Monday, June 16, 2003
Governors' Effort to Revise Medicaid Stalls June 13
Washington Post story - "Five Republican governors working with their Democratic counterparts on a plan to revamp Medicaid conceded yesterday the bipartisan effort has failed and said they instead hope to strike a deal with the Bush administration. Just 10 days ago, governors and their aides optimistically declared they were on the verge of an agreement to refashion the health insurance program for 44 million low-income Americans. The compromise unraveled, both sides say, after aggressive lobbying by Democratic senators who oppose the changes."
Scientists Say They ID Depression Gene AP story at
PsycPORT - "Scientists say they've identified a flawed gene that appears to promote manic-depression, or bipolar disorder, a finding that could eventually help guide scientists to new treatments. ... The work is reported in Monday's issue of the journal
Molecular Psychiatry.
CEnIT seed grant grows a helping hand Brief Louisiana Tech University press release at
EurekAlert - "Supported by a grant through CEnIT, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, researchers at Louisiana Tech are testing handheld computers as a way to support and improve diagnosis and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. Tony Young, head of the psychology and behavioral sciences department, said asking patients to remember and summarize their feelings over a period of time the standard approach in assessment -- is not as useful as asking about their psychological state several times per day."
Parents' drug abuse harms children A June 5
BBC story on a study carried out by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs - "The report, entitled
Hidden Harm, calls for children to be taken into account when drug abuse strategies are being formulated." At
drugs.gov.uk, the cross-government website to support the National Drug Strategy, there's a page with information on ordering hardcopy and direct links to
Adobe Acrobat versions of the
full report,
cover sheet,
executive summary and
appendices.
Study: ERs miss drug-abuse cases June 5 story in the
Knox News (Tennessee) - "One of four people entering Tennessee emergency rooms has a drug- or alcohol- abuse problem, but it's rarely diagnosed or treated, a study published by the American College of Emergency Physicians concludes. That translates into as many as 22 million patients a year in emergency rooms across the country, according to the report written by Dr. Ian Rockett and colleagues at the University of Tennessee."
Health officials ready for major overhaul (North Carolina) High Point Enterprise story - "By 2006, the Guilford Center could be a lean mental health management agency with just 150 employees supervising a network of contract providers. With the mandated overhaul of the state's mental health system, the first since 1974, county agencies will shrink as they release programs to private vendors. ... The N.C. General Assembly mandated the overhaul of the mental health system in 2001. The goal of privatization is to give mental health consumers more care choices."
County agency seeing increase in mental health service needs (Texas) Waxahachie Daily Light story - "In 18 months time, the number of people receiving state-provided mental health services has doubled in Ellis County. Adapt of Texas took over mental health services in December 2001, drawing about 516 clients at the end of its first six months. 'Were now at 1,040 and still climbing,' said Keith Frazier, clinic director."
Mental health help sparse in rural areas (Nebraska) Grand Island Independent story - "Distance sometimes makes the difference during mental health emergencies in parts of Nebraska where it takes hours and hundred of miles to get the nearest professional help. ... Federal officials have designated much of Nebraska outside Omaha as a mental health shortage area."
Mental health reform movement loses steam Jewish World Review feature article - "On a spring day last year, President Bush blew into Albuquerque on the winds of change. His mission: to help propel the movement to reform mental health care. The president was clear and emphatic. ... That day, the president announced his New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, charged with evaluating the nation's system of psychiatric care. And he pledged support for equalizing insurance coverage between traditionally physical illnesses and severe mental ones. ... More than a year later, as patients and advocates await the commission's final report, much has happened to take the wind out of the movement's sails. ...
