Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "One of the first defenses against improper Medicare billings is the screening of applications from providers seeking to participate in the program. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) operates and manages the Medicare program and, with help from insurance companies, reviews provider applications to determine whether providers meet Medicare requirements and if there is a reason to suspect that providers' future Medicare billings would be improper. GAO found that HCFA's current provider enrollment process does not completely ensure that dishonest and unqualified providers are prevented from obtaining Medicare billing privileges. GAO suggests consolidating provider enrollment tasks with fewer contractors to strengthen HCFA's ability to oversee these contractors and enhance the efficiency of the enrollment process. HCFA is implementing several changes to its provider enrollment processes that may make it more difficult for dishonest providers to enroll in Medicare; however, delays in implementing these initiatives will also postpone their benefits."

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Validity of section 661.063, Government Code, with regard to payment for vacation balances accrued prior September 1, 1997 (RQ-0246-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether, under section 10 of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License Law, Tex. Re. Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 8861 (Vernon Supp. 2000), a manufacturer, retailer, rebuilder, or installer of manufactured homes must be licensed or regsitered in order to purchase refrigerants (RQ-0252-JC)

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Warren Elder. Elder joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1941. In March, he deployed to the Philippines, and was stationed at Clark Field. After the attack on the Philippines, Elder served as a gunner in defending Bataan and Corregidor, surrendering to the Japanese in May of 1942. He was captured and held a prisoner of war at Bilibid Prison and Cabanatuan Camp, until liberated in early 1945. He returned to the US, and continued his service until retirement in 1961.