Monday, June 20, 2005

The Medicaid Explosion Washington Post editorial - "Cost control is a daunting task, in large part because rising costs aren't mostly due to any problem with Medicaid itself. Rather, they stem from the growing ranks of the uninsured, the aging of the U.S. population and the rising costs of health care generally -- none of which are amenable to easy fixes. The biggest driver in rising Medicaid costs is the 40 percent increase in people enrolled in the last five years. This reflects the economic downturn and the decline in the availability and affordability of employer-sponsored health insurance. Meanwhile, Medicaid is no longer a program primarily for poor children and mothers: The elderly and disabled account for about 25 percent of beneficiaries but more than 70 percent of spending. Most significantly, because Medicare doesn't cover most long-term care and because only a sliver of Americans purchase long-term care insurance, Medicaid ends up picking up that expensive tab: The program accounts for 43 percent of all spending on long-term care...."  
  

Gee, Fixing Welfare Seemed Like a Snap New York Times article on "Medicaid's Tentacles" - "Remember the hot debate over the transformation of the American welfare system? When President Bill Clinton signed the welfare reform act in 1996, which gave states wide latitude in determining benefits, the federal government believed it had changed the way the country thought about antipoverty programs. But if overhauling welfare as we knew it gave politicians headaches almost a decade ago, fixing Medicaid - the nation's largest antipoverty program - will give them ulcers..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].   
  

How long will we continue to punish the mentally ill? Op ed piece in the Houston Chronicle by David Buck, associate professor of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and Tuon Nguyen of the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County - "...These vulnerable people are often overlooked, stigmatized and punished for conditions they cannot control without help. They can be difficult, demanding and helpless, and society turns a blind eye to their plight. This is especially true in Harris County, where there are 60 percent fewer mental health treatment beds than recommended in national standards. The help that is available is uncoordinated and difficult to access, leaving many of these vulnerable people on the streets or in prison — and without treatment. County agencies, such as the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County and the Harris County Hospital District, are looking at ways to merge services into a more rational system. Without funneling the funds for behavioral health for the county into a common pool with governance over all services, it is unlikely services can be significantly improved. In that spirit, Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston (HHH), an independent nonprofit corporation, is developing several programs to help mentally ill patients who have committed crimes."  
  

Mental Health Caregivers Strike for Better Patient Care at Telecare Facilities in San Leandro and Oakland (California) PR Newswire press release at Yahoo - "Beginning Monday, June 20, over a hundred employees of the for-profit Telecare Corporation will embark on a four-day strike for better patient care at Telecare's Gladman Mental Health Rehabilitation Center in Oakland and Villa Fairmont Mental Health Rehabilitation Center in San Leandro. Telecare receives Contra Costa, Alameda, Marin, and San Mateo county dollars to provide inpatient mental health services for Medicare and Medicaid eligible clients at the two facilities. However, Telecare's under-investment in direct patient services allowed them to reap $6,335,000 in profits between 2001 and 2004. Mental healthcare caregivers believe Telecare should use public funding responsibly to support consistently staffed patient care, pension benefits, and a living wage for workers."  
  

Defenders speak out for Missouri Mental Health Department St. Louis Post-Dispatch story - "About 100 people showed up Friday, to speak or listen, at the panel's public hearing on the campus of the University of Missouri at St. Louis. It was one of six sessions being held around the state, and witnesses were invited to offer suggestions or comments about any aspect of state government. The largest bloc of speakers were, like Parrish, concerned about the future of the state's Mental Health Department. It has been among the state agencies hardest hit by budget cuts. There's concern that the Blunt administration may try to combine it with another department as part of Blunt's goal to trim government..."  
  

Doctors share concerns at mental health meeting (California) Times-Standard story - "What started as a routine meeting on planning for county mental health care funding ended with area health care professionals committing to figuring out how to better collaborate. The county is in the planning process on how to use funds from the Mental Health Services Act, passed by voters in November as Proposition 63. The law establishes some extra funding for county mental health services, which have long had their budgets cut, out of an income tax on millionaires. Humboldt County is expected to receive $1.3 million..."