Thursday, February 05, 2004
Hybrid Approach to Health Coverage Most Likely to Succeed: PollstersMedscape Medical News story - "The lack of consensus among Americans for one sweeping plan to extend coverage to the 43 million uninsured and control costs means that a hybrid approach is likely to have the greatest chances for success, according to a leading health Democratic pollster. Opinion polls conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health show that most Americans do not understand how most health reform proposals would work in reality, and they do not support them as strongly once they understand the details, especially how coverage would be paid for, said Robert Blendon, ScD, professor of health policy and management at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in Boston, Massachusetts..." [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Medscape Journal Scan: Money & Medicine, January 2004Selected articles from the
Archives of Internal Medicine, Managed Care, The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, JAMA, and
Managed Healthcare Executive. [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
Controversial changes to Medicare Article in the February
APA Monitor - "The prescription drug benefit and other proposed changes to Medicare sparked a national debate in 2003. The bill Congress passed last year could significantly change the health-care landscape, giving managed care even more influence. Perhaps the most controversial changes are components of the law that introduce incentives for private competition in an attempt to control the costs of the Medicare system..."
Making Drugs, Shaping the RulesA February 1
New York Times feature article on coordinated efforts by the pharmaceutical industry to influence guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia - "The drug industry has created vast markets for products like Viagra, Celebrex and Vioxx by spending billions of dollars on consumer advertising. But to sell medicines that treat schizophrenia, the companies focus on a much smaller group of customers: state officials who oversee treatment for many people with serious mental illness. Those patients - in mental hospitals, at mental health clinics and on Medicaid - make states among the largest buyers of antipsychotic drugs. Advertisement For Big Pharma, success in the halls of government has required a different set of marketing tactics..." [Viewing
New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
Federal Agencies Face Cuts Washington Post story on President Bush's budget proposal - "President Bush announced a $2.4 trillion budget for fiscal 2005 yesterday that would cut spending for nearly half the federal government's agencies while directing record sums toward anti-terrorism and military programs. Growth in discretionary spending in the rest of the government would be held to 0.5 percent. The budget eliminates or cuts 128 programs, part of Bush's plan to reduce the budget deficit -- $521 billion this year -- by 50 percent within five years. ... The Department of Health and Human Services' total request of $580 billion for fiscal 2005 represents a 5.8 percent increase from 2004. The discretionary portion of the budget would decrease by 1.6 percent to $68 billion. The new prescription drug benefit for seniors and the overhaul of the Medicare bill is driving the increase in spending, as is the five-year doubling of community health centers for the uninsured." See also the January 31
Post story
Higher Medicare Costs Suspected for Months - "Bush administration officials had indications for months that the new Medicare prescription drug law might cost considerably more than the $400 billion advertised by the White House and Congress, according to internal documents and sources familiar with the issue. .."
Texas' handling of mentally ill again in spotlightHouston Chronicle story - "A federal judge on Wednesday granted an execution stay for a schizophrenic murderer, reopening the debate over how Texas treats mentally ill violent offenders. Scott Panetti was granted a 60-day stay a day before he was to be executed for the 1992 shooting deaths of his estranged wife's parents. ... Mental health advocates and death penalty opponents argue that Panetti, 45, should not be executed because he is mentally ill and did not receive a fair trial."
Mental drugs for poor to be cut (Florida)Miami Herald story - "In a cost-cutting move, the North Broward Hospital District next month will stop paying for psychiatric drugs for impoverished Broward residents with chronic and severe mental illness, leaving perhaps 1,000 clients at risk of losing a critical safety net. The hospital district is facing a severe budget shortfall. By cutting the funding for psychotropic drugs for clients of the county's Primary Healthcare effort, the hospital district may save between $2 million and $4 million, said Pat Kramer, who heads the Broward mental health office for the Department of Children & Families. Now, DCF -- itself persistently underfunded in its mental health programs -- is scrambling to come up with millions of dollars by March 1 so that clients are not forced to do without critically needed medication, Kramer said."
Board axes Maori health trust (New Zealand)New Zealand Herald story - "A Napier Maori mental health provider paid $1.5 million during the past three years has been dumped by the Hawkes Bay District Health Board after a damning audit. The audit revealed a total absence of qualified staff, poor management and non-existent financial records in the Hine Ko Tou Ariki charitable trust. The health board has paid the trust more than $1.5 million for contracts since 2001. The trust was contracted to provide Maori mental health services, Maori alcohol and drugs services, work rehabilitation and accommodation for people with mental illness."
More mental health help urged (Canada)London Free Press story - "Thousands of Ontario children with mental disorders are being forced to wait months for help that would be available to them if they had another illness, a London audience was told yesterday. Susan Hess, president of Parents for Children's Mental Health, said 12,000 children are waiting for mental health services..."
House wants mental health to be covered by insurance Plain Dealer story - "Health insurance plans would have to offer mental health treatment under a bill approved by the House Wednesday, following years of discussion over providing such treatment. A last-minute change would allow insurance companies to decline to offer the coverage if it would raise the overall cost of their premiums by more than 1 percent. ... The vote came one week after Gov. Bob Taft asked lawmakers to put off such requirements until the economy improves."
