By Shannon McCaffrey
Associated Press
Athens Banner-Herald
January 22, 2010
ATLANTA - Facing a massive gap in Medicaid funding, Georgia's top health official urged state legislators Thursday to raise taxes on hospitals and health care plans.
The state is staring down a $506 million shortfall in Medicaid funds for the fiscal year that begins July 1, according to state Health Commissioner Rhonda Medows.
The recession has caused enrollment in the health program for the needy to soar. Medicaid rolls for low-income residents have jumped 7.7 percent since June to more than 1 million people.
Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus money is about to dry up.
The state has few options. To participate in Medicaid, it must provide services to the aged, blind and disabled and to low-income children. And because Georgia accepted stimulus cash from Washington, it cannot cut back eligibility on optional programs such as dental coverage and prescription drugs, Medows said.
"We are in a box," Medows told a joint budget panel of state legislators Thursday. "I cannot find $506 million to fill that hole through cuts, program reductions, layoffs."
Gov. Sonny Perdue has put forward a proposal that would charge hospitals and health insurance plans a 1.6 percent fee on their total revenues.
Perdue has been careful to label it a fee, but Medows on Thursday called it a tax - a word that's not popular in the Republican-led Georgia General Assembly.
It's the second year Perdue has pushed the proposal, which would leverage additional federal matching dollars. Last year the plan died amid opposition from conservative Republicans. But federal money also came to the rescue.
This year, unless Congress approves another infusion of federal cash, Georgia will be left to fend for itself.
State Rep. Mickey Channell, R-Greensboro, who oversees health spending on the House Appropriations Committee, said legislators are looking at possible alternatives to Perdue's so-called bed tax.
"The need for additional revenue is real," Channell said. "Our options are all pretty painful." Channell did not elaborate on potential alternatives, but one idea raised in the past was to increase the tax on tobacco products.
Federal and state governments share the costs for Medicaid, the health program for needy residents, and Medicaid spending accounts for 9.8 percent of all state general revenue spending in Georgia.
The recession is straining social service programs at the same time state coffers are running dry.
State Human Services Commissioner B.J. Walker told the legislative budget panel Thursday that in the past two years, Georgia has seen a 39 percent jump in demand for social services programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and welfare.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Friday, January 22, 2010
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/012210/gen_553013236.shtml
© 2010 OnlineAthens • Athens Banner-Herald • Morris Digital Works
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Showing posts with label Health and Disabilities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health and Disabilities. Show all posts
Friday, January 22, 2010
Georgia Expects $608 Million Medicaid Deficit
By Craig Schneider
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
January 22, 2010
Georgia is projecting a $608 million deficit in Medicaid, and Gov. Sonny Perdue is proposing a tax on hospitals and managed care insurers to help bridge the gap, officials said Thursday.
The Medicaid gap is largely due to the reduction of $506 million in money from sources that include the federal stimulus program and the national settlement with tobacco companies.
In addition, the recession has spurred a projected 7.7 percent increase in enrollment in the state's Medicaid health program for the needy from July 2009 to June of this year. That program is expected to grow an additional 2 percent in the following budget year, said officials of the state Department of Community Health.
DCH Commissioner Rhonda Medows discussed the Medicaid problem Thursday during a series of state budget hearings on health and human services.
The hearings at the state Capitol also featured discussion on the proposed budget for the state mental health agency, which is slated to receive an additional $70 million over the next 18 months.
The $608 million Medicaid deficit is projected for fiscal year 2011, which begins in July. Medows said her agency does not have the means to make up for the Medicaid deficit without generating new revenue.
To help bridge the gap, Perdue's proposed budget calls for a 1.6 percent tax on net patient revenue of hospitals and premium revenue on managed care insurers. The two fees would generate $345 million annually, officials said.
Perdue had floated a similar fee proposal a year ago, and it was not well-received.
Medows said that if the new taxes are not approved, her agency would have to decrease Medicaid reimbursement payments to hospitals, doctors and other health providers by 16.5 percent.
Rep. Mickey Channell (R-Greensboro), chairman of the House Appropriations health subcommittee, said he opposed the hospital tax because it would benefit some hospitals and not others.
He noted that federal restrictions prevent the state from tinkering with the eligibility requirements on Medicaid, which is funded by both the state and federal governments. He said he was open to discussing the fees on the managed care companies.
Medows said Perdue's proposed budget also planned for increases in the premiums state employees pay into their health benefit program. The health plan -- which covers 689,000 state employees, their dependents and retirees -- would increase 10 percent across all options, officials said.
For the employee on the state HMO program, the most popular plan, the cost would increase about $10 a month for a single person and about $25 a month for a family.
Officials from the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities said their agency may be the only one to receive more money in the state budget.
The agency has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to improve treatment and conditions at the state's mental hospitals. Perdue has proposed adding $20 million to the agency's budget from January through June. After that, Perdue has proposed adding an additional $50 million to the agency's $1 billion annual budget.
The additional money would be used to hire more staff for those mental hospitals that are understaffed, increase training, transfer paper records into electronic form, and increase community-based services, officials said.
http://www.ajc.com/health/georgia-expects-608-million-280428.html?cxtype=rss_news_128746
© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
January 22, 2010
Georgia is projecting a $608 million deficit in Medicaid, and Gov. Sonny Perdue is proposing a tax on hospitals and managed care insurers to help bridge the gap, officials said Thursday.
The Medicaid gap is largely due to the reduction of $506 million in money from sources that include the federal stimulus program and the national settlement with tobacco companies.
In addition, the recession has spurred a projected 7.7 percent increase in enrollment in the state's Medicaid health program for the needy from July 2009 to June of this year. That program is expected to grow an additional 2 percent in the following budget year, said officials of the state Department of Community Health.
