Saturday, March 12, 2005

Medicaid Alert: House and Senate Move Forward With Budget Resolutions Cutting Medicaid Alert at the NAMI web site - "Both the House and Senate Budget Committees acted this week on separate versions of the FY 2006 budget resolution that include cuts to the Medicaid program. When the full Senate takes up its version next week, Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) will be offering an amendment to reject these cuts and instead authorize a bipartisan commission on the future of the program..." The alert also includes links to background information regarding Medicaid cuts, information on the Medicaid program and its importance to children and adults with severe mental illnesses and information on the Smith-Bingaman Amendment.  
  

Allegheny County Mental Health Court Project A report (in Adobe Acrobat format) called to our attention at the Open Minds web site - " Allegheny County’s Mental Health Court experienced its share of growing pains over its first 30 months. It has accepted far fewer offenders with mental illness than planned. And the average time they spent in jail before their release under supervised service plans was longer than the court’s architects envisioned. But the outcomes of the mentally-ill offenders who took part in the Mental Health Court are encouraging. Recidivism is remarkably low. Fewer than 10 percent of offenders in the program strayed from their treatment plan or otherwise breached their agreement with the court. Only one was terminated from the program for repeatedly violating the terms of her probation. How well these men and women will do over the long term is unclear, particularly after their probation expires and they are no longer under close supervision. But the courts in Allegheny County now have a process that allows judges to look at nonviolent offenders with mental illness and ask whether it is more prudent to treat than to incarcerate."  
  

Three Researchers in NIH Controversy Are Leaving Los Angeles Times story - "Three senior researchers at the center of a controversy at the National Institutes of Health over moonlighting for the pharmaceutical industry are leaving the government, officials said. The departures come at a time when the NIH is implementing tougher conflict-of-interest rules that prohibit all agency employees from accepting consulting fees, stock options or any compensation from the industry..." [Viewing Los Angeles Times stories requires registration, which is free].  
  

Mental-health companies respond to investigation (Michigan) Jackson Citizen-Patriot story - " Investigation of health-care fraud claims involving two mental-health companies in Jackson is thought to stem from complaints made in 2002 by former employees. The allegations were investigated locally and no evidence was found to substantiate them, according to a lawyer for Segue Inc. and Behavioral Health Connections. Both companies were raided Tuesday and records were seized by the health-care fraud division of the Michigan Attorney General's Office. "  
  

Senate passes mental health reform bill, with major price tag (Washington) Seattle Post Intelligencer story - "The state Senate on Thursday passed an ambitious and expensive bill to reform the mental health care system in Washington state. While the $90 million to $140 million cost put off some senators, bill sponsor Sen. Jim Hargrove said the cost of inaction will be much higher. 'What this bill does is make our drug-and-alcohol and mental health system work better and be adequately funded so we can save piles and piles of money,' said Hargrove, D-Hoquiam. He said the state could save $80 billion over the next 20 years in jail costs, hospital expenses, education, law enforcement and social services by improving the mental health system so people get the treatment they need. Most of the bill's provisions will take effect only if the Legislature provides money in the budget for them. The state faces a $2.2 billion budget shortfall over the next two years, plus cuts in federal mental health funding." See also Governor signs mental health parity into law at the same source.