Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Numbers of Americans With and Without Health Insurance Rise, Census Bureau Reports Census Bureau press release - "The number of people with health insurance rose by 1.5 million between 2001 and 2002, to 242.4 million, and the number of uninsured rose by 2.4 million, to 43.6 million, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. An estimated 15.2 percent of the population had no health insurance coverage during all of 2002, up from 14.6 percent in 2001..." The full report,
Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2002, is available in
Adobe Acrobat format. See also the overview of the report and reaction to it at the
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report. Related news stories include
Census Finds Many More Lack Health Insurance (
Washington Post),
Big Increase Seen in People Lacking Health Insurance (
New York Times, registration required), and
Number of nation's uninsured up sharply (
Philadelphia Inquirer).
Race and the Blues Psychology Today article by Hara Estroff Marano - "Depression is often ignored in the African-American community. Depression is as prevalent a problem as it is for the population as a whole, affecting 6% in any year. Within the black community there are groups whose experience or environment makes them especially vulnerable to depression and other mental health disorders. Yet depression carries such a stigma in the black community that the word is not easily uttered. Nor is the condition readily talked about. One major consequence is that depression is often misunderstood by those who have it, undetected and untreated, perpetuating unnecessary suffering at a time when helpful treatments are available and capable of preventing the long-term damage now thought to result from recurring bouts of depression."
State to appeal court order to relinquish control of AMHI (Maine)
WMTW-TV story - "Gov. John Baldacci and Attorney General Steven Rowe Tuesday announced that the state will appeal portions of a judge's ruling in which she ordered the state's psychiatric hospital placed in receivership. Rowe says a notice is being filed Tuesday and details of the state's appeal of Superior Court Chief Justice Nancy Mills' ruling will be filed in the days ahead.Among the points to be raised by the state is whether the court had a legal basis to order a receiver for the Augusta Mental Health Institute. The state also challenges the court's conclusion that the state did not act in good faith when it said it had complied with the so-called consent decree that orders improvements in conditions and treatment of Maine's mentally ill people."
Hospital commended for sparing mental health unit (South Carolina) Story from
Carolina Morning News - "A decision by the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Board of Directors to continue funding for its mental health unit drew praise from the families who rely on its services. 'We're very pleased the hospital board recognized the concerns of the community and responded to those needs,' said Guyla Daley of Hilton Head, vice chairman of the South Carolina chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. ... The hospital board voted to accept the administration's $3.68 million annual operating budget which includes continued operation of the unit, although the specific level of service in the 20-bed section has not yet been identified, according to spokeswoman Courtney McDermott."
Representatives Addressing the Issue of Mental Health (Nebraska) KDUH-TV story - "Scottsbluff got a visit today from Sate Rpresentatives seeking public opinion about how to reorganize Nebraska’s mental health system. Representatives from the state’s health and human services committee held meetings. and toured some mental health facilities… including the Cirrus House. Representatives want to know what’s working in the current mental health program. And what’s not. They say… at least one regional mental health center in the state will close… forcing some people who need services to go elsewhere..."
Mental Health Court Is Ready (West Virginia)
Wheeling News-Register story - "In a ceremony that brought together legal and behavioral health professionals in Wheeling, West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Larry Starcher on Monday signed an administrative order creating the state's first mental health court diversion program. The program, a pilot project, is being implemented in Ohio, Marshall, Brooke and Hancock counties under a $150,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant. 'This program will work but it will only work through the cooperation of the judges and the (mental health) providers. If you don't make it work, it won't work,' Starcher said."
Mental health center cuts 11 beds (Wisconsin) Green Bay Press-Gazette story - "The Brown County Mental Health Center has eliminated 11 unoccupied beds after the state denied a request to temporarily waive monthly assessments for them. The county has de-licensed eight beds in the center’s 64-bed developmental disability unit and closed three at its 96-bed nursing home, according to a letter that center administrator Earlene Ronk sent to the state earlier this month. The beds will no longer be available, even if the county pursues a regional center to serve a larger area."
