Monday, March 17, 2003

Mental health crisis vexes South Carolina
March 10 Charlotte Observer story - "A proposal to relieve South Carolina's mental health crisis by building new clinics could run into trouble as the state suffers more budget cuts and legislators debate whether there will be money to pay for the programs. A coalition of judges, police and mental health advocates are pushing legislators to use $10 million from a proposed cigarette tax increase for the Department of Mental Health to build more treatment clinics called crisis stabilization centers."  
  

Ethnic mental health services to be reformed (UK)
March 10 Health News story - "The government has launched a report calling for the fundamental reform of mental health services for people from black or ethnic minority communities."  
  

Plant ponders 'mental-health court' system (Canada)
March 12 story at Canada.com - "Criminals in B.C. who suffer from mental problems could soon find themselves in a special "mental-health court." The idea would be to ensure that people got treatment for their mental- health issues rather than putting them through the revolving door of courts and corrections, Attorney-General Geoff Plant said yesterday."  
  

Magellan Files for Bankruptcy
March 11 Washington Post story - "Magellan Health Services Inc., the nation's largest provider of mental health care, today filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to reduce its $1.5 billion debt and rebuild a company whose stock has lost 99 percent of its value over the past year. The Columbia-based company announced that its key creditors have agreed to a restructuring plan that would reduce Magellan's debt by $500 million and pull it out of bankruptcy by fall." See also Aetna May Buy Part Of Magellan (Hartford Courant) and State: Magellan bankruptcy won't disrupt mental health services in Tennessee (Nashville Business Journal).  
  

Pederson pushes for mental health insurance (Iowa)
Story in the Daily Nonpareil on one of several bills proposed in the state legislature this year that would third-party payers of health, medical or surgical expenses to offer similar coverage for serious mental illnesses.  
  

Report shows shortfall in mental health services (New Zealand)
New Zealand Herald story - "A report into spending on mental health by six district health boards (DHBs) showed significant shortfalls in the delivery of services, Health Minister Annette King said today. The report was ordered after concerns were raised in August last year that DHBs might be spending money ring-fenced for mental health on other health services."  
  

Mental health groups push for reform (Indiana)
Northwest Indiana News story - "A proposed law forcing insurance companies to cover substance abuse treatment for Hoosiers with mental illness is pitting the Mental Health Association of Indiana against business."  
  

Govt needs to act not talk on mental health - Nats (New Zealand)
Story at Stuff - "The Government needs to provide more mental health beds rather than just talk about them, National MP Lynda Scott says. Her comments followed a warning from a group of Auckland psychiatric crisis workers who said their team was so stretched they were counting down to the next mental health tragedy."