Monday, April 18, 2005
Medicaid Fight Threatens Budget LA Times story - "A letter signed by 44 House Republicans protesting proposed Medicaid cuts emerged Friday as a serious threat to plans by President Bush and GOP leaders to curtail spending on a range of benefit programs. The Medicaid fight could hinder Congress' ability to pass this year's budget resolution, which not only sets spending levels for federal programs but also includes a new round of tax cuts and legislation to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling." [Viewing
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Medicaid loophole for middle class at risk Chicago Tribune story - "For years, middle-class seniors have been emptying their bank accounts and signing away their homes so they can qualify for nursing home care under Medicaid--the government's health program for the poor--when they become frail and ill. It's a perfectly legal practice. But with Medicaid budgets soaring nationwide, state and federal officials are floating proposals to crack down on these financial arrangements and make seniors pay more for long-term care. Unless changes are made, experts warn, Medicaid will be burdened with huge bills as Baby Boomers age, threatening the program's ability to serve poor Americans."
High-Cost Users of Pharmaceuticals: Who Are They? Report, in
Adobe Acrobat format, from the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, brought to our attention by CMHA/Ontario's
Mental Health Notes - "Much of the available literature on heavy users of prescription medications originates from studies of elderly Americans with prescription insurance. Very little is known about high-cost users of pharmaceuticals among a general Canadian population in the context of public prescription insurance. This study provides a description, within the Province of Manitoba, of highcost users of prescription medications compared with the rest of the population. The intent of this study is to provide a detailed characterization of this population so as to clarify whether its costs can be reduced or whether other interventions are needed."
CAMH Bill of Client Rights From the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health - "The Bill of Client Rights has been developed to assert and promote the dignity and worth of all of the people who use the services of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The Bill of Client Rights expresses the truth that clients are first and foremost human beings with the same rights as every Canadian. The clients, families and staff of CAMH who have worked together to develop the Bill of Client Rights want it to be a living document that will grow and change as it helps to create an organizational culture of mutual respect. The Bill of Client Rights is intended to emphasize the rights of clients rather than organizational convenience. Policies at CAMH should be consistent with the Bill of Client Rights..."
House passes far-reaching mental health bill (Washington) Seattle Post-Intelligencer story - "The House approved a far-reaching, pricey mental health bill Thursday that would dramatically reform the state's approach to mental illness and chemical dependency, which sometimes go hand in hand. ... The House voted 73-22 in favor of the bill, which the Senate passed last month. Because the House amended the bill, it now heads back to the Senate for a vote on the changes. The bill's primary goal is integration of screening and treatment for mental illness and for drug and alcohol addiction."
Mental health fracas erupts (Canada) London Free Press story - "A surprise layoff of mental health-care workers in London will put more psychiatric patients on the street and is just the start of massive cuts, the workers' union warned yesterday. But officials with St. Joseph's Regional Mental Health Care countered that the union -- which announced St. Joseph's will issue layoff notices to 72 people next week -- has sounded a false alarm and no patients will be affected by any proposed changes. A flurry of charges and countercharges yesterday brought Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU) president Leah Casselman and Liberal MPP Steve Peters into the fray, with each taking shots at the other. All that was clear by day's end was that labour relations in the local mental health-care system are deteriorating."
Patients with no one to talk to (Texas) Houston Chronicle story - "The shortage of Spanish-speaking social workers is creating challenges at hospitals, schools and counseling centers throughout the community, according to a recent survey by UH's Graduate School of Social Work. While 17 percent of the social workers who come into contact with clients are fluent in Spanish, the study said, 45 percent of the people they serve either speak no English or are far more comfortable in Spanish. The study also found that nearly 70 percent of the agencies that hire social workers have at least some difficulty finding people who are fluent in Spanish. Nearly one-third of them say they use untrained people as translators. And the problem isn't limited to just social workers. Spanish-speaking therapists and mental health professionals of all kinds are in short supply."
Colleges target mental health (Massachusetts) Boston Globe story - "At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, trained students staff an all-night hot line that fellow students call to talk about everything from stress to suicidal depression. When Harvard University offered free iPods at a depression screening, about 800 students showed up to fill out mental health surveys. Brandeis University students recently gathered for a movie night focusing on depression on campus. One film's title: ''The Truth About Suicide: Real Stories of Depression in College.' In the Boston area and throughout the country, colleges have expanded efforts to educate students about mental illness and provide treatment. Many schools have increased staffing at counseling centers. Others have developed courses on dealing with stress, added depression screening days, offered students online help, and undertaken an array of efforts to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness..."
Mental health reform adopted (Michigan) Detroit News story - "State health officials have adopted a 12-month plan to begin reforming mental health care in Michigan. The program is drawing mixed reviews from advocates for people who are mentally ill and their families. The Department of Community Health will try to improve the system, in part, by: Emphasizing recovery as 'the organizing principle for adult mental health services;' Clarifying the requirements consumers and their families must meet to participate in the system; Reducing a sometimes wide variance in eligibility and services available from different providers. Some families desperate for improvement say they are happy for any progress, but they think more can be done..."
Shadows and Light - Montreal-Mural - SOS for Mental Health (Canada) Canada Newswire story - "As part of its new education programming for community organizations 'Sharing the Museum' that the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts welcomes "SHADOWS AND LIGHT - Montréal-Mural, an SOS for mental health", an exhibition consisting mainly of collective artworks created during the winter of 2004 by Yvon Lamy, art therapist, with the help of 56 participants from 39 organizations working in mental health located in various parts of the Island of Montreal. This exhibition, open to the public, will be held from May 4th to September 18th, 2005, in the Passage culturel (Level S1) of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1380 Sherbrooke Street West..."
Budget Cuts Putting Mental Health Facilities At Risk? (California) 10News.com story - "Proposed cuts in the county's mental health budget are generating concerns, especially in the North County, where county clinics may soon be run by a private company, 10News reported. The proposed cuts continue a trend toward privatizing public services to save tax dollars. But county staff and advocates for the mentally ill say their budgets have already been slashed, and handing clinics over to private vendors could jeopardize the well-being of patients and the public. Some mental health workers said the county is risking more disasters with its plan to cut the mental health budget and farm out clinics to private business. "
