Monday, November 18, 2002

Health care discomfort (Oregon)
Detailed feature story in The Oregonian on health care in Oregon - "Even as escalating health care costs cut deeper into employer profits and worker paychecks, Oregon and the nation appear increasingly unlikely to perform radical surgery to correct health care's ills." The story notes that "faced with a worsening budget shortfall, state lawmakers last week eliminated coverage of mental health and several other services for about 100,000 low-income residents covered by the Oregon Health Plan," and provides "a rundown of Oregon's evolving health policy scene and how it is likely to shape the health care market in the coming year."  
  

Psychiatric closings prompt concern (Kentucky)
Courier-Journal story - "Mental health advocates fear a trend of closing or downsizing psychiatric units at Kentucky hospitals will force patients to be diverted to faraway facilities.... Across the country, hospitals are turning unprofitable psychiatric wards into acute-care units, which pay better and are in demand. In Kentucky, many hospitals have asked the state for permission to use their psychiatric beds for other services."  
  

New York Exports Mentally Ill, Shifting Burden to Other States
New York Times story - "Over the past eight years, the Pataki administration has been essentially exporting hundreds of its most troubled psychiatric patients to other states, turning over responsibility for their care to homes there that have little if any expertise and often have tarnished histories, according to interviews with officials, visits to the facilities and an analysis of Medicaid and other state records." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].