Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
July, 2012
TEXAS NEWS
Report: States' financial woes undermine services
Austin American-Statesman
July 17, 2012
Texas is one of the few states that has set money aside for a rainy day, drawing praise in a national report aimed at highlighting the long-term budget challenges facing states. But Texas will have a hard time paying for education, health care, law enforcement and other basic services in the future because of rising costs and an outdated tax structure that does not fully capture the state's economic activity, according to the report released Tuesday by the State Budget Crisis Task Force.
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/report-states-financial-woes-undermine-services-2418006.html
Texas Counties Fear Residents Will Pay the Price of Perry's Medicaid Rebuff
The New York Times
July 17, 2012
HOUSTON - Gov. Rick Perry's decision on July 9 to refuse two key provisions of the federal health care law - the expansion of Medicaid and the creation of a state insurance exchange - is already being fiercely debated by lawmakers in Austin. But the real impact of the move will be felt far from the Texas Capitol, in the chambers of the commissioners who oversee the state's counties.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/us/texas-counties-fear-cost-of-medicaid-rebuff.html?_r=1&ref=health
1.3 million Texans won't get Medicaid benefit
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
July 17, 2012
WASHINGTON -- For Gov. Rick Perry, saying "no" to the federal healthcare law could also mean turning away up to 1.3 million Texans, nearly half the uninsured people who could be newly eligible for coverage in his state.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/07/17/4106646/13-million-texans-wont-get-medicaid.html
Businesses Will Push Perry to Rethink Medicaid Expansion
Kaiser Health News
July 18, 2012
Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he rejects the "Obamacare power grab" and will block measures expanding health insurance to millions in his state. The country's second-biggest health insurer is betting he won't succeed.
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/July/18/Texas-Medicaid-expansion-business.aspx
Capitol Protesters Target Perry's Medicaid Announcement
The Texas Tribune
July 17, 2012
Texans from across the state descended on the Capitol on Tuesday to protest Gov. Rick Perry's announcement that Texas wouldn't implement key elements of health care reform. ... They expressed concerns that Perry's decision last week prevents millions of Texans from attaining health care.
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-health-resources/medicaid/texans-protest-perrys-refusal-expand-healthcare/
Program aims to improve indigent defense system
Houston Chronicle
July 17, 2012
Montgomery County residents have begun to receive assistance from a new program aimed at helping the mentally ill who are swept into the criminal justice system.
http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands-news/article/Program-aims-to-improve-indigent-defense-system-3713784.php
School of Social work to offer military mental health training course
The Shorthorn
July 17, 2012
The School of Social Work will offer new coursework in the fall for military social work. "There is a short staff on social workers trained on mental health, military culture and an understanding of military families," said Alexa Smith-Osborne, social work dean and principle investigator of the Student and Veteran Project.
http://www.theshorthorn.com/index.php/news/university/30614-school-of-social-work-to-offer-military-mental-health-training-course-
Harris County Hospital District named 'most wired'
Ultimate Bellaire
July 17, 2012
For the second year in a row, Harris County Hospital District has been recognized for its advances in patient and health care technology. The hospital has been placed on the "Hospitals and Health Networks" Most Wired list.
http://ultimatebellaire.com/stories/398990-harris-county-hospital-district-named-most-wired
Texas Mental Health Specialists Launch Intensive Outpatient Program
Houston Chronicle
July 17, 2012
The Meehl Foundation, which created a highly successful transitional residential group home known as the Meehl House, is expanding its reach in the mental health community by offering an intensive outpatient program. The goal is to provide a strong resource for clients in the surrounding area who have been unable to achieve long-term mental wellness elsewhere.
