Thursday, July 01, 2004
Investigators Say Drug Makers Repeatedly OverchargedNew York Times story - "Federal investigators said Tuesday that drug companies had repeatedly overcharged public hospitals and clinics for low-income patients, making them pay more than the maximum prices allowed by federal law. Such taxpayer-supported hospitals, community health centers and clinics for people with AIDS are supposed to have access to the government's best prices for outpatient drugs. The investigators, at the inspector general's office in the Health and Human Services Department, found that prices charged to those agencies frequently exceeded the limits set by the Public Health Service Act. In one month, the investigators said, the overcharges totaled $41.1 million, raising the cost of prescription drugs to public hospitals and clinics 18 percent, to $269 million, from $227.9 million..." [Viewing
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Medical Debt a Problem for Almost 20 Million American FamiliesPress release from the Center for Studying Health System Change - "Almost 20 million American families had problems paying medical bills in 2003, forcing many to make tough trade-offs between medical, food and housing expenses, according to a national study released today by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Uninsured families are more likely to have medical bill problems, but two-thirds of families with problems paying medical bills—about 13.5 million families—have health insurance coverage, according to findings from HSC's Community Tracking Study 2003 Household Survey, a nationally representative survey involving information on about 25,400 families and 46,600 people. Of all families with medical bill problems, almost two-thirds reported difficulty paying for other basic necessities—rent, mortgage payments, transportation or food—as a result of medical debt, the study found. And the 43 million people in the nearly 20 million families with medical bill problems also reported much greater difficulty getting medical care because of cost concerns—one in three did not get a prescription drug, one in four delayed care and one in eight went without needed care." See also the related
Issue Brief.
Lack of insurance coverage, cost cited as reasons for not seeking mental health servicesAmerican Psychological Association Practice Directorate press release at
EurekAlert - "Insurance coverage problems and costs supplant stigma as the number one obstacle to accessing mental health services according to a survey commissioned by the American Psychological Association. Americans say it's lack of insurance coverage (87%) or cost (81%) that most keeps them from seeing a mental health professional with 65% citing lack of insurance coverage as a very important reason for not seeking treatment. Survey results also show that 85% of Americans say health insurance should cover mental health services and that 97% of Americans believe access to mental health services is important with nearly three in four considering such services very important, on par with dental care."
Severe depression associated with greater number of nerve cells in thalamus region of brainPress release from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas at
EurekAlert - "Individuals who suffer from severe depression have more nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls emotion, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found. Studies of postmortem brains of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) showed a 31 percent greater than average number of nerve cells in the portion of the thalamus involved with emotional regulation. Researchers also discovered that this portion of the thalamus is physically larger than normal in people with MDD. Located in the center of the brain, the thalamus is involved with many different brain functions, including relaying information from other parts of the brain to the cerebral cortex. The findings, published in today's issue of
The American Journal of Psychiatry, are the first to directly link a psychiatric disorder with an increase in total regional nerve cells, said Dr. Dwight German, professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern..."
Mental health reform on right track (Maine)Portland Press Herald story - "A new court ruling affirms the direction of the state mental health agency's plans to comply with an order to improve treatment for the mentally ill, the agency's acting commissioner said. State officials told Superior Court Chief Justice Nancy Mills they would not prepare compliance standards until after she had approved their concept, Acting Commissioner Brenda Harvey said..." See also
Judge holds state in contempt again at the same source.
Consultants urge: Streamline Human Services (Wisconsin)Green Bay News-Chronicle story - "A consultant's report on the Brown County Human Services Department suggested consolidation of divisions, sending some management functions to other county departments, improve its information technology and implement new options to cut the cost to the county of operating the Mental Health Center..."
Army Studies Mental Health of Iraq TroopsAP story in the
Ledger-Enquirer - "The Army's first study of the mental health of troops who fought in Iraq found that about one in eight reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The survey also showed that less than half of those with problems sought help, mostly out of fear of being stigmatized or hurting their careers. The survey of Army and Marine combat units was conducted a few months after their return from Iraq or Afghanistan last year. Most studies of past wars' effects on mental health were done years later, making it difficult to compare the latest results with those from the Vietnam or Persian Gulf wars, said Dr. Charles W. Hoge, one of the researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research..."
