Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Tough Lessons from TennCare A report, in Adobe Acrobat format, from the Council for Affordable Health Insurance - " ennCare — a managed care program that replaced and expanded Medicaid in Tennessee — has been troubled from its inception. Hastily implemented so as to minimize evaluation and opposition, Tennesseans have been paying the high price for an ill-conceived program ever since. ... Now, 11 years after implementation, Tennessee is a poorer, but wiser, state..."  
  

New Report on Washington Mental Health Crisis PR Newswire story at Yahoo - "The Washington chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and partners from medical, law enforcement, education and other communities have released a new report on the state's budget crisis and mental healthcare needs, while launching a statewide campaign to address the costs of untreated mental illness..." See also the full report, Can Crisis Beget Opportunity? Washington State's Response to the Mental Health Funding Quandary (Adobe Acrobat), and other, related resources at the NAMI web site.  
  

House panel OKs mental health bill (South Carolina) Brief Island Packet Online story - "A bill aimed at increasing mental health insurance coverage for many South Carolinians was approved by the state House of Representatives' Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee Tuesday. In a voice vote, the committee approved the measure that would require companies with more than 50 employees to provide insurance coverage for specific mental illnesses for up to 45 days of inpatient care and up to 60 outpatient visits a year."  
  

Omaha leaders offer to raise money for mental health facility (Nebraska) Sioux City Journal story - "Concerns over what impact a proposed mental health treatment facility in Omaha will have on services provided to people across the state was to be discussed at a private meeting Wednesday with Gov. Dave Heineman and those working on reforms. The meeting comes as work continues to make the long talked about Omaha facility a reality. Concerned community leaders has pledged to raise between $15 million and $20 million to build the new center, said Nebraska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Raymond on Tuesday. Getting the center started, which has been in the works for two years, is moving ahead, he said..."