Monday, October 13, 2003
Nebraska proposes State of the Art Facility October 9
Omaha World Herald story reprinted at the NAMI web site - "Gov. Mike Johanns says his vision for a new mental health facility in Omaha would be a state-of-the-art academic research center offering crisis services for area psychiatric patients, residency training for new psychiatrists and outreach services for community-based treatment programs throughout Nebraska. In Wednesday interviews, Johanns and State Sen. Jim Jensen of Omaha said their plan to revamp Nebraska's mental health-care system would include what they call 'a center for excellence' in Omaha."
Stimulating Environment May Curb Schizophrenia
Reuters Health story at
Yahoo - "An enriched, stimulating environment during childhood seems to reduce the likelihood of developing schizophrenia and criminal behavior in young adulthood, according to a study in Mauritius. Although several reports have suggested a link between environmental factors and these mental health problems, few studies have looked at early childhood interventions as a means of preventing them..."
VA considers closing hospitals in overhaul Washington Post story reprinted in the
Boston Globe - "With little notice outside the veterans community, the Department of Veterans Affairs has embarked on an overhaul of its sprawling health care system to try to streamline an operation that the General Accounting Office has said is wasting more than $1 million a day on unnecessary facilities. The process -- known as Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services, or CARES -- began last year and is 'the first of its kind in history,' said Robert H. Roswell, the department's undersecretary for health..."
Oregon Health Plan is in critical condition Feature article in the
Statesman Journal - "The fate of the Oregon Health Plan remains unsettled, even after state lawmakers found ways to preserve the pioneering program that delivers health care to 400,000 low-income Oregonians. Because key changes do not conform with Medicaid regulations, the federal government must grant a waiver before the retooled health plan can go into effect. ... Contingent on federal approval, by early next year, the standard plan will resume covering mental-health counseling and addictions treatment."
States have put more limits on Medicaid health coverage Story in the
Statesman Journal - "With no economic relief in sight, all 50 states and the District of Columbia again are restricting health-care spending for poor women, children, elderly adults and the disabled, according to a study released last month. Many states already had made it harder or more expensive for low-income families to get free or low-cost health insurance through the $257 billion Medicaid program. The comprehensive survey, conducted by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, found that state legislatures again tightened their health-care safety-net programs in the fiscal year 2004, which already has begun for states. States fiscal crisis is putting health care for low-income families and the elderly and disabled at risk, said Diane Rowland, executive director of the Kaiser commission." See also the
Septmber 30 PULSE item for links to the Kaiser Commission reports and
last Friday's posting on Rowland's testimony in Congress.
Welfare Spending Shows Huge Shift
New York Times story - "New government figures show a profound change in welfare spending, shifting money from cash assistance into child care, education, training and other services intended to help poor people get jobs and stay off welfare. Cash assistance payments now account for less than half of all spending under the nation's main welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, federal officials say..." [Viewing
New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
Critics blast change in treatment options for mentally ill youths (New Jersey)
Newsday story - "The state has made it more difficult for mentally ill children to receive long-term treatment outside New Jersey, a policy change that child advocates say could make a bad situation worse. The change, which took effect in July, is the first step toward providing a wider range of services and facilities in New Jersey for these children, said Colleen Maguire, the state's deputy human services commissioner..."
Thousands of Texas children lose access to mental health care
El Paso Times story - "Thousands of children will no longer be eligible to receive mental heath care through the Texas Children's Health Insurance Program because of state budget cuts, a measure health advocates say is devastating to families who cannot afford to pay for their children's treatment. 'The 35,000 children who used mental health services under CHIP in the last 12 months will no longer be eligible for counseling, therapy, rehabilitation or evaluation and treatment after a crisis,' said Barbara Best, spokeswoman for the statewide Campaign to Restore CHIP, a coalition of organizations and individuals who are asking the state to return mental health benefits to CHIP immediately. "
