Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Controlling Health Care CostsArticle in the
New England Journal of Medicine - "Every year, without fail, spending for services covered by private health insurance increases. Sometimes health care spending grows slowly, as it did in the mid-1990s during the managed-care boom. But more often, it increases rapidly, as it is doing now — in part because of the managed-care bust. Presidential candidates do not want to venture beyond platitudes concerning costs because they risk being accused of taking things away from people. Both President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry have served up proposals designed to ease voters' angst about the affordability of health care, but neither proposal, as it has been elaborated through September, gets at the core issues involved in controlling the growth of health care costs. .."
ValueOptions Awarded SAMHSA Grant to Explore EAP Services for Young Adults ValueOptions press release - "ValueOptions and its partners, Health and Performance Resources (HPR) and George Washington University (GWU) announced today that they have been awarded a Young Adults in the Workplace (YIW) grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to create Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services designed to more effectively reach younger workers. Despite the fact that young workers have the highest rates of substance abuse, EAP programs currently do not address the unique issues and special needs of this population..."
Future uncertain for Laura's Law (California)Story in the
Union - "Without the money to make it work, the future looks dim for the mental health bill 'Laura's Law' - named for a slain Nevada County teen. Nevada County Supervisors agreed Sept. 28 to support the bill if money became available, but tempers mounted Tuesday over whether the idea of taxing the rich to generate this money is the right solution..."
Rep. Khan receives Positive Impact Award (Massachusetts)Story at
TownOnline.com - "The Parent/Professional Advocacy League has announced that Rep. Kay Khan is the recipient of the Positive Impact Award for 2004. Khan has been a long time champion for children and adolescents with mental health needs. She is the founder of the legislative Mental Health Caucus and has played a pivotal role in advocating for funding and legislation to benefit children and adolescents with mental health needs and their families."
Bredesen Announces New Western Mental Health Institute (Tennessee)Fayette County Review story - "Governor Phil Bredesen last Wednesday announced that the State of Tennessee will construct a new $56 million facility to replace the aging Western Mental Health Institute in Bolivar. The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (TDMHDD) will build the new facility on existing property owned by the institute in Bolivar, which has served 21 counties in West Tennessee since 1889. Governor Bredesen, joined by Lt. Governor John Wilder, Representative Johnny Shaw and TDMHDD Commissioner Virginia Trotter Betts, announced the project this morning in a ceremony on the institute's front lawn."
County may cut mental health programs (Missouri)St. Louis Post Dispatch story - "Hundreds of St. Louis County residents will lose mental health services under the county's proposed 2005 budget. County Executive Charlie A. Dooley will formally present the budget to the County Council on Nov. 1, but employees and clients have already been informed that the county's Family Mental Health program is on the chopping block. The program provides mental health services for children and adults in St. Louis County. Employees include social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists..."
DCF official resigns, another demoted after inquiry into no-bid contract (Florida)Sun Sentinel story - "A senior administrator at the Florida Department of Children & Families resigned Tuesday and another top DCF official was demoted as a result of a scathing internal investigation of the agency's handling of a lucrative, no-bid contract with an institute at Florida State University. The actions were the latest fallout from a months-long DCF scandal that has rattled Gov. Jeb Bush's administration this election year and was a factor in the late August resignation of the department's former chief, Jerry Regier. The new findings, stemming from a whistleblower investigation that began in secret in December, show an assortment of questionable -- and potentially illegal -- state spending practices, many of them involving James Bax, the former head of the Institute of Health and Human Services Research at FSU..."
