Latest news with #Kodiak
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kodiak man sentenced to one year in prison over illegal transport of Alaska crab to Washington
A tanner crab is seen in this undated photo. A Kodiak man has been sentenced to jail for illegally transporting Alaska crab out of state. (Photo provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service) A Kodiak fisher has been sentenced to spend a year in jail for illegally shipping thousands of pounds of tanner crab, much of it infected with a parasitic disease, out of Alaska to Washington state, federal officials said. The fisherman, Corey Potter, was also sentenced to two years' supervised release following his jail term, during which he will be barred from commercial fishing anywhere in the world, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The investigation was led by NOAA Fisheries' Office of Law Enforcement. The sentence was imposed on May 13 by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess in Anchorage. The case concerns tanner and Golden king crab harvested in 2024 in Southeast Alaska. Potter owned two vessels, one of them captained by his son, Kyle Potter, and the other by employee Justin Welch. Rather than unload the crab catch in Alaska, as is required by state law, the three men kept the live crab in the vessels and took the catch to Washington state, passing through Canadian waters along the way. The motivation was to fetch higher prices for their catch, according to prosecutors' documents. At the time, according to evidence presented in court documents, the men knew that a large proportion of the catch was infested with Bitter Crab Syndrome, a parasitic disease that usually kills the crabs and renders their meat inedible. Bitter Crab Syndrome is not toxic for people, but infected crab meat can be bitter and eating it is likened to chewing on aspirin. That evidence included text messages from other Alaska fishers who cautioned Potter and his son against bringing infested crab to market, with one expressing concerns that their actions would hurt the reputation and marketability of all Alaska crab. Bitter Crab Syndrome affects numerous species, and it is considered a possible contributor to the crash of Bering Sea snow crab and king crab stocks that led to an unprecedented string of harvest closures between 2021 and 2024. The main reason for the stock crashes, scientists believe, was the warmth in the habitat, which led to crab starvation. In the years leading up to the fishery closures, however, there was an increase in Bitter Crab Syndrome. The disease is linked to warming waters and climate change, according to scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Kyle Potter and Welch pleaded guilty last year. In October, Kyle Potter was sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine; Welch was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. Ultimately, the loads of crab they delivered never made it to any market. They were seized by Washington state law enforcement officers and deemed unfit for sale or consumption. Of the Golden king crab, 42% of the catch was dead upon arrival; of the tanner crab, so much was infested that the entire load was disposed of in a landfill, federal officials said. Potter pleaded guilty in February to two counts of violating the Lacey Act, the federal law that concerns transport of wildlife and fish across state lines. Prosecutors identified him as the leader of the scheme and therefore requested heavier penalties. Potter, in a presentencing memorandum, asked for probation rather than jail time, arguing that his long career of fishing in Alaska has now ended and that at the age of 64, he is now financially ruined. 'As a result of last year's terrible crabbing season, which included the instant offense conduct, he has been financially destroyed. One of the boats involved in this offense was foreclosed on, and the other is believed to have been seized by the state. He has been reduced to relying upon family for assistance and has no viable means to support himself,' the May 6 defense memo said. But prosecutors, who argued for 18 months imprisonment, said actions with the diseased crab fit Potter's yearslong pattern of sloppy maintenance and unsafe behavior. In their presentencing report, also filed on May 6, prosecutors listed numerous past problems with the vessels Potter owned. They have been cited for chronically leaking oil, broken down at sea – requiring crew members to be rescued – and sunk in different sites, the report said. 'The defendant's track record as a vessel operator in Alaska is abysmal. He has shown a total disregard for the safety of his crew, the safety of Alaskan waterways, and the health of the marine environment,' the prosecutors' presentencing report said. Yet to be determined is the amount of restitution that Potter will be ordered to pay for the trafficked crab. The government is seeking $187,187 in restitution. A hearing on that subject is set for July 15.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Alaska schools need teachers. They're hiring them from the Philippines.
