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Art, et al..... I caught the segment of "48 Hours" you're referring to and found it was well done and factual (as far as I could tell). However, it referred to the patient as someone who was actually seeking relief from terrible 24-hour-a-day PAIN, and it seemed as tho the tremor was a secondary problem. It was stated that the DBS was performed at one of the many Kaiser Los Angeles facilities tho no specific L.A. area Kaiser was named, (there's several full-service Kaiser facilities in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area). None the less, it should be pretty easy for a Kaiser member to pinpoint which Kaiser facility the surgery was performed at. I found it interesting that the Kaiser formulary apparently covers their insured for DBS if a patient suffers from TREMOR, but *NOT* if a patient suffers _ONLY_ FROM PAIN. So someone might have the most awful, all encompassing pain in the world (and it sounds like that's exactly what this patient lived with!), but unless there was an accompanying TREMOR such a surgery would NOT be available for the chronic pain victim. At no time during the broadcast was a CAUSE, i.e., such as Parkinson's or one of the other diseases, syndromes, conditions, etc., known to cause tremor ever mentioned. As a Medicare subscriber who's assigned my monthly Medicare payments to Kaiser, I wonder if my $3 per visit/procedure, I'd be curious to know if I'd only pay $3 to have a DBS.... Now THAT would be a real bargain!!! Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Arthur Hirsch <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Thursday, March 04, 1999 3:23 PM Subject: 48 Hours, Tonight: Pain Killers >I have been advised that there will be Parkinson's content on the CBS show >"48 Hours" tonight, 4 March, which airs 10:00 PM Eastern and Pacific, 9:00 >PM Central. > >Jacob Chokiewitz, M.D., stereotactic neurosurgeon, will be featured in a >segment on some of the newest treatments and latest surgical techniques he >uses to treat chronic pain and tremor, including Parkinson's tremor. > >Some of those people on the list who can pick up CBS may want to watch this >show. > >Art >