Thursday, December 18, 2003
Insurer pressure cited as psychiatric stays shortenedBoston Globe story reprinted at the NAMI web site - "... Once considered treatment, hospitalization for psychiatric patients now is viewed more as an emergency stopover, a chance to stabilize suicidal or violent patients so they can be discharged to less-expensive outpatient treatment. The shorter hospital stays are due partly to more effective antidepressant and anti psychotic drugs that allow patients to work and live on their own, a positive development for 54 million Americans with mental illness. But pressure to shorten hospital stays also has come from managed care insurers, which have refused to pay for extensive hospital care. They have helped force down the average stay for psychiatric patients from 25.6 days in 1990 to 9.3 days in 2001, according to the most recent data from the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems...."
British Ignite Debate in U.S. on Drugs and SuicideNew York Times story - "Many American psychiatrists were taken by surprise last week when British drug regulators told doctors to stop writing prescriptions for all but one of a newer generation of antidepressant drugs to treat depressed children under 18. Now the psychiatrists are trying to figure out how to advise the parents of the young patients who come to them for help. Some parents, the doctors say, are calling to ask if the drugs their children are taking are really safe." [Viewing
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Lawsuit Targets Maker of Paxil ; 65 Coloradans Say They Weren't Told of Withdrawal RiskRocky Mountain News story reprinted at
PsycPORT - "Sixty-five Coloradans sued the maker of the antidepressant Paxil in federal court Friday, claiming the company failed to warn them that the drug can produce dependency, addiction and painful withdrawal symptoms. ... The Colorado lawsuit, filed in Denver U.S. District Court as a proposed class action, said the company's advertisements state falsely that Paxil is not habit-forming. "
States Try to Limit Drugs in Medicaid, but Makers Resist Tuscaloosa News story - "Kentucky's Medicaid program was $230 million in the red last year, and drastic cuts were on the table. A state panel proposed excluding Zyprexa, an antipsychotic medication that is the state's single biggest drug expense, from the Medicaid list of preferred medications. That was when the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Kentucky Consumer Advocate Network swung into action. The two groups, which are nonprofit, bused scores of protesters to a hearing in Frankfort, the state capital; placed full-page ads in Kentucky newspapers attacking the proposal; and sent angry faxes to state officials. What the advocacy groups did not say at the time was that the buses, ads and faxes were paid for by Eli Lilly & Company, Zyprexa's manufacturer..."
Mental health merger considered (Indiana)Palladium-Item story - "A decision to explore whether Preble County should merge its mental health and recovery services with three other counties has some officials concerned. Preble County Commissioners are gathering information on a possible merger with the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services that serves Darke, Miami and Shelby counties. Preble County Mental Health and Recovery Board Chairman Jim Locker fears such a move would lessen the county's services. He also expects the county to have only one or two representatives on the board, which now numbers 18. "
Granholm names mental health commission (Michigan)AP story at the
Holland Sentinel - "Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm has appointed 33 members to the Michigan Mental Health Commission, established to study mental health in Michigan and recommend changes to improve care. The commission is a temporary body appointed by an executive order issued last week. Granholm said the state's public health system should provide adequate mental health care for people with serious mental illnesses and involve families in decision-making...."
Community mental health advocates seek more funding (Vermont)Rutland Herald story - "Warning of severe service cuts and possible bankruptcy for some of Vermont's community mental health agencies, advocates said Wednesday they would ask lawmakers for more money. Vermont's 10 community mental health centers have 'entered a period of financial crisis which is beginning to erode the vigor and stability of a system that treats more than 40,000 Vermonters' a year, said Ken Libertoff, director of the Vermont Association for Mental Health."
