Thursday, March 04, 2004

U.S. Medicaid Program Could Improve Financial Management
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "The joint state-federal Medicaid health program for the poor could take steps to better manage its finances without a radical change to the entire program, analysts said Tuesday. Tensions between the federal government, which pays just over 60 percent of total costs for the health insurance program for an estimated 44 million low-income women, children, elderly and disabled Americans, and the states, which pay the remaining 40 percent, have been rising in recent months. Last year, the federal government floated a proposal to review state Medicaid budgets in advance, giving them effective veto power over state mechanisms for providing their share of the funding. In January, the administration published a proposed rule change to require states to provide the data needed to implement the prospective review plan, giving states just 24 hours to comment. Governors cried foul, and after they appealed directly to President Bush during the governors' annual meeting in Washington last month, the proposal was temporarily withdrawn..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

New Program Promotes Choice, Accountability In Substance Abuse Treatment
SAMHSA press release - "Thousands of Americans with substance use disorders will have the opportunity to choose their treatment options for recovery under Access to Recovery, a new $100 million discretionary grant program for states, announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The competitive grant program will give recipient states, territories, the District of Columbia and tribal organizations broad discretion to design and implement federally supported voucher programs to pay for a range of effective, community-based, substance abuse clinical treatment and recovery support services. By providing vouchers to people in need of treatment, the grant program promotes individual choice for substance abuse treatment and recovery services. It also expands access to care, including access to faith- and community-based programs, and increases substance abuse treatment capacity..." See also Access to Recovery and Access to Recovery: How It Will Work, also at the SAMHSA site.  
  

Poll: Nebraskans Want Regional Centers Open
This brief story at KETV notes that "A poll paid for by the League of Nebraska Municipalities found a majority of Nebraskans are against the proposed closure of mental health hospitals in Norfolk and Hastings," and includes links to other recent stories by the station on the proposed restructuring of the state's mental health system.  
  

Medical liability summit proposed (Illinois)
Story in the Edwardsville Intelligencer - "A summit to deal with the issue of medical liability and produce an action plan is one of the 18 recommendations to come out of a statewide health summit sponsored by the Public Policy Institute and the School of Medicine, both part of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The medical liability summit would bring together the governor, the Illinois General Assembly, medical practitioners, insurance companies, trial lawyers and citizens to have a 'direct and honest conversation that results in an action plan.'" Among the recommendations is "Address the mental health needs of rural and underserved populations, including persons who are incarcerated, on parole or probation, or otherwise involved in the Illinois correctional system."  
  

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."  
  

Give Wayne County an Extra Voice to Break Mental Health Deadlock (Michigan)
Detroit News editorial - " The Wayne County executive and Detroit members of the community mental health board have been deadlocked about how to improve the ailing system. The Legislature may need to break the tie, but it should be careful how it does so. The Detroit-Wayne County mental health system has accumulated an estimated $17 million deficit during the past three years. This has led to fights over money, contracts and personnel between Executive Robert Ficano, who appoints six of the health board’s 12 members, and the six board members who represent Detroit. The result has been a stalemate on major issues that hurts the 75,000 people who get services from the agency. The Detroit-Wayne County system is unique. In the rest of the state, county commissioners approve the funding and health plans of their community mental health boards. If there is a problem, the public knows to hold the commissioners accountable. But Wayne County has little control over the Detroit-county system."  
  

Children's Mental Health Aid Called Inadequate in Hartford (Connecticut)
New York Times story - "Citing hundreds of complaints about what the Connecticut attorney general called the 'grossly inadequate' mental health services offered to children, he and the state's child advocate began a joint investigation on Wednesday into the state's child welfare agency, private insurance companies and health maintenance organizations that provide programs and facilities.Advertisement Connecticut's Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, and the Child Advocate, Jeanne Milstein, said the investigation would focus on the state's Department of Children and Families, a $604 million agency struggling to meet a court-mandated improvement plan. The inquiry will also investigate whether insurance companies and H.M.O.'s are meeting their obligations to pay for the treatment of children with mental illness." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free]. See also State’s mental health care system, industry being probed in the New Haven Register.  
  

Jail mental-health site eyed (Virginia)
Daily Press story - "The prospect of building a site for mental-health treatment at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail is being tossed around in the General Assembly. Part of the goal would be to treat inmates in the regional jail who need to be restored to competency for trial instead of sending them to state mental hospitals, according to local officials. There is a significant waiting list for treatment at those hospitals. Officials said consideration of a mental-health treatment facility is also part of the state's emphasis to move from care at large state hospitals to community-based treatment. "  
  

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. .."