Monday, November 03, 2003

Missouri Medicaid will pay for adult therapy
Article in the November APA Monitor - "Missouri will allow Medicaid reimbursement for adult psychological services, a concession made after a long legal battle initiated by the Missouri Psychological Association (MOPA). The Missouri Division of Medical Services (DMS) announced in June, through its Psychotherapy Bulletin, that psychological services for adults are to be covered by Medicaid when furnished by independently enrolled psychologists--that is, those who are strictly providing services out of integrated health services facilities, such as nursing homes. Previously, DMS only covered adult therapy services provided by psychiatrists. "  
  

Persistence pays with Medicare reimbursement
Article in the November APA Monitor - "With tenacity and support from APA's Practice Directorate, psychologists in several states have challenged attempts by insurance carriers to place restrictions on the delivery of services to Medicare beneficiaries. They've done this largely by helping to develop or clarify local medical review policies (LMRPs), which provide guidelines for coverage,.."  
  

Study shows many teens suffer from poor health (Canada)
Story in Toronto's Globe and Mail - "...newly published Statistics Canada data reveal that almost 30 per cent of Canadian teens have chronic health conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, migraines and backaches. The nation's anything but happy-go-lucky teens also report high rates of depression, self-loathing and obesity and a growing tendency to smoke and abuse alcohol even though they know the habits are unhealthy." The findings were based on data from the 2001 Canadian Community Health Survey, which can be found at the Population health surveys section of the Statistics Canada web site.  
  

Pharmacotherapy for Alcohol Dependence: An Expert Interview With Charles Bowden, MD
An interview at Medscape Medical News - "Substance use disorders constitute a major public health problem in the U.S., costing in excess of $300 billion annually, including direct and indirect costs. Treatment interventions for alcoholism have been primarily psychosocial, and researchers have been searching for an effective pharmacotherapy for alcohol-dependent patients. Medscape discussed new research in alcoholism treatment with Charles Bowden, MD, at the American Psychiatric Association 55th Institute for Psychiatric Services in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Bowden is Karren Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. " "med"  
  

Covering America: Real Remedies for the Uninsured
A report (in Adobe Acrobat format) on 10 different proposals to help cover uninsured U.S. residents  released Friday by the Lewin Group ("a premier national health care and human services consulting firm") as part of the Economic and Social Research Institute's "Covering America" project. As noted in the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, "The proposals, which ranged from incremental reform to the implementation of a tax-funded U.S. health care system, would reduce the number of uninsured U.S. residents by between 12 million and 40 million, the report found."  
  

Home Health Compare
Home Health Care is a database-driven web application at the official Medicare site that gives detailed information about Medicare-certified home health agencies that were certified as of January 2003. The data includes quality measures that "...give you information about how well home health agencies provide care for some of their patients. The measures provide information about patients’ physical and mental health, and whether their ability to perform basic daily activities is maintained or improved. Quality information can be used to help you compare home health agencies." The database is searchable by provider name, state, county and zip code.  
  

Childhood Adversity Linked to Diagnosis and Perception of Mental Illness (Canada)
Doctor's Guide story - "There is a significant association between childhood adversity, the perceived need for help and a diagnosis of a mental illness" according to a new study that used a population-based sample of more than 7600 residents aged 15 to 64 years who participated in the Ontario Health Supplement. The findings were presented last week at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Psychiatric Association.  
  

Test reveals mental woes of delinquents (Missouri)
St. Louis Post Dispatch story - "More than three-fourths of youths at the front door of the juvenile justice system in Missouri are showing warning signs of mental health problems, ranging from depression to suicidal tendencies or thought disturbance. Those findings are based on the results of a cutting-edge screening tool that many hope will transform the mental health services available to delinquent youths..."