DCH Commissioner Rhonda Medows discussed the Medicaid problem Thursday during a series of state budget hearings on health and human services.
The hearings at the state Capitol also featured discussion on the proposed budget for the state mental health agency, which is slated to receive an additional $70 million over the next 18 months.
The $608 million Medicaid deficit is projected for fiscal year 2011, which begins in July. Medows said her agency does not have the means to make up for the Medicaid deficit without generating new revenue.
To help bridge the gap, Perdue's proposed budget calls for a 1.6 percent tax on net patient revenue of hospitals and premium revenue on managed care insurers. The two fees would generate $345 million annually, officials said.
Perdue had floated a similar fee proposal a year ago, and it was not well-received.
Medows said that if the new taxes are not approved, her agency would have to decrease Medicaid reimbursement payments to hospitals, doctors and other health providers by 16.5 percent.
Rep. Mickey Channell (R-Greensboro), chairman of the House Appropriations health subcommittee, said he opposed the hospital tax because it would benefit some hospitals and not others.
He noted that federal restrictions prevent the state from tinkering with the eligibility requirements on Medicaid, which is funded by both the state and federal governments. He said he was open to discussing the fees on the managed care companies.
Medows said Perdue's proposed budget also planned for increases in the premiums state employees pay into their health benefit program. The health plan -- which covers 689,000 state employees, their dependents and retirees -- would increase 10 percent across all options, officials said.
For the employee on the state HMO program, the most popular plan, the cost would increase about $10 a month for a single person and about $25 a month for a family.
Officials from the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities said their agency may be the only one to receive more money in the state budget.
The agency has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to improve treatment and conditions at the state's mental hospitals. Perdue has proposed adding $20 million to the agency's budget from January through June. After that, Perdue has proposed adding an additional $50 million to the agency's $1 billion annual budget.
The additional money would be used to hire more staff for those mental hospitals that are understaffed, increase training, transfer paper records into electronic form, and increase community-based services, officials said.
http://www.ajc.com/health/georgia-expects-608-million-280428.html?cxtype=rss_news_128746
© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Press Release: Governor Perdue to Introduce Legislation to Improve Access to Home-based Care
STATE OF GEORGIA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Sonny Perdue, GOVERNOR
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that State Representative Jimmy Pruett, one of the Governor’s House floor leaders, will introduce legislation to improve access to home-based care. Amending the Nurse Practice Act will allow an unlicensed person who is trained by a Registered Nurse (RN) to provide a defined set of skilled services to a specific person, as long as those services are ordered by a physician, dentist or podiatrist for a person who is disabled.
“Right now there are thousands of people in Georgia who could be cared for at home, but under current law their care must be provided by a licensed nurse,” said Governor Perdue. “This amendment to the Nurse Practice Act would open the door to allow people to remain at home and in their community. This will make healthcare more convenient, more affordable and more accessible to Georgians with disabilities.”
Under current law, no skilled service can receive reimbursement unless the caregiver is a licensed health care provider. Expanding the pool of caregivers will make community care more affordable for both Medicaid and private payers. The training must be for a specific individual and does not allow the unlicensed person to serve others without separate, specific training. The changes to the Nurse Practice Act have also been approved by the Georgia Board of Nursing.
“This bill will increase choice for Georgia’s elderly and disabled,” said Rep. Pruett. “It will help many people stay in their community, rather than go to an institutional setting.”
“This legislation will give families more options to potentially expand services they receive based on their own choices,” said Frank Shelp, M.D., Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
###
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Sonny Perdue, GOVERNOR
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that State Representative Jimmy Pruett, one of the Governor’s House floor leaders, will introduce legislation to improve access to home-based care. Amending the Nurse Practice Act will allow an unlicensed person who is trained by a Registered Nurse (RN) to provide a defined set of skilled services to a specific person, as long as those services are ordered by a physician, dentist or podiatrist for a person who is disabled.
“Right now there are thousands of people in Georgia who could be cared for at home, but under current law their care must be provided by a licensed nurse,” said Governor Perdue. “This amendment to the Nurse Practice Act would open the door to allow people to remain at home and in their community. This will make healthcare more convenient, more affordable and more accessible to Georgians with disabilities.”
Under current law, no skilled service can receive reimbursement unless the caregiver is a licensed health care provider. Expanding the pool of caregivers will make community care more affordable for both Medicaid and private payers. The training must be for a specific individual and does not allow the unlicensed person to serve others without separate, specific training. The changes to the Nurse Practice Act have also been approved by the Georgia Board of Nursing.
“This bill will increase choice for Georgia’s elderly and disabled,” said Rep. Pruett. “It will help many people stay in their community, rather than go to an institutional setting.”
“This legislation will give families more options to potentially expand services they receive based on their own choices,” said Frank Shelp, M.D., Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
###
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Perdue Calls for Mental Health Spending in State of the State Address
By Walter Jones
Savannah Morning News
Savannahnow.com
Home / Latest News
January 13, 2010
ATLANTA - Gov. Sonny Perdue announced few legislative proposals this morning during his State of the State Address to a joint session of the General Assembly, other than a $70 million increase in spending for the disabled.
He spent most of the 45-minute oration reminding legislators that the country had seen tougher times than the after-effects of the recent recession. And he offered praise for teachers and state workers who were working harder despite the budget cuts and layoffs that have hit every agency.
The only area of spending increase announced is in the Department of Behavioral Health which was created last year. The current budget will rise $20 million and the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 will jump another $50 million.
“Yes, it will cost more money, but I am confident that it will result in better outcomes for patients and we will all sleep better at night,” he said. “We have a moral obligation to serve those with disabilities.”