Serjoe Gutierrez plays violin with the Kodiak High School Orchestra during warm ups (Photo by Brian Venua/KMXT) Alaska schools are hiring teachers from the Philippines amid a massive national shortage. It's the latest wave of immigrants from Southeast Asia to come to the state. This is part one of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska, by KMXT and breaks down how and why those teachers are here, as well as what it means for both Alaska, and the island nation. Serjoe Gutierrez stood above the Kodiak High School Orchestra, violin in hand, as students rifled through their sheet music for pieces like 'The Barber of Seville' and 'Canyon Sunset.' Gutierrez often plays with his students instead of conducting them. Gutierrez, who was born and raised in the Philippines, was in his fifth year of teaching there when he decided he wanted to try to work in another country. 'I think it's time for me to come out of my comfort zone, explore a lot of opportunities, since I'm still young,' he said. Alaska wasn't high on his list. Kodiak barely made it on his radar. 'Kodiak was the last school district I applied to because it was the last school district that pop(ped) out of my Google browser,' Gutierrez said. 'And I told myself, 'Well if not in Kodiak, maybe the United States is not for me.'' He's now in his third year of teaching here. Gutierrez's immigration story is one of hundreds already playing out in schools all over Alaska, from the Aleutians to the North Slope to Southeast, as dozens of school districts have hired from the Philippines amid a national shortage of certified teachers. School districts are cutting out the middleman Gutierrez has become well known in Kodiak. Parents chat with him at student concerts, and he hosts a Filipino music show on KMXT. He plays piano at a local church, as well as violin for charity auctions and in the community's theater. He has even joined the Kodiak Island Borough School district's efforts to recruit more teachers from his home country. In January, Gutierrez helped lead a group of Alaska school administrators on a recruiting trip to the Philippines. Until recently, school districts have relied on third-party agencies to recruit teachers. But with demand up and opportunities to cut out middlemen, Kodiak's district has led the way to recruit directly from the Philippines. Some parents and Kodiak community members have criticized the practice for being too expensive. Kodiak Island Borough School District spent about $28,000 to send a team of 4 people this year, including Gutierrez. Teams like that screen hundreds of candidates in a single trip. Working with lawyers and visa fees cost an additional $7,000 per teacher hired. Districts also can pay another $2,400 if they want to work with immigration lawyers to extend visas. Hiring through an agency can cost a district about $27,000 per teacher. And districts aren't the only ones that pay when going through agencies. When Gutierrez started looking for work abroad three years ago, he had to pay $50 just to learn how to apply for jobs in other countries. Many teachers in the Philippines make only about $400 per month. He's heard of some agencies charging teachers thousands of dollars once they've been placed in the U.S. 'The best of the best' It took the group of administrators about two days to travel from Anchorage to the Philippines for the most recent recruitment trip. On the first day of recruiting, in a hotel conference space near Manila, candidates wore Western dresses and suits – even tuxedos. Others wore traditional Filipino formal wear, like embroidered shirts called barong tagalogs and distinctly shouldered filipinianas. The room was full of candidates with graduate and postgraduate degrees. Some of the administrators said that on recruiting trips within the U.S., candidates were often fresh from their undergraduate colleges. The Bering Strait School District has hired up to 60 teachers in a single year – about a third of its total teaching staff. The district has hired international teachers through an agency before, but this was its first time sending someone to recruit directly. Tera Cunningham leads the district's human resources. She'd never seen so many people vying for teaching jobs in Alaska. 'It's exciting to see so many well-trained, well-prepared people who genuinely just want to help kids,' she said. The candidates had only a few minutes to introduce themselves and impress the administrators. Out of the first group of 120 candidates, less than a third had callbacks that day. 'It is intense to do it this way, and we know we'll get the best of the best here,' Cunningham said. She said meeting candidates in person helps her visualize them in action. 