Tuesday, January 14, 2003

State Fiscal Conditions and Health Coverage: The Outlook for 2003
This index page at the Kaiser Family Foundation site highlights three new reports from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured about the states' fiscal crises and their effect on health coverage. One new report shows 49 states have planned or implemented Medicaid cuts in fiscal year 2003. All documents are in Adobe Acrobat format. See the related press release, and the new reports - "Medicaid Spending Growth: A 50 State Update for Fiscal Year 2003" and "The State Fiscal Crisis and Medicaid: Will Health Programs Be Major Budget Targets?" which has two sections, an Overview and Case Studies.  
  

Treating Dually Diagnosed Patients
Article in the January Psychiatric Times - "Medication and psychotherapy or counseling can be safely and effectively combined in patients with substance use and other psychiatric disorders. Differentiating between substance-induced psychiatric disorders and pre-existing psychiatric disorders facilitates the successful treatment of dually diagnosed patients. Find out what the latest research offers in the prognosis of psychiatric disorders and substance use."  
  

Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
Article in the January Psychiatric Times - "The patient who presents with vague psychiatric somatic complaints may, in fact, be suffering from chemical sensitivities. Such sensitivities are tied to lower incidences of certain psychiatric disorders while correlating with the higher prevalence of others. Neurogenic inflammation, limbic kindling and psychiatric co-factors are discussed."  
  

Studies Weigh Antidepressants Against Herbs and Placebos
Article in the January Psychiatric Times - "Two new studies have raised questions about the placebo effect in clinical trials. Issues of methodology must be examined and the changing trends of placebo responses need to be evaluated."  
  

Antipsychotic Prescribing Practices for Children and Adolescents
Article in The Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update at Medscape on the "great disparities among physicians in the prescribed use of antipsychotics to treat aggression in children and adolescents in hospitals and other restricted settings." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Amid State Layoff Figures, The Human Costs Multiply (Connecticut)
Column in the Hartford Courant by Amy Pagnozzi on the proposed elimination of 40 state rehab beds at Connecticut Valley Hospital.  
  

Jackson County mental health budget faces deficit (Iowa)
Quad-City Times story - "The Jackson County Mental Health Department faces a possible $853,000 deficit by next year because of unpaid bills over the last two years. Jackson County Supervisors learned about the billing snafu recently and are considering some cost-cutting suggestions."  
  

More Kids Receiving Psychiatric Drugs
Washington Post story on a newly published study which found that "by 1996, more than 6 percent of children were taking drugs such as Prozac, Ritalin and Risperdal, and the researchers said the trajectory continued to rise through 2000."  
  

Based on Experience, Advocates from Michigan, Florida Warn New York Not to Restrict Access to Prescription Drugs
PharmaLive story - "A variety of advocacy organizations representing consumers of prescription drugs today called on the State to pass on the implementation of cost saving measures that result in the restriction of access to prescription drugs."