Sobering Thoughts

Sobering Thoughts: Town Hall Meetings on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: "Prenatal exposure to alcohol is one of the leading causes of preventable birth defects and developmental disabilities. During the past 30 years, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), including fetal alcohol syndrome, have gradually begun to attract attention. However, awareness and understanding of the disorders remain low, and people who are affected are seriously underserved. The FASD Center for Excellence held a series of town hall meetings in 2002 and 2003 to gauge the issues surrounding FASD nationwide. On the basis of its findings, the center proposed a series of recommendations to begin to remedy some of the deficiencies that were identified."

Health insurance companies help block mental health parity bill

Wellstone Action - Wellstone Action Network: "Health insurance companies help block mental health parity bill' by Frederic J. Frommer, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Aided by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, insurance companies successfully have blocked legislation to make them provide equal coverage for mental and physical illnesses if their policies include both. President Bush endorsed the concept two years ago. Today, supporters of the bill are willing to settle for a scaled-back version they hope Congress will pass in 2004. "

Health insurance companies help block mental health parity bill

Wellstone Action - Wellstone Action Network: "Health insurance companies help block mental health parity bill' by Frederic J. Frommer, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Aided by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, insurance companies successfully have blocked legislation to make them provide equal coverage for mental and physical illnesses if their policies include both. President Bush endorsed the concept two years ago. Today, supporters of the bill are willing to settle for a scaled-back version they hope Congress will pass in 2004. "

Malnutrition Is Cheating Its Survivors, and Africa’s Future

Malnutrition Is Cheating Its Survivors, and Africa’s Future - New York Times: "Yet almost half of Ethiopia’s children are malnourished, and most do not die. Some suffer a different fate. Robbed of vital nutrients as children, they grow up stunted and sickly, weaklings in a land that still runs on manual labor. Some become intellectually stunted adults, shorn of as many as 15 I.Q. points, unable to learn or even to concentrate, inclined to drop out of school early."

Governor Blunt's Medicaid Transformation Report

Missouri Dept. Social Services - Programs & Services for Health Care: "The Medicaid Transformation Report describes Governor Blunts plans to replace Missouri Medicaid with a new program called Missouri Health Net in which every Missouri citizen would have a 'health care home.'"

Senator Gibbons (R-Kirkwood) on Mental Health in Missouri

STLtoday - News - Editorial / Commentary: "The Department of Mental Health recently received a $14 million, five-year transformation grant from the federal government. The funds will help support the strategic planning, workforce development and technological enhancements required to transform Missouri's public mental health delivery system into one that is more patient-oriented, efficient and cost-effective."

New Poll Finds Broad Support for Health Care Reform

New Poll Finds Broad Support Among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans for Drug Price Negotiation, Reimportation, and Prioritizing Children for Coverage of the Uninsured...Views on Stem Cells More Mixed - Kaiser Family Foundation: "While there is debate in Washington about whether and how to do it, substantial majorities of Democrats (92%), Independents (85%), and Republicans (74%) support allowing the government to negotiate drug prices under Medicare (85% overall, including 65% strongly and 20% somewhat favoring it). There is also widespread support for permitting Americans to buy lower-priced prescription drugs from Canada (79%, including 55% strongly and 24% somewhat). Eight in 10 people believe drug price negotiation will make medications more affordable, while 31% believe it will result in less research and development by U.S. drug companies."

Poor Scores for U.S. Health and Mental Health Care

Poor Scores for U.S. Health and Mental Health Care Systems on New National Scorecard: "A new report on U.S. health care shows that the system falls far short of what it could achieve. On a national scorecard of 37 indicators, the overall score was 66 out of 100, with wide gaps between the best and worst states. The findings indicate that improved performance in key areas would save an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 lives annually and $50 to $100 billion in health care spending. "

Sample Letter to the Editor

STLtoday - News - Editorial / Commentary: "The members of the Midwest Regional Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Training Center were shocked by 'Some say it's OK to drink when pregnant' (Nov. 29), which implied that it is safe for pregnant women to drink small amounts of alcohol. The article contained little credible research and tried to obfuscate the issue by claiming that the research was confusing and controversial. The article relied on the voices of women and obstetricians who are not in the vanguard of American medicine. In fact, numerous studies document the deleterious effects of alcohol during pregnancy. "

Doctors aren't chaplains

Doctors aren't chaplains - Los Angeles Times: "A concerted effort is underway to make religious practices part of clinical medicine. About two-thirds of U.S. medical schools now offer some form of training on the role of religion and spirituality in medicine, according to Dr. Harold Koenig of Duke University."