'And so I'm excited to see who that looks like, what that looks like when they make it through and they're finally at our sites,' she said. But not every school district can afford to visit the Philippines. That's part of why Jennifer Schmidt with the Alaska Council of School Administrators joined the group. She said that the trip makes sense for districts with many openings, but some have only one or two. The council, which handles the Alaska teacher and personnel system, received grant money from the U.S. Department of Education to improve the state's retention and recruitment. Kodiak's school district has led the recruiting trips so far, but Schmidt said the eventual goal is for her to take the lead. She said ideally, schools wouldn't need to recruit from abroad, but there just aren't enough American and Alaska-grown candidates. 'It's going to take a lot of turnaround and a lot of change in the state of Alaska for us to have enough teachers in Alaska and in the U.S. that are going to want to come and teach there,' she said. This story was originally published by KMXT, as part one of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kodiak Sciences to Present at 2025 Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Kodiak Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: KOD), a biopharmaceutical company committed to researching, developing and commercializing transformative therapeutics to treat a broad spectrum of retinal diseases, announced today that Victor Perlroth, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 2025 Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference in New York City, NY on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at 9:20am ET (6:20am PT). A live webcast of the presentation will be available on the "Events and Presentations" section of Kodiak's website at and will remain available for replay for a limited time following the event. About Kodiak Sciences Inc. Kodiak Sciences (Nasdaq: KOD) is a precommercial retina focused biotechnology company committed to researching, developing, and commercializing transformative therapeutics to treat a broad spectrum of retinal diseases. We are focused on bringing new science to the design and manufacture of next generation retinal medicines to prevent and treat the leading causes of blindness globally. Our ABC Platform® uses molecular engineering to merge the fields of protein-based and chemistry-based therapies and is at the core of Kodiak's discovery engine. Kodiak's maturing pipeline includes three late-phase clinical assets, all three targeting Phase 3 topline data in 2026. For more information, please visit Kodiak®, Kodiak Sciences®, ABC®, ABC Platform®, ABCD™ and the Kodiak logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Kodiak Sciences Inc. in various global jurisdictions. View original content: SOURCE Kodiak Sciences Inc. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rate of initial denials of medical insurance claims continued to rise in 2024, Kodiak Solutions' proprietary data show
Collection rate from insured patients declined by 8.3% last year compared with 2023 INDIANAPOLIS, May 21, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hospitals, health systems and medical practices faced insurance claims practices that slowed payments for needed medical care in 2024 compared with 2023, new Kodiak Solutions revenue cycle data show. Medical providers also collected about $3 less for every $100 dollars that insured patients owed on their portion of their medical bills, the data also show. The data are from more than 2,100 hospitals and 300,000 physicians that use the Kodiak Revenue Cycle Analytics platform to manage their net revenue and monitor their revenue cycle performance. The initial denial rate on claims in 2024 increased 2.4% to 11.81% of claims in 2024. The rate climbed even as medical providers have managed to cut the rate of initial denials related to authorization issues by 7.7%. Denials related to questions of medical necessity and requests for more information (RFI) more than made up the difference, with the rates for both categories increasing by 5% and 5.4%, respectively. Kodiak Solutions first highlighted the increase in RFI initial denials in August 2024. "Payors appear to be using initial denials to slow payments, even though they ultimately pay approximately 90% of claims, a trend we have been tracking," said Matt Szaflarski, Kodiak's vice president, revenue cycle intelligence. "Even if the claims are ultimately paid, initial denials still cost hospitals, health systems and medical providers a lot of resources to overturn, and they also slow cash flow." Kodiak Solutions data show that true accounts receivable (AR) days increased 5.2% year-over-year. Provider organizations collected 34.46% of amounts owed by insured patients, down 8.3% from 2023's self-pay rate for insured patients of 37.58%. Lessons from revenue cycle leaders Conversations with leaders of health systems that were recognized in Kodiak's annual Revenue Cycle Performance Awards