He acknowledged that the federal government has warned the state that its operation of the state’s seven mental hospitals violates standards. He said the problems began before his term started seven years ago.
To state workers, he told them to continue serving the public even though their resources are limited.
“I have noticed it, and more importantly your fellow Georgians have noticed it,” he said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The speech didn’t outline details of his budget recommendations, despite lagging tax collections that could require cuts of as much as $1.5 billion. He said he will release his spending blueprint Friday.
http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2010-01-13/perdue-calls-mental-health-spending-state-state-address
Savannahnow.com, Savannah Morning News ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC.
Savannah Morning News
Savannahnow.com
Home / Latest News
January 13, 2010
ATLANTA - Gov. Sonny Perdue announced few legislative proposals this morning during his State of the State Address to a joint session of the General Assembly, other than a $70 million increase in spending for the disabled.
He spent most of the 45-minute oration reminding legislators that the country had seen tougher times than the after-effects of the recent recession. And he offered praise for teachers and state workers who were working harder despite the budget cuts and layoffs that have hit every agency.
The only area of spending increase announced is in the Department of Behavioral Health which was created last year. The current budget will rise $20 million and the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 will jump another $50 million.
“Yes, it will cost more money, but I am confident that it will result in better outcomes for patients and we will all sleep better at night,” he said. “We have a moral obligation to serve those with disabilities.”
He acknowledged that the federal government has warned the state that its operation of the state’s seven mental hospitals violates standards. He said the problems began before his term started seven years ago.
To state workers, he told them to continue serving the public even though their resources are limited.
“I have noticed it, and more importantly your fellow Georgians have noticed it,” he said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The speech didn’t outline details of his budget recommendations, despite lagging tax collections that could require cuts of as much as $1.5 billion. He said he will release his spending blueprint Friday.
http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2010-01-13/perdue-calls-mental-health-spending-state-state-address
Savannahnow.com, Savannah Morning News ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Are Doctors Ready for Virtual Visits?
By PAULINE W. CHEN, M.D.
The New York Times
January 7, 2010
For over a decade now, health care experts have been promoting telemedicine, or the use of satellite technology, video conferencing and data transfer through phones and the Internet, to connect doctors to patients in far-flung locales. But are doctors ready for this form of technology?
Skip to next paragraph Telemedicine has the potential to improve quality of care by allowing clinicians in one “control center” to monitor, consult and even care for and perform procedures on patients in multiple locations. A rural primary care practitioner who sees a patient with a rare skin lesion, for example, can get expert consultation from a dermatologist at a center hundreds of miles away. A hospital unable to staff its intensive care unit with a single critical care specialist can have several experts monitoring their patients remotely 24 hours a day.
But despite its promise, telemedicine has failed to take hold in the same way that other, newer, technologies have. Not because of technical challenges, expense or insufficient need. On the contrary, the most daunting obstacle to date has been a deeply entrenched resistance on the part of providers.
New technologies in health care always require a reassessment of how patients and doctors best relate to one another, a judgment call on whether the relationship, and care, is helped or harmed by e-mailing instead of calling, updating Web sites instead of mailing out notifications, blogging and posting updates to Twitter instead of publishing in medical journals. And while most doctors believe that technology can help to strengthen the doctor-patient bond, that’s not the case for telemedicine. Indeed, for many doctors, telemedicine seems to depersonalize the relationship and sabotage trust.
But are doctors resisting telemedicine based on truth or on fear? And if we are afraid, how can we address or adjust those fears in a way that might better help patients?
A recent study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston looked at the impact of telemedicine on patients in the intensive care unit. Although the researchers had initially set out to study telemedicine’s effect on mortality, complications and the length of stay of patients in five different hospitals, they inadvertently discovered the extent to which clinicians were reluctant to incorporate this technological change.
Every I.C.U. patient in the study received the usual on-site care throughout the study, as well as all the additional audiovisual and vital signs monitoring offered by a remote critical care specialist 24 hours a day. In addition, each patient’s physician could choose the degree to which the remote specialists would be involved in delivering direct care — that is, giving orders and intervening from afar.
If the patient’s physician wanted only minimal remote direct involvement, the remote clinicians would offer care only during unexpected life-threatening emergencies, like sudden drops in blood pressure or acute bleeding. If the regular physicians wanted maximum involvement, the remote clinicians would work together with the on-site doctors and give routine orders and change treatment plans.
Clearly for an I.C.U. patient there are potential advantages to having an “extra set of eyes” at all times, eyes that might notice a disconnected monitor or an errant passing, but potentially recurrent, lethal heart rhythm. And at least anecdotally, many patients seemed to welcome the additional monitoring. “Families seemed to be very accepting of the technology because they felt that someone was always looking in on the patient,” said Dr. Bela Patel, the senior author of the study and executive medical director of critical care at the Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center.
Despite the seemingly obvious advantages and patient willingness, however, the majority of doctors in the study chose to have as little remote involvement for their patients as possible.
Many were worried about telemedicine’s effect on their relationships with patients and that it might adversely affect care.
“Certainly some of the doctors were just skeptical,” said Dr. Eric J. Thomas, a lead author of the study and director of the University of Texas-Memorial Hermann Center for Health Care Quality and Safety, “but others were hesitant because of how they felt about their relationship with their patients.”
“Some physicians felt we were being too intrusive,” Dr. Patel added. “We would recommend changing the ventilator settings, for example, but it wouldn’t be how they practiced. The doctors would respond, ‘It’s my patient; leave me alone.’ They did not want 20 people looking in on their patient and seeing if anything else could be done.”
