Friday, January 03, 2003

Rate of Autism May Be Increasing
Medscape Medical News story - "The rate of autism in the Atlanta area in 1996 was higher than U.S. rates during the 1980s and early 1990s, according to results of a study published in the Jan. 1 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. However, the rate is consistent with that reported in more recent studies." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

L.A. Tax Hike Shows Growing Voter Concerns On Health Care
Washington Post story on the approval by Los Angeles County voters last month of a property tax increase, the first in a generation, "to stave off the financial collapse of local public health care." The story notes that "Some officials are calling the last-resort decision Los Angeles County made to rush a property tax increase onto its ballot a harbinger of the predicament soon to confront states and counties nationwide. The measure's success, they add, may tell another important story: that health care is returning to the top of voter concerns."  
  

Health Benefits in Peril, Advocates seek to halt Medicaid cuts (Utah)
Salt Lake Tribune story on an additional $5.2 million worth of cuts planned by the state Department of Health to Medicaid, the health program for the poor, through a series of service cancellations and stricter eligibility requirements starting Jan. 15.  
  

Director: American mental health system needs reform (Ohio)
News Journal story on comments by Steve Stone, the interim director for the Richland County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services who recently accepted a job as director for the Ashland County mental health board, on the draft report issued this fall by the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.  
  

Bush to Propose Changes in Medicare Plan
New York Times story - "With the new Senate majority leader as a powerful ally, President Bush will propose sweeping, long-term changes in Medicare later this month when he urges Congress to provide prescription drug benefits for the elderly, administration officials say." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Welfare Caseloads Increased in Most States in Third Quarter
Press release from the Center for Social Law and Policy (in Adobe Acrobat format) on the increase in welfare casloads - "...only the second time since 1994 that caseloads, when summed nationally, have shown a quarterly increase."  
  

State eliminates 870 positions in budget cuts (Missouri)
Daily Democrat story - "Stuggling because of sluggish tax reveneus, Missouri government began the new year Thursday by eliminating 870 positions and cutting $67.1 million in planned spending." Included in the cuts were 86 positions in the Department of Mental Health (see the accompanying breakdown of the cuts).  
  

Magellan gains another lender extension
Baltimore Sun story - "Still seeking to restructure its debt, Magellan Health Services Inc. has received another extension from its lenders, and expects to take a write-down of hundreds of millions of dollars when it issues its next financial report."