Tuesday, January 11, 2005

NAMI Submits Comments to CMS on Medicare Formulary GuidanceAnnouncement at the NAMI web site - "Efforts to implement the upcoming prescription drug benefit under Medicare have picked up pace in recent weeks with the publication of new guidance for prescription drug plans on formulary guidance and access restrictions and the publication this week of final guidelines for the model therapeutic classification system. Taken together, these two announcements establish important standards for the private sector drug plans that will be offering drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries beginning in January 2006..." See also the CMS formulary guidelines (Adobe Acrobat format) and NAMI's comments.  
  

Applying Brakes to Benefits Gets Wide G.O.P. BackingNew York Times story - "In his budget request to Congress, President Bush will try to impose firm, enforceable limits on the growth of federal benefit programs, and the chairmen of the Senate and House Budget Committees say they strongly supported that effort. Administration officials and Congressional aides said Mr. Bush would also seek cuts in housing assistance for low-income families, freezes or slight increases in most domestic programs, and larger increases for domestic security. The spending plan for 2006, like the appropriations enacted for this year, would give priority to military operations and domestic security over social welfare programs. ... A legislative proposal drafted by the White House would make it more difficult for Congress to pass legislation increasing the 'long-term unfunded obligations' of benefit programs like Social Security, Medicare, Civil Service retirement and disability, veterans disability compensation, and health benefits for retired federal employees. A White House document describing the proposal says that Medicaid, the health program for low-income people, can be added to the list as soon as federal officials devise a reliable way to estimate its long-term costs. Medicaid spending has shot up 63 percent in the last five years, so that federal and state outlays together now total more than $300 billion a year." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Tennessee drops 323,000 adults from MedicaidStory in the Raleigh News-Observer - "Gov. Phil Bredesen announced Monday that he will drop 323,000 adults from the state's expanded Medicaid program to save about $1.7 billion a year, but will preserve health coverage for children. The announcement capped weeks of negotiations between Bredesen and health care advocates in an effort to save a Tennessee program that offers coverage to the working poor who make too much money to qualify for regular Medicaid. Advocates said the cuts would be devastating and pleaded with the governor to reconsider the move..."  
  

Hospital closing stretches mental care (Pennsylvania)   Patriot-News story - "Treatment for the mentally ill is in short supply in central Pennsylvania. And that's without 135 more people with mental illness who would be released into local communities this year under a plan to close Harrisburg State Hospital. The ability to provide supported housing for the mentally ill "is already stretched beyond reason," and the number of people waiting for such services nearly equals the number receiving them, according to an assessment of mental health services in the seven counties affected by the closing."  
  

Mental health forum draws crowd (Texas)   Galveston Daily News story - "The Texas Legislature convenes today, and scores of Galveston and Brazoria County residents hope this session will undo some of the changes the last session brought to the state’s mental health system. Every family dealing with a mental health issue has a story, and state legislators representing Galveston and Brazoria counties heard more than two dozen Thursday night at a legislative forum to discuss mental health issues..."  
  

Milestone: Mental health care facility to open doors (Oregon)   Story at Bend.com - "At the end of January, the largest hospital in the region, St. Charles Medical Center – Bend, will take a significant step toward meeting Central and Eastern Oregon’s immediate and desperate need for crisis mental health care treatment: Sage View at St. Charles will open its doors. ... The 15-bed inpatient care facility, for which ground was broken in the fall of 2003, will be the only residential treatment program in Central Oregon for residents (with or without health insurance) facing a mental health crisis. For the estimated 4,620 uninsured Central Oregonians with mental illness, access to Sage View will result in life-saving care in a stabilizing environment near family, friends and existing support networks without a five-hour drive to the nearest alternate facilities. As the hub for mental health care in Central and Eastern Oregon, Sage View will be a regional resource for local communities, offering a telemedicine outreach program that will eventually extend counseling services to individuals and communities not otherwise served..."