And doctors were not the only ones who resisted this technology; nurses did, too. “Some of the nurses felt that somebody was looking over their shoulder all the time,” Dr. Patel commented. “And someone was. In the right context that would have been helpful; but if all that the nurses were hearing from the remote clinicians was that their patient’s EKG leads were disconnected or that a certain monitor had fallen off again, they ended up frustrated.” While the nurses acknowledged that reminders like these were important, “we were also bothering their workflow. The nurses would say, ‘Stop calling me. I don’t want to hear that again.’ ”
This lack of acceptance made it difficult for the study investigators to assess the impact of telemedicine on patients who were less sick but who had much to gain. “Early recognition of changes in a patient’s status is what really helps in critical care,” Dr. Patel said. “When a patient’s heart stops or a patient is clinically crashing, everyone knows about it. But when a patient’s heart rate goes up slightly, not everyone catches that. If you notice and act upon these kinds of changes early, you can rescue the patient early.”
While the researchers ultimately found that telemedicine could significantly improve survival among the sickest of I.C.U. patients, the resistance of on-site clinicians made it nearly impossible to assess the broad impact of such technology on quality of care. “Perhaps we never reached telemedicine’s full potential in this study because we did not have adequate acceptance,” Dr. Patel reflected. “You can’t just randomly assert some technology. You need a significant infrastructure to use it effectively, and that includes widespread acceptance.”
That acceptance will first require redefining the patient-doctor relationship in light of this new use of technology. Telemedicine and the idea of unseen clinicians in a remote “control room” doling out care is scary. But with dire predictions of physician shortages, particularly in rural regions, and insufficient numbers of critical care specialists even in large metropolitan areas, telemedicine likely has an important role in improving the quality of patient care.
But it will only work if all of us, doctors and patients, accept care from a clinician working in conjunction with a team of providers, each of whom is deeply engaged and committed to the patient, and some of whom, on occasion, may not be anywhere near that patient’s bedside, city or state.
“My view is that we want to provide the highest quality care possible for our patients,” Dr. Thomas said. “In some situations that might be with a remotely located physician; in others, not. I think that as long as we keep our eye on the ball — that ball being the patient — we will be okay in the end.”
“We can divide our work up in new ways and still do what is best.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/health/07chen.html
Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
January 7, 2010
For over a decade now, health care experts have been promoting telemedicine, or the use of satellite technology, video conferencing and data transfer through phones and the Internet, to connect doctors to patients in far-flung locales. But are doctors ready for this form of technology?
Skip to next paragraph Telemedicine has the potential to improve quality of care by allowing clinicians in one “control center” to monitor, consult and even care for and perform procedures on patients in multiple locations. A rural primary care practitioner who sees a patient with a rare skin lesion, for example, can get expert consultation from a dermatologist at a center hundreds of miles away. A hospital unable to staff its intensive care unit with a single critical care specialist can have several experts monitoring their patients remotely 24 hours a day.
But despite its promise, telemedicine has failed to take hold in the same way that other, newer, technologies have. Not because of technical challenges, expense or insufficient need. On the contrary, the most daunting obstacle to date has been a deeply entrenched resistance on the part of providers.
New technologies in health care always require a reassessment of how patients and doctors best relate to one another, a judgment call on whether the relationship, and care, is helped or harmed by e-mailing instead of calling, updating Web sites instead of mailing out notifications, blogging and posting updates to Twitter instead of publishing in medical journals. And while most doctors believe that technology can help to strengthen the doctor-patient bond, that’s not the case for telemedicine. Indeed, for many doctors, telemedicine seems to depersonalize the relationship and sabotage trust.
But are doctors resisting telemedicine based on truth or on fear? And if we are afraid, how can we address or adjust those fears in a way that might better help patients?
A recent study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston looked at the impact of telemedicine on patients in the intensive care unit. Although the researchers had initially set out to study telemedicine’s effect on mortality, complications and the length of stay of patients in five different hospitals, they inadvertently discovered the extent to which clinicians were reluctant to incorporate this technological change.
Every I.C.U. patient in the study received the usual on-site care throughout the study, as well as all the additional audiovisual and vital signs monitoring offered by a remote critical care specialist 24 hours a day. In addition, each patient’s physician could choose the degree to which the remote specialists would be involved in delivering direct care — that is, giving orders and intervening from afar.
If the patient’s physician wanted only minimal remote direct involvement, the remote clinicians would offer care only during unexpected life-threatening emergencies, like sudden drops in blood pressure or acute bleeding. If the regular physicians wanted maximum involvement, the remote clinicians would work together with the on-site doctors and give routine orders and change treatment plans.
Clearly for an I.C.U. patient there are potential advantages to having an “extra set of eyes” at all times, eyes that might notice a disconnected monitor or an errant passing, but potentially recurrent, lethal heart rhythm. And at least anecdotally, many patients seemed to welcome the additional monitoring. “Families seemed to be very accepting of the technology because they felt that someone was always looking in on the patient,” said Dr. Bela Patel, the senior author of the study and executive medical director of critical care at the Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center.
Despite the seemingly obvious advantages and patient willingness, however, the majority of doctors in the study chose to have as little remote involvement for their patients as possible.
Many were worried about telemedicine’s effect on their relationships with patients and that it might adversely affect care.
“Certainly some of the doctors were just skeptical,” said Dr. Eric J. Thomas, a lead author of the study and director of the University of Texas-Memorial Hermann Center for Health Care Quality and Safety, “but others were hesitant because of how they felt about their relationship with their patients.”
“Some physicians felt we were being too intrusive,” Dr. Patel added. “We would recommend changing the ventilator settings, for example, but it wouldn’t be how they practiced. The doctors would respond, ‘It’s my patient; leave me alone.’ They did not want 20 people looking in on their patient and seeing if anything else could be done.”
