Leavitt Announces New Advisory Commission To Study Medicaid Reforms Item in the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report - "HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Friday formally established the Medicaid study commission, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 5/21). The commission, called for in the fiscal year 2006 budget resolution approved by Congress last month, will recommend ways to cut $10 billion from Medicaid over five years and propose longer-term solutions to slow the program's rising costs. Leavitt will appoint the commission's 15 voting members. ... The Medicaid commission 'bears little resemblance to the panel some lawmakers asked Leavitt to create,' CQ HealthBeat reports. Some legislators had requested that bipartisan congressional leaders appoint commission members and that the Institute of Medicine administer the panel. ..."  
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Clinical Trials At Issue Hartford Courant story - "The editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine accused three of the largest drug companies of 'making a mockery' of efforts to create transparency in clinical trials and said their actions could lead some important medical publications to avoid publishing their studies. Dr. Jeffrey M. Drazen, the editor, said that Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Merck & Co. are not providing enough useful information on clinical trials they register with the government. Last September, the members of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors said they would not publish any studies that are not registered in a public database as they are launched."  
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Children's mental health services are failing Ontario's children and families (Canada) Ontario Public Service Employees Union press release - "Twelve years of funding cuts have created major gaps in services for some of our most vulnerable children, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) said in a report released today, highlighting the problems plaguing children's mental health services. The report, entitled Kids Matter, reflecting the experiences of frontline workers and the families they serve, has been endorsed by Children's Mental Health Ontario. An estimated 558,000 or 18 percent of Ontario children under age 19 have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents. Children in distress are waiting up to a year for mental health treatment." See also the full report at the OPSEU web site  
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Bill aims to create national health insurance market  Cincinnati Business Journal story - "House Speaker Dennis Hastert endorsed legislation to allow individuals to buy health insurance from any state, regardless of where they live. The legislation would lower the cost of health insurance by allowing individuals to get around their state's coverage mandates and pick a less-comprehensive plan, says Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., the bill's sponsor. These mandates add thousands of dollars to the cost of health insurance in some states, bill supporters say. 'Where you live should not determine whether or not you can afford a health insurance policy,' says Angela Hunter, federal affairs director for the Council for Affordable Health Insurance. Shadegg says his bill would 'create a national market for health insurance.' This additional competition would keep a lid on premiums, he says. Under the legislation, any insurer that meets the regulatory requirements of its home state could sell in any state."  
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Psychiatrists may push for gay marriage OK AP story at the Boston Globe - "Representatives of the nation's top psychiatric group approved a statement Sunday urging legal recognition of gay marriage. If approved by the association's directors in July, the measure would make the American Psychiatric Association the first major medical group to take such a stance. The statement supports same-sex marriage 'in the interest of maintaining and promoting mental health.' It follows a similar measure by the American Psychological Association last year, little more than three decades after that group removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders..."  
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Violence widespread in NHS units (UK) BBC story - "Violence against patients and staff is widespread in mental health and learning disability inpatient units, research shows. A national audit found one in three inpatient service users had experienced violent or threatening behaviour while in care. For clinical staff the figure was 41%, and for nursing staff a massive 80%. The study was carried out by the Healthcare Commission and the Royal College of Psychiatrists."  
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