Patt Morrison for Wednesday, February 29, 2012

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:39: OPEN

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Would you prefer your tax refund on a debit card?

South Carolina will be sending residents their state income tax refunds on a prepaid debit card this year. The change is expected to save the state up to $1 million in printing and mailing costs, but Bank of American, which will issue the cards, looks like it will be the biggest winner of all. That’s because the arrangement allows the bank to charge card users fees as high as $10 per transaction. Unlike normal debit cards attached to bank accounts, there are no caps on the fees banks can charge. Should California consider a similar cost-cutting move?

 

Guests:

TBD

2:06 – 2:30:00

Dining out with dogs – rule changes mean you can bring your four-legged friends
Americans love their dogs – as of 2012, there are 78.2 million dogs with owners in the United States. Americans also love to eat out - getting between 4 and 5 meals per week at from restaurants or other commercial food establishments.  And now diners with dogs in Los Angeles County will be able to bring their four-legged dining companions along when they visit their favorite restaurant – provided the restaurant has a patio. The new rule change will allow restaurants to decide whether to allow dogs on their patios; the old guidelines allowed dogs in outdoor seating areas, but only when there wasn’t a fence around the al fresco dining area. Municipalities with their own health departments, including Pasadena, Long Beach and Vernon have their own statues and are exempt from the new guidelines. One could argue that dogs are better-behaved than some humans at restaurants, so why has Fido been traditionally prohibited? Would you be more or less likely to patronize a restaurant that allowed dogs? 

Guest: TBD

 

 

2:30:00 – 2:58:30

Medical tourism: need a root canal? Head to Mexico.

Imagine living in a country where 62 percent of bankruptcies are the result of high medical costs, even though 80 percent of the defaulters were originally insured.  Where it makes more sense to fly to an entirely different country, thousands to tens of thousands of miles away, than to stay and be treated at home.  Well, welcome to the United States. Every year, more Americans turn to so-called “medical tourism” companies to help them find less expensive ways of getting their health needs met.  For Lasik?  Try Costa Rica.  Hip surgery?  It’s gotta be Thailand or India, which is exactly where guest Phyllis Katz found herself towards the end of 2009.  Ms. Katz  joins Patt to discuss her decision to travel seven thousand miles for a double hip-replacement, the outcome, and the resulting book, “Hipwrecked.”  Have you ever made the decision to leave the country for health care?  Do you think you could afford to cover a major surgery?

 

Guests: Phyllis Katz, writer, actor, improv teacher, acting coach, and author of “Hipwrecked”; founder, former director, and current board member of Los Angeles’ Groundlings theatre

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lauren Osen

Southern California Public Radio - 89.3 KPCC

626-583-5173 / 626-483-5278

losen@scpr.org @Patt_Morrison