And doctors were not the only ones who resisted this technology; nurses did, too. “Some of the nurses felt that somebody was looking over their shoulder all the time,” Dr. Patel commented. “And someone was. In the right context that would have been helpful; but if all that the nurses were hearing from the remote clinicians was that their patient’s EKG leads were disconnected or that a certain monitor had fallen off again, they ended up frustrated.” While the nurses acknowledged that reminders like these were important, “we were also bothering their workflow. The nurses would say, ‘Stop calling me. I don’t want to hear that again.’ ”
This lack of acceptance made it difficult for the study investigators to assess the impact of telemedicine on patients who were less sick but who had much to gain. “Early recognition of changes in a patient’s status is what really helps in critical care,” Dr. Patel said. “When a patient’s heart stops or a patient is clinically crashing, everyone knows about it. But when a patient’s heart rate goes up slightly, not everyone catches that. If you notice and act upon these kinds of changes early, you can rescue the patient early.”
While the researchers ultimately found that telemedicine could significantly improve survival among the sickest of I.C.U. patients, the resistance of on-site clinicians made it nearly impossible to assess the broad impact of such technology on quality of care. “Perhaps we never reached telemedicine’s full potential in this study because we did not have adequate acceptance,” Dr. Patel reflected. “You can’t just randomly assert some technology. You need a significant infrastructure to use it effectively, and that includes widespread acceptance.”
That acceptance will first require redefining the patient-doctor relationship in light of this new use of technology. Telemedicine and the idea of unseen clinicians in a remote “control room” doling out care is scary. But with dire predictions of physician shortages, particularly in rural regions, and insufficient numbers of critical care specialists even in large metropolitan areas, telemedicine likely has an important role in improving the quality of patient care.
But it will only work if all of us, doctors and patients, accept care from a clinician working in conjunction with a team of providers, each of whom is deeply engaged and committed to the patient, and some of whom, on occasion, may not be anywhere near that patient’s bedside, city or state.
“My view is that we want to provide the highest quality care possible for our patients,” Dr. Thomas said. “In some situations that might be with a remotely located physician; in others, not. I think that as long as we keep our eye on the ball — that ball being the patient — we will be okay in the end.”
“We can divide our work up in new ways and still do what is best.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/health/07chen.html
Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Evidence Lacking For Special Diets in Autism
by CARLA K. JOHNSON
The Associated Press
Atlanta health, diet and fitness news
January 4, 2010
CHICAGO — An expert panel says there's no rigorous evidence that digestive problems are more common in children with autism compared to other children, or that special diets work, contrary to claims by celebrities and vaccine naysayers.
Painful digestive problems can trigger problem behavior in children with autism and should be treated medically, according to the panel's report published in the January issue of Pediatrics and released Monday.
"There are a lot of barriers to medical care to children with autism," said the report's lead author, Dr. Timothy Buie of Harvard Medical School. "They can be destructive and unruly in the office, or they can't sit still. The nature of their condition often prevents them from getting standard medical care."
Some pediatricians' offices "can't handle those kids," Buie said, especially if children are in pain or discomfort because of bloating or stomach cramps. Pain can set off problem behavior, further complicating diagnosis, especially if the child has trouble communicating — as is the case for children with autism.
Autism is a spectrum of disorders affecting a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Children with autism may make poor eye contact or exhibit repetitive movements such as rocking or hand-flapping. About 1 in 110 U.S. children have autism, according to a recent government estimate.
More than 25 experts met in Boston in 2008 to write the consensus report after reviewing medical research. The Autism Society and other autism groups funded the effort, but gave no input.
The report refutes the controversial idea that there's a digestive problem specific to autism called "leaky gut" or "autistic enterocolitis." The hypothesis was first floated in 1998 in a now-discredited study by British physician Dr. Andrew Wakefield. His paper tied a particular type of autism and bowel disease to the measles vaccine.
The new report says the existence of autistic enterocolitis "has not been established." Buie said researchers and doctors have avoided digestive issues in autism because of their connection with Wakefield's disputed research, which set off a backlash against vaccines that continues to this day.
The new report calls for more rigorous research into the prevalence of digestive problems and whether special diets might help some children.
For now, the report states, available information doesn't support special diets for autism.
Diets have been promoted by actress Jenny McCarthy, whose best-seller "Louder Than Words" detailed her search for treatments for her autistic son.
Nearly 1 in 5 of children with autism are on a special diet, according to a project that tracks what treatments parents are trying. Most of them were on diets that eliminate gluten, found in many grains, or casein, a protein in milk, or both, according to the Interactive Autism Network at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Md.
The new report advises doctors to watch for nutritional deficiencies in patients with autism. It recommends a nutritionist get involved if a patient is on a special diet or only eats certain foods.
The report drew praise from Rebecca Estepp of Poway, Calif., who believes a special diet is helping her autistic son. She said the paper gives pediatricians credible recommendations they've needed.
"I'm filled with hope after reading this report," said Estepp of the support group Talk About Curing Autism. "I wish this report would have come out 10 years ago when my son was diagnosed."
Lee Grossman, president of the Autism Society, a funder, said many doctors have written off autistic children's digestive problems as untreatable.
"I think we still have a lot to learn about the gut and how it contributes to behavioral symptoms," Grossman said. "We have a lot to learn about how to treat this."
Buie said his clinic has various techniques for treating children with problem behavior. They schedule early morning appointments so children aren't delayed in the waiting room or blow bubbles during a blood draw as a distraction. As a last resort, they use anesthesia.
