Monday, June 14, 2004

Dizzying shift: Pushing mentally ill into managed care (Florida)
Daytona Beach News-Journal editorial - "On July 1, Florida will start moving 73,000 Medicaid patients with mental illnesses into managed-care programs. It's a giant windfall for the big health-maintenance corporation that backed the move and a nasty surprise for advocates who discovered the change weeks after it had been buried in an appropriations bill. Most of all, it's a gut-wrenching leap into the unknown for these patients, their families and the community mental-health organizations that serve them. The abrupt transition is unplanned for, unnecessary and unjustified. It only takes a calendar to illustrate the lack of preparation. The Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corporation Board, created in 2003, was asked to conduct a study of managed care and mental health. That report is due in December. Yet, the appropriations bill mandated that the change begin in July. That seems to indicate that the lawmakers who sneaked this provision into the budget weren't terribly interested in muddying the issue with facts."  
  

Mental health advocates fight N.C. House reductions
AP story at the Wilmington Star - "Advocates for North Carolina's mentally ill and disabled raised their voices this past week outside the Legislative Building at their annual rally. Chanting "No More Cuts," the protesters' aggravation centered on a $5 million reduction in the House budget for community mental health programs. The reduction is but a small portion of a public mental health budget that clears $2 billion when Medicaid dollars are included. The cut was $10 million before it was reduced on the floor. Even critics acknowledged the one-time reduction won't eliminate current services. So why are they so unhappy? Education and other departments seem to get the priority for expansion money for new programs, even in tight budget times, the mental health advocates contend..."