http://www.chron.com/default/article/Texas-Mental-Health-Specialists-Launch-Intensive-3713191.php
Child sex trafficking a huge problem in Texas and the nation
San Antonio Express-News
July 17, 2012
... Those rescued from the sex trade often struggle with mental and emotional issues such as post-traumatic-stress disorder from their abuse, she said. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Child-sex-trafficking-a-huge-problem-in-Texas-and-3714153.php
NATIONAL NEWS
Physicians using electronic health record technology, express positive views
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
July 17, 2012
A national survey of office-based physicians reports that most of those who have adopted electronic health record (EHR) systems are satisfied with their system and say it has improved patient care, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/07/20120717a.html
Loretto Hospital stabbing draws threat from feds
Chicago Tribune
July 17, 2012
A major Chicago community hospital is working to tighten safety procedures after one psychiatric patient repeatedly stabbed another and authorities threatened to revoke the facility's Medicare and Medicaid funding, records and interviews show.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-17/news/ct-met-loretto-20120717_1_safety-breaches-loretto-hospital-state-inspection
Prosecutors seek psychologist's notes on Loughner
Austin American-Statesman
July 17, 2012
... In a motion filed Tuesday, prosecutors asked a federal judge for Bureau of Prisons psychologist Dr. Christina Pietz's personal notes from her latest competency evaluations of Loughner from Feb. 8 to June 7.
http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/prosecutors-seek-psychologists-notes-on-loughner-2418064.html?cxtype=rss_ece_frontpage
HEALTHCARE REFORM
Once Focus of Health Law, Some In Poverty May Be Left Out
Kaiser Health News
July 18, 2012
... That's because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can decide to forgo without penalty a key plank of the law that expanded the federal-state Medicaid program to include all legal residents living in or near poverty.
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/July/18/mississippi-medicaid.aspx
Could The Health Law End Up Back In Court? Opponents Think So
NPR
July 18, 2012
If you thought last month's Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act was the final word on the legality of the health law, think again. Some conservative scholars believe they may have discovered a flaw that could send the law back to court, or at least cause some big problems for its implementation.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/07/18/156936766/could-the-health-law-end-up-back-in-court-opponents-think-so
Health spending accounts could be at risk under reaffirmed Affordable Care Act
San Antonio Express-News
July 17, 2012
... Under the Affordable Care Act, HSA contributions will not be counted in that calculation, and for many people, he explained, that will mean they will have to purchase more expensive plans with lower deductibles to cover costs. In fact, McKechnie said, people are already being overcharged for traditional health plans by paying for known non-risk events.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/health/article/Health-spending-accounts-could-be-at-risk-under-3713437.php
OPINIONS
Fighting Depression, One Village at a Time
The New York Times
July 18, 2012
... According to the World Health Organization, three-quarters of the world's neuropsychiatric disorders are in low-income or low-middle income countries. In troubled places, depression's impact is more severe.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/fighting-depression-one-village-at-a-time/?scp=1&sq=mental&st=Search
RESEARCH
2 Biological Risk Factors For Schizophrenia Linked
Medical News Today
July 18, 2012
Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a cause-and-effect relationship between two well-established biological risk factors for schizophrenia previously believed to be independent of one another.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/247916.php
Schizophrenia patients, psychiatrists differ in remission definitions
MedWire News
July 18, 2012
Schizophrenia patients, their families, and psychiatrists differ significantly in their perception of remission, study results show.
http://www.medwire-news.md/47/100676/Psychiatry/Schizophrenia_patients,_psychiatrists_differ_in_remission_definitions.html
Genetic Link to Rapid Weight Gain from Antipsychotics Discovered
ScienceDaily
July 17, 2012
Scientists have discovered two genetic variants associated with the substantial, rapid weight gain occurring in nearly half the patients treated with antipsychotic medications, according to two studies involving the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120717122444.htm
FEATURES & RESOURCES
Mental health care offers easy target for budget ax
Chicago Tribune
July 18, 2012
Q: What does the Affordable Care Act mean for Americans with psychiatric disorders? A: It may be the most important piece of legislation affecting people with mental illness in decades because it provides insurance for millions who are uninsured due to prior existing conditions.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-x-0718-expert-heyrman-20120718,0,2427150.story
An artist's struggle
Chicago Tribune
July 17, 2012
... All the while that Gabe was making such steady progress, gaining increased mastery and recognition as a filmmaker, he was accompanied by the dark forces of his illness, which often burst out in episodes of anger and frustration. We knew that right alongside his rebirth as an incredibly charming young man ... he was still fighting with (and protecting his parents from) the dark world of auditory hallucination ... .
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-17/features/ct-prj-0715-gabriel-mitchell-20120717_1_mental-illness-homeless-man-gabe