"If a child is going to be asleep because of a dental evaluation or an MRI study, we will do our endoscopy, our blood work, spinal tap, haircuts or teeth cleaning at the same time," Buie said.
"Our nurses do beautiful haircuts."
http://www.ajc.com/health/evidence-lacking-for-special-266281.html
Copyright 2010, The Associated Press.
© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Associated Press
Atlanta health, diet and fitness news
January 4, 2010
CHICAGO — An expert panel says there's no rigorous evidence that digestive problems are more common in children with autism compared to other children, or that special diets work, contrary to claims by celebrities and vaccine naysayers.
Painful digestive problems can trigger problem behavior in children with autism and should be treated medically, according to the panel's report published in the January issue of Pediatrics and released Monday.
"There are a lot of barriers to medical care to children with autism," said the report's lead author, Dr. Timothy Buie of Harvard Medical School. "They can be destructive and unruly in the office, or they can't sit still. The nature of their condition often prevents them from getting standard medical care."
Some pediatricians' offices "can't handle those kids," Buie said, especially if children are in pain or discomfort because of bloating or stomach cramps. Pain can set off problem behavior, further complicating diagnosis, especially if the child has trouble communicating — as is the case for children with autism.
Autism is a spectrum of disorders affecting a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Children with autism may make poor eye contact or exhibit repetitive movements such as rocking or hand-flapping. About 1 in 110 U.S. children have autism, according to a recent government estimate.
More than 25 experts met in Boston in 2008 to write the consensus report after reviewing medical research. The Autism Society and other autism groups funded the effort, but gave no input.
The report refutes the controversial idea that there's a digestive problem specific to autism called "leaky gut" or "autistic enterocolitis." The hypothesis was first floated in 1998 in a now-discredited study by British physician Dr. Andrew Wakefield. His paper tied a particular type of autism and bowel disease to the measles vaccine.
The new report says the existence of autistic enterocolitis "has not been established." Buie said researchers and doctors have avoided digestive issues in autism because of their connection with Wakefield's disputed research, which set off a backlash against vaccines that continues to this day.
The new report calls for more rigorous research into the prevalence of digestive problems and whether special diets might help some children.
For now, the report states, available information doesn't support special diets for autism.
Diets have been promoted by actress Jenny McCarthy, whose best-seller "Louder Than Words" detailed her search for treatments for her autistic son.
Nearly 1 in 5 of children with autism are on a special diet, according to a project that tracks what treatments parents are trying. Most of them were on diets that eliminate gluten, found in many grains, or casein, a protein in milk, or both, according to the Interactive Autism Network at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Md.
The new report advises doctors to watch for nutritional deficiencies in patients with autism. It recommends a nutritionist get involved if a patient is on a special diet or only eats certain foods.
The report drew praise from Rebecca Estepp of Poway, Calif., who believes a special diet is helping her autistic son. She said the paper gives pediatricians credible recommendations they've needed.
"I'm filled with hope after reading this report," said Estepp of the support group Talk About Curing Autism. "I wish this report would have come out 10 years ago when my son was diagnosed."
Lee Grossman, president of the Autism Society, a funder, said many doctors have written off autistic children's digestive problems as untreatable.
"I think we still have a lot to learn about the gut and how it contributes to behavioral symptoms," Grossman said. "We have a lot to learn about how to treat this."
Buie said his clinic has various techniques for treating children with problem behavior. They schedule early morning appointments so children aren't delayed in the waiting room or blow bubbles during a blood draw as a distraction. As a last resort, they use anesthesia.
"If a child is going to be asleep because of a dental evaluation or an MRI study, we will do our endoscopy, our blood work, spinal tap, haircuts or teeth cleaning at the same time," Buie said.
"Our nurses do beautiful haircuts."
http://www.ajc.com/health/evidence-lacking-for-special-266281.html
Copyright 2010, The Associated Press.
© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
AGING & END OF LIFE WEBINAR SERIES
Sponsored By
AAIDD – AUCD – The Arc of the US - ANCOR – AAIDD Gerontology Division - RRTC on Aging & DD at the University of Illinois at Chicago
No Registration Fees – You Pay Your Ordinary Long Distance Telephone Charges
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/835020752
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm EST
Moderator: Elizabeth A. Perkins, PhD, President AAIDD Gerontology Division
Topic: DEMENTIA AMONG ADULTS with DOWN SYNDROME: Individual Differences in Risk and Progression
Speaker: Wayne Silverman, PhD., Director of Intellectual Disabilities Research, Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) and Associate Director of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at KKI and Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Silverman and his colleagues have been studying effects of aging and Alzheimer’s disease on adults with intellectual disability, especially adults with Down syndrome, for over 20 years. Dr. Silverman is an AAIDD Fellow and a past Board member, as well as the immediate past President of The Academy on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Webinar Description: This presentation will provide an overview of currently available information on progression of dementia among adults with Down syndrome. General background material will be presented regarding the connection between Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, and findings from a large ongoing research program will be presented with an emphasis on individual differences in age of onset of dementia (i.e., risk) and rate of symptom progression.
Additional findings regarding the effectiveness of “cognitive enhancing” medications will also be discussed, as will evidence supporting possible strategies for delaying declines in cognitive and functional abilities in vulnerable individuals.
Target Audience: Anyone interested in dementia and aging with intellectual disability, but especially anyone interested in planning services for elderly individuals with intellectual disability.
FUTURE WEBINARS
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! 3rd Wednesday of the Month 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EST
February 17th, 2010: Principles of Medical Ethics in Health Care Provision
Speaker: Michael Henderson, M.D. University of Rochester, Strong Medical Center
Moderator: Renee Pietrangelo, Executive Director ANCOR
March 17th, 2010: Self Advocates Speak
Speaker: Pending
Moderator: Pending
April 21st, 2010: End of Life through a Cultural Lens
Speaker: Tawara D. Goode, MA, Director, National Center for Cultural Competence and Associate Director, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development; Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center.
