Monday, December 06, 2004

Medical Costs Likely to Slow, but Not Soon
New York Times story - "Double digit annual increases in the cost of health care cannot go on much longer, industry specialists say, but American consumers will have to wait at least a couple of more years before the increases start to slow. Many health plan members, meanwhile, will again face higher costs in the form of rising deductibles, co-payments and monthly premiums. The insurance companies will continue to thrive, even though they have begun to compete more on prices to gain market share in some localities, Wall Street securities analysts say. To maintain profit margins, they are reducing overhead costs with the help of improved technology..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Juvenile judges: Mental health services lacking (Kansas)
Lawrence Journal-World story - "Hundreds of children in the state's foster care system could return home sooner if their parents had quicker access to necessary mental health evaluations, a panel of juvenile court judges said Thursday.advertisement 'I have plenty of willing, cooperative parents being told they'll have to wait 60 to 90 days before they can see someone to get a basic evaluation,' said Sedgwick County Judge Jim Burgess. Until the evaluations are complete, Burgess said, the courts cannot begin the processes for returning children to their parents. Burgess' comments were part of a daylong roundtable discussion sponsored by a legislative committee on children's issues. About 20 judges, prosecutors and guardian ad litem attorneys took part in the discussion..."  
  

Grant tackles minority mental health issues (California)
San Francisco State University press release - "SFSU was recently awarded a five-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health of more than $1.2 million to help minority students become competitive applicants to doctoral programs in mental health. The grant renews funding for NIMH's nationwide Career Opportunities in Research (COR) program, which allows four to six SFSU undergraduate students per year to enter a two-year mentoring program on campus..."  
  

Pass mental health parity bill now (Ohio)
Cincinnati Enquirer editorial - "For 10 years, Ohio Rep. Lynn Olman, R-Maumee, has been trying to get the General Assembly to require insurers to cover mental conditions at levels similar to other ailments. We have long supported this as a matter of fairness and enlightenment, a point with which the 34 states that have such laws obviously agree. Now that Olman is about to leave the Legislature, he's tantalizingly close to success on his mental health parity bill. It has passed the House, and Olman believes he has enough votes in the Senate - except for the one that really counts."  
  

Mental Health Stopgaps (Virginia)
Washington Post Editorial - "Frazzled mental health officials in Northern Virginia tell plenty of harrowing tales, among them nail-biting accounts of trying to find a hospital bed for an acutely sick patient. Hours of phone-dialing and long-distance pleading are often required, during which a patient may sit handcuffed in a police cruiser. Things are likely to get worse. Four Northern Virginia psychiatric wards are closing down, eliminating 100 beds and leaving the region of 2.3 million people with just 330 hospital beds dedicated to the mentally ill. That's frighteningly inadequate, and it may portend a crisis composed of individual, unheralded tragedies." [Viewing Washington Post stories requires registration, which is free.]