Thursday, April 03, 2003

For Our Health & Saftey: Joining Forces to Defeat Addiction
A report (in Adobe Acrobat format) released last month by California's Little Hoover Commission. See also the Commission's press release on the report and the executive summary that is available separately.  
  

War, Terror & Trauma: Learning to Cope
Web page at the NAMI web site suggesting "resources to those persons looking for perspective or advice in confronting the psychological impact of war and related events," including NAMI's fact sheet on PTSD.  
  

Supreme Court Sides With States on HMOs
Washington Post story - "In a blow to the managed health care industry, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday that states have a right to force health maintenance organizations and other health care networks to open themselves to all doctors, hospitals and other providers who agree to abide by their terms. The ruling upholding Kentucky's so-called any willing provider (AWP) law struck directly at the economic linchpin of HMOs, which attempt to hold down health-care costs by creating limited networks of providers that are willing to accept lower fees in return for a higher volume of business generated by HMOs. But there was disagreement over the practical effect it would have on the health care system."  
  

Ending Chronic Homelessness, Strategies for Action
From HHS, a "comprehensive plan aimed at ensuring the department's resources are focused on reducing and ultimately ending chronic homelessness. The new initiative, Ending Chronic Homelessness: Strategies for Action, was developed specifically to address the growing need for an integrated network of support systems for chronically homeless persons -- those that have a disabling condition and who experience frequent or extended periods in the homeless assistance system." See the related HHS press release for details.