AAIDD – AUCD – The Arc of the US - ANCOR – AAIDD Gerontology Division - RRTC on Aging & DD at the University of Illinois at Chicago
No Registration Fees – You Pay Your Ordinary Long Distance Telephone Charges
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/835020752
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm EST
Moderator: Elizabeth A. Perkins, PhD, President AAIDD Gerontology Division
Topic: DEMENTIA AMONG ADULTS with DOWN SYNDROME: Individual Differences in Risk and Progression
Speaker: Wayne Silverman, PhD., Director of Intellectual Disabilities Research, Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) and Associate Director of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at KKI and Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Silverman and his colleagues have been studying effects of aging and Alzheimer’s disease on adults with intellectual disability, especially adults with Down syndrome, for over 20 years. Dr. Silverman is an AAIDD Fellow and a past Board member, as well as the immediate past President of The Academy on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Webinar Description: This presentation will provide an overview of currently available information on progression of dementia among adults with Down syndrome. General background material will be presented regarding the connection between Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, and findings from a large ongoing research program will be presented with an emphasis on individual differences in age of onset of dementia (i.e., risk) and rate of symptom progression.
Additional findings regarding the effectiveness of “cognitive enhancing” medications will also be discussed, as will evidence supporting possible strategies for delaying declines in cognitive and functional abilities in vulnerable individuals.
Target Audience: Anyone interested in dementia and aging with intellectual disability, but especially anyone interested in planning services for elderly individuals with intellectual disability.
FUTURE WEBINARS
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! 3rd Wednesday of the Month 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EST
February 17th, 2010: Principles of Medical Ethics in Health Care Provision
Speaker: Michael Henderson, M.D. University of Rochester, Strong Medical Center
Moderator: Renee Pietrangelo, Executive Director ANCOR
March 17th, 2010: Self Advocates Speak
Speaker: Pending
Moderator: Pending
April 21st, 2010: End of Life through a Cultural Lens
Speaker: Tawara D. Goode, MA, Director, National Center for Cultural Competence and Associate Director, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development; Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
AGING & END OF LIFE WEBINAR SERIES
Sponsored By AAIDD – AUCD – The Arc of the US - ANCOR – AAIDD Gerontology Division - RRTC on Aging & DD at the University of Illinois at Chicago
No Registration Fees – You Pay Your Ordinary Long Distance Telephone Charges
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/835020752
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm Eastern Time
Moderator: Elizabeth A. Perkins, PhD, President AAIDD Gerontology Division
Topic: DEMENTIA AMONG ADULTS with DOWN SYNDROME: Individual Differences in Risk and Progression
Speaker: Wayne Silverman, PhD., Director of Intellectual Disabilities Research, Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) and Associate Director of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at KKI and Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Silverman and his colleagues have been studying effects of aging and Alzheimer’s disease on adults with intellectual disability, especially adults with Down syndrome, for over 20 years. Dr. Silverman is an AAIDD Fellow and a past Board member, as well as the immediate past President of The Academy on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Webinar Description: This presentation will provide an overview of currently available information on progression of dementia among adults with Down syndrome. General background material will be presented regarding the connection between Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, and findings from a large ongoing research program will be presented with an emphasis on individual differences in age of onset of dementia (i.e., risk) and rate of symptom progression.
Additional findings regarding the effectiveness of “cognitive enhancing” medications will also be discussed, as will evidence supporting possible strategies for delaying declines in cognitive and functional abilities in vulnerable individuals.
Target Audience: Anyone interested in dementia and aging with intellectual disability, but especially anyone interested in planning services for elderly individuals with intellectual disability.
FUTURE WEBINARS - MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
3rd Wednesday of the Month
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
February 17th, 2010: Principles of Medical Ethics in Health Care Provision
Speaker: Michael Henderson, M.D. University of Rochester, Strong Medical Center
Moderator: Renee Pietrangelo, Executive Director ANCOR
March 17th, 2010: Self Advocates Speak Speaker: Pending
Moderator: Pending
April 21st, 2010: End of Life through a Cultural Lens
Speaker: Tawara D. Goode, MA, Director, National Center for Cultural Competence and Associate Director, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development; Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center.
No Registration Fees – You Pay Your Ordinary Long Distance Telephone Charges
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/835020752
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm Eastern Time
Moderator: Elizabeth A. Perkins, PhD, President AAIDD Gerontology Division
Topic: DEMENTIA AMONG ADULTS with DOWN SYNDROME: Individual Differences in Risk and Progression
Speaker: Wayne Silverman, PhD., Director of Intellectual Disabilities Research, Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) and Associate Director of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at KKI and Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Silverman and his colleagues have been studying effects of aging and Alzheimer’s disease on adults with intellectual disability, especially adults with Down syndrome, for over 20 years. Dr. Silverman is an AAIDD Fellow and a past Board member, as well as the immediate past President of The Academy on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Webinar Description: This presentation will provide an overview of currently available information on progression of dementia among adults with Down syndrome. General background material will be presented regarding the connection between Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, and findings from a large ongoing research program will be presented with an emphasis on individual differences in age of onset of dementia (i.e., risk) and rate of symptom progression.
Additional findings regarding the effectiveness of “cognitive enhancing” medications will also be discussed, as will evidence supporting possible strategies for delaying declines in cognitive and functional abilities in vulnerable individuals.
Target Audience: Anyone interested in dementia and aging with intellectual disability, but especially anyone interested in planning services for elderly individuals with intellectual disability.
