Friday, November 22, 2002

Falling through the cracks (Colorado)
Denver Post feature article from last weekend on Colorado's criminal justice and public and private mental health systems, which "are gingerly taking the first steps toward working together."  
  

Hospital overcharged Medicaid (Virginia)
Daily Press story - "State health officials are asking Woodside Hospital to return more than $800,000 paid out for the care of Medicaid patients at the treatment center, following a review that uncovered serious problems with how the hospital admits and treats patients." The story notes that Woodside is already under investigation for several reasons, including "a lack of required documentation to show patients need inpatient psychiatric services. The state requires that an independent team of mental health professionals review patient cases before patients are admitted, to make sure that outpatient treatment programs in the community would not work."  
  

Concerns voiced on Massachusetts children's mental health care
Boston Globe story - "Mentally ill children in Massachusetts often wait years for an accurate diagnosis, months for appropriate treatment, and hours for crisis care, according to a survey of their parents scheduled for release today. The parents blamed a mental health system that is fragmented and overburdened, and school systems that don't have enough professionals who understand mental illness."