the press write tories about large set­ tlements in medical malprac­ tice uits so the doctor's 10bbYI ts can run to the Legis­ lature and cry that the system i out of control, -b ut tbat in reality multi-million dollar law uit are an Oddity. .Bc twc c n 1986 and 1989, there w c r c .4.000 m d ic 1 I I i a b II it Y cas e , wit h 0 n t'y t h r e emu It i - m fIr ion do lIa rs 1 a \\ sui t b c i n g up he I d. B a i ley said. Fox di puted that claim and s a id that in urance companies are cttling out of court be­ cause of the uncertainty of a m lion." Cre tin a in Ie e try • point for iformatlon or er­ vices I not a ne idea. T Department of Social Ser- vice u ed to i n one per- on per c se , ho ould do every thin needed to be done for th t client. "It' h rd for one perso to e e p tr c of 11 t progr ms, he id. "It ain't frivolou deci Ion