Thursday, March 04, 2004

Mental Health (West Virginia)
Brief WTAP story - "The West Virginia state Senate has unanimously approved a bill to create a pilot project that would restrict the rights of mental health patients. Senate Bill three-15 would allow judges in three unspecified counties next year to force patients to go to a mental hospital for five days of evaluation before a court hearing. ... The West Virginia Mental Health Consumers Association argues that the bill would restrict due process rights of people with psychiatric conditions."  
  

Mental-health bill dies again (Washington)
Seattle Times story - "State legislation on mental-health insurance parity is dead once again. The deadline has passed for the Senate Ways and Means Committee to hold a hearing on House Bill 1828, which would have required health insurers to cover psychiatric services at levels equal to other medical treatments. This was the seventh year that sponsors have proposed the legislation in Washington, which is one of 17 states without a parity law. Mental-health advocates say they will push the bill again in the next Legislature. .."