yielded tips for improving performance that are detailed in the May 2025 Kodiak RCA Benchmarking Analysis. These high-performing revenue cycle teams shared three attributes: A close working relationship with clinical leaders Accountability for team members to revenue cycle performance metrics Strong relationships with payors. To learn more about the data and insights Kodiak Solutions can provide to benchmark your revenue cycle performance, contact Szaflarski at (463) 270-8123. About Kodiak Solutions Kodiak Solutions is a leading technology and tech-enabled services company that simplifies complex business problems for healthcare provider organizations. For nearly two decades as a part of Crowe LLP, Kodiak created and developed our proprietary net revenue reporting solution, Revenue Cycle Analytics. Kodiak also provides a broad suite of software and services in support of CFOs looking for solutions in financial reporting, reimbursement, revenue cycle, risk and compliance, and unclaimed property. Kodiak's 450 employees engage with more than 2,100 hospitals and 300,000 practice-based physicians, across all 50 states, and serve as the unclaimed property outsourcing provider of choice for more than 2,000 companies. To learn more, visit our website. View source version on Contacts For Media:Vince Galloro(312) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Rate of initial denials of medical insurance claims continued to rise in 2024, Kodiak Solutions' proprietary data show
INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hospitals, health systems and medical practices faced insurance claims practices that slowed payments for needed medical care in 2024 compared with 2023, new Kodiak Solutions revenue cycle data show. 'Payors appear to be using initial denials to slow payments, even though they ultimately pay approximately 90% of claims, a trend we have been tracking." -- Matt Szaflarski, Kodiak's vice president, revenue cycle intelligence Share Medical providers also collected about $3 less for every $100 dollars that insured patients owed on their portion of their medical bills, the data also show. The data are from more than 2,100 hospitals and 300,000 physicians that use the Kodiak Revenue Cycle Analytics platform to manage their net revenue and monitor their revenue cycle performance. The initial denial rate on claims in 2024 increased 2.4% to 11.81% of claims in 2024. The rate climbed even as medical providers have managed to cut the rate of initial denials related to authorization issues by 7.7%. Denials related to questions of medical necessity and requests for more information (RFI) more than made up the difference, with the rates for both categories increasing by 5% and 5.4%, respectively. Kodiak Solutions first highlighted the increase in RFI initial denials in August 2024. 'Payors appear to be using initial denials to slow payments, even though they ultimately pay approximately 90% of claims, a trend we have been tracking,' said Matt Szaflarski, Kodiak's vice president, revenue cycle intelligence. 'Even if the claims are ultimately paid, initial denials still cost hospitals, health systems and medical providers a lot of resources to overturn, and they also slow cash flow.' Kodiak Solutions data show that true accounts receivable (AR) days increased 5.2% year-over-year. Provider organizations collected 34.46% of amounts owed by insured patients, down 8.3% from 2023's self-pay rate for insured patients of 37.58%. Lessons from revenue cycle leaders Conversations with leaders of health systems that were recognized in Kodiak's annual Revenue Cycle Performance Awards yielded tips for improving performance that are detailed in the May 2025 Kodiak RCA Benchmarking Analysis. These high-performing revenue cycle teams shared three attributes: A close working relationship with clinical leaders Accountability for team members to revenue cycle performance metrics Strong relationships with payors. To learn more about the data and insights Kodiak Solutions can provide to benchmark your revenue cycle performance, contact Szaflarski at (463) 270-8123. About Kodiak Solutions Kodiak Solutions is a leading technology and tech-enabled services company that simplifies complex business problems for healthcare provider organizations. For nearly two decades as a part of Crowe LLP, Kodiak created and developed our proprietary net revenue reporting solution, Revenue Cycle Analytics. Kodiak also provides a broad suite of software and services in support of CFOs looking for solutions in financial reporting, reimbursement, revenue cycle, risk and compliance, and unclaimed property. Kodiak's 450 employees engage with more than 2,100 hospitals and 300,000 practice-based physicians, across all 50 states, and serve as the unclaimed property outsourcing provider of choice for more than 2,000 companies. To learn more, visit our website.
