Wednesday, January 28, 2004

"Why Is HHS Obscuring a Health Care Gap?"
Commentary column in the Washington Post by H. Jack Geiger, professor emeritus of community medicine at the City University of New York Medical School and a past president of Physicians for Human Rights - "Over the past four years my colleagues and I have read and reviewed more than a thousand careful, peer-reviewed studies documenting systematic deficiencies and inequities in the health care provided for African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and members of some Asian subgroups. The evidence is overwhelming. Unfortunately, the Department of Health and Human Services seems intent on papering it over..." See also Democrats: HHS spins health report, posted here January 14.  
  

Changes In Health Insurance Coverage During The Economic Downturn: 2000–2002
Article in Health Affairs - "Using Current Population Survey data from 2000–2002, this paper documents the changes that led the uninsured population to grow by 3.8 million during that time period. All of the increase in the uninsured occurred among adults, and two-thirds was among low-income adults. The extent to which the loss of employer coverage resulted in people becoming uninsured depended on their access to public programs: Children were more likely than adults to gain public coverage; women more likely than men; and parents more likely than nonparents. Middle- and higher-income Americans were also affected because many lost income and because rates of employer coverage were lower."  
  

Antipsychotic Drugs Raise Diabetes Risk
Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "Four prominent medical organizations warned on Tuesday that a widely prescribed class of antipsychotic drugs increase the risk of diabetes, echoing concerns raised by U.S. regulators and researchers. The American Diabetes Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity joined forces in a statement published in the February issue of Diabetes Care. The drugs, known as atypical antipsychotics, are used to treat a variety of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, dementia, psychotic depression, autism and developmental disorders and generate more than $8 billion a year..."  
  

State Mental Health Department Plans Massive Cuts (Missouri)
Story at TheKansasCityChannel.com - "Leading lawmakers said Monday they will try to reverse the state Mental Health Department's plans to shut down two mental health centers and lay off hundreds of workers to save money. The department told employees last Wednesday of its plans, which are expected to save $7.4 million and cost 327 people their jobs. Some vacant positions will also be eliminated for a total of 375 fewer positions. The Cottonwood Treatment Center in Cape Girardeau, a residential center for emotionally disturbed children, and the Southwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center in El Dorado Springs both are to close by June 15..."  
  

State mental health agency sued (Virginia)
AP story at Fredricksburg.com - " A watchdog group investigating whether patients ready for release from state-run psychiatric hospitals have adequate discharge plans is suing to get their names. The Virginia Office of Protection and Advocacy said Tuesday that the state Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services 'admits there are numerous people in state institutions who do not need to be there but refused to tell (VOPA) who those people are.' The office is trying to determine if the department neglected those patients by not developing appropriate discharge plans."  
  

Mental health task force broke law, attorney general’s office says (Wisconsin)
Green Bay Press-Gazette story - " Brown County Executive Carol Kelso’s mental health center task force has been violating Wisconsin Open Meetings Laws, according to a statement issued Monday by the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office. But on Tuesday Kelso defended her committee and promised a formal response." A letter from Attorney General Bruce Olsen "...concludes that advisory committees appointed by chief executives or governmental bodies are subject to the Open Meetings Law," though the story also notes that "In many ways Olsen’s opinion is a moot point because the committee concluded its work last week when it issued a recommendation to the County Board that calls for downsizing and remodeling of a portion of the Mental Health Center rather than building a new facility."  
  

Scathing report on Youth Authority (California)
San Jose Mercury News story - " Juveniles sentenced to California Youth Authority facilities for serious crimes are regularly locked in cages, over-medicated and denied essential psychiatric treatment, according to a report commissioned by the state Attorney General's Office. The report, obtained Tuesday by the Mercury News, found that the nine institutions examined were more like prisons than facilities designed to reform and rehabilitate youthful offenders, and that conditions there worsened the problems of wards who suffered from mental health disorders and substance abuse problems." The report is not yet available at the California Attorney General web site, but should be within the next few days.