Wednesday, November 12, 2003

States' Concerns About the Medicare Drug Debate and the Fiscal Impact of Shifting the Cost of Dual Eligible Care
Page at the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured that provides links to two new reports - "One new publication reports on findings from an October 26 discussion with state Medicaid officials on the implications of a Medicare drug benefit for states and dual eligibles. The other report provides state-level estimates on spending on dual eligibles and illustrates the effects of scenarios where the federal government assumes the cost of prescription drugs, Medicare premiums, acute care, and long-term care for this population." The reports are available in Adobe Acrobat format - Coordinating Medicaid and Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage and Shifting the Cost of Dual Eligibles: Implications for States and the Federal Government.  
  

South Carolina Emergency Rooms Begin Diverting Patients With Mental Illnesses as Part of State Effort To Reduce Overcrowding
Story at Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report based on an AP/Charlotte Observer story - "Emergency rooms in ten areas in South Carolina have begun diverting patients with mental illnesses to other facilities as part of a $1.8 million state effort to reduce overcrowding in emergency rooms... Each day, about 50 to 60 patients seeking psychiatric treatment wait for care in hospital ERs statewide, and hospitals are 'struggling day by day and dealing with these folks the best they can,; Patti Smoake, a South Carolina Hospital Association spokesperson, said. For example, the number of patients with mental illnesses has tripled at Lexington Medical Center in the past two years, and physicians and nurses say providing care for such patients is 'beyond their expertise,' the AP/Observer reports." The Observer story requires registration, which is free.