Monday, January 31, 2005

Healthcare Overhaul Is Quietly Underway LA Times story - "Emboldened by their success at the polls, the Bush administration and Republican leaders in Congress believe they have a new opportunity to move the nation away from the system of employer-provided health insurance that has covered most working Americans for the last half-century. In its place, they want to erect a system in which workers — instead of looking to employers for health insurance — would take personal responsibility for protecting themselves and their families: They would buy high-deductible 'catastrophic' insurance policies to cover major medical needs, then pay routine costs with money set aside in tax-sheltered health savings accounts. Elements of that approach have been on the conservative agenda for years, but what has suddenly put it on the fast track is GOP confidence that the political balance of power has changed." [Viewing Los Angeles Times stories requires registration, which is free].  
  

Mental Health Board backers fire back at leadership critics (Illinois) Daily Herald story - "Advocacy groups rallied to the defense of the McHenry County Mental Health Board Friday, refuting claims from one of their peers that the board's leadership spends wastefully and is more concerned with empire building than serving the public. The response comes two weeks after Jeffrey Epstein, executive director of Pioneer Center, the county's largest mental health care agency, issued a scathing report claiming the board is responsible for a defective mental health system in McHenry County and calling for the removal of its president, Bev Thomas, and executive director Dennis Smith. Board supporters responded Friday before the McHenry County Board's public health and human services committee with praise for the agency's leadership while questioning the motives behind Epstein's criticism..."  
  

House OKs mental health bill (Washington)Daily News story - "Health insurance companies would have to cover mental health the same way they cover physical health, under a bill passed by the state House. The mental health bill goes next to the state Senate, where Senate leaders said it stands a very good chance of passing. The bill mandates 'parity' for mental health. For example, if the co-payment for a cholesterol drug is $10, the co-payment for an anti-anxiety medication would be $10. If your health plan allows unlimited doctor visits for physical ailments, there can't be a cap on therapy sessions."  
  

New exam to assess troops' mental healthIndianapolis Star story - "In an effort to better identify troops suffering serious psychological problems as a result of combat duty, the Defense Department plans to perform an additional health assessment of service members three to six months after they come home, officials said Friday. The new policy, to begin this spring, will add a third health questionnaire to those given to troops before and immediately after deployments. Military health officials have found that service members leaving the war zone often minimize or cover up mental issues for fear that admitting any problem could delay their return home..."