FUTURE WEBINARS - MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
3rd Wednesday of the Month
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
February 17th, 2010: Principles of Medical Ethics in Health Care Provision
Speaker: Michael Henderson, M.D. University of Rochester, Strong Medical Center
Moderator: Renee Pietrangelo, Executive Director ANCOR
March 17th, 2010: Self Advocates Speak Speaker: Pending
Moderator: Pending
April 21st, 2010: End of Life through a Cultural Lens
Speaker: Tawara D. Goode, MA, Director, National Center for Cultural Competence and Associate Director, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development; Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Small-Business Survival a Key Concern at Forum
By ROMI HERRON
For Sun-Times Media
December 9, 2009
Nearly 100 Kane County elder care providers, senior citizens and their advocates discussed federal and state issues relating to elder care during a legislative forum Monday in St. Charles.
The event was sponsored by Kane County Senior Resources, Asbury Gardens, Countryside Care Center, Heritage Woods of Yorkville, and the Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging.
Among challenges discussed were the state of Illinois' lagging Medicare payments to small businesses that provide elder care and services.
Betty Schoenholtz, executive director of Senior Services Associates, said state payments to elder care providers -- many of whom are small-business owners -- have lagged for months because of the state's budget shortages.
"It is of great concern to me what is happening to our (provider) agencies," Schoenholtz said, adding that those funds would help stimulate the economy through purchases made by small businesses. "When the state of Illinois doesn't pay its bills, we can't buy things from small business ... . We hope (state legislators) can step up to the plate and resolve these issues."
She also recommended that legislators change state law to require the Illinois Department of Public Health to allocate at least $750,000 into the ombudsman program, or to implement a "bed fee" similar to Ohio's, which requires a $6-per-bed fee to help offset costs to agencies. Schoenholtz also said the elder abuse program is owed $134,000 from the state and that the figure represents one-third the budget for elder abuse cases.
Lucia Jones, executive director of the Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging, also said she is concerned about how the state's budget issues are impacting service providers.
"The providers are all small-business owners," Jones said. "The numbers they serve are going up tremendously, because of the economy ... . There are hundreds and thousands of families in the state of Illinois in need of elder care; and if the ombudsman program is cut, those people will have to go into long-term care."
AARP spokesperson Heather Heppner also provided an update. "We have spent a very long time advocating to prevent cuts to community-based services. We know it is more fiscally responsible to care for individuals in their homes than in institutions," she said. "We have providers who have not been paid this entire fiscal year ... . Senior services need to have a heightened level of priority."
She also noted that AARP endorsed the Affordable Healthcare for America Act.
"On the House bill side, it was not perfect ... but the bottom line is that our health care system in this country is broken, and the things our AARP members have told us are important issues are addressed in that bill," Heppner said. Older adults were at times paying up to seven times more in insurance rates than younger adults, she said, and the health care act would cap age rating at two to one.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1928421,3_1_EL09_14AGING_S1-091209.article
Copyright 2009 Sun-Times Media
For Sun-Times Media
December 9, 2009
Nearly 100 Kane County elder care providers, senior citizens and their advocates discussed federal and state issues relating to elder care during a legislative forum Monday in St. Charles.
The event was sponsored by Kane County Senior Resources, Asbury Gardens, Countryside Care Center, Heritage Woods of Yorkville, and the Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging.
Among challenges discussed were the state of Illinois' lagging Medicare payments to small businesses that provide elder care and services.
Betty Schoenholtz, executive director of Senior Services Associates, said state payments to elder care providers -- many of whom are small-business owners -- have lagged for months because of the state's budget shortages.
"It is of great concern to me what is happening to our (provider) agencies," Schoenholtz said, adding that those funds would help stimulate the economy through purchases made by small businesses. "When the state of Illinois doesn't pay its bills, we can't buy things from small business ... . We hope (state legislators) can step up to the plate and resolve these issues."
She also recommended that legislators change state law to require the Illinois Department of Public Health to allocate at least $750,000 into the ombudsman program, or to implement a "bed fee" similar to Ohio's, which requires a $6-per-bed fee to help offset costs to agencies. Schoenholtz also said the elder abuse program is owed $134,000 from the state and that the figure represents one-third the budget for elder abuse cases.
Lucia Jones, executive director of the Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging, also said she is concerned about how the state's budget issues are impacting service providers.
"The providers are all small-business owners," Jones said. "The numbers they serve are going up tremendously, because of the economy ... . There are hundreds and thousands of families in the state of Illinois in need of elder care; and if the ombudsman program is cut, those people will have to go into long-term care."
AARP spokesperson Heather Heppner also provided an update. "We have spent a very long time advocating to prevent cuts to community-based services. We know it is more fiscally responsible to care for individuals in their homes than in institutions," she said. "We have providers who have not been paid this entire fiscal year ... . Senior services need to have a heightened level of priority."
She also noted that AARP endorsed the Affordable Healthcare for America Act.
"On the House bill side, it was not perfect ... but the bottom line is that our health care system in this country is broken, and the things our AARP members have told us are important issues are addressed in that bill," Heppner said. Older adults were at times paying up to seven times more in insurance rates than younger adults, she said, and the health care act would cap age rating at two to one.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1928421,3_1_EL09_14AGING_S1-091209.article
Copyright 2009 Sun-Times Media
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Report Outlines Deep Cuts If Oregon Tax Measures Fail
By Frank Mungeam and AP Staff
December 1, 2009
SALEM, Ore. -- A new, 100-page report released by the state of Oregon details potential budget cuts if two tax measures are not passed in a January 26, 2010 special election.
Measures 66 and 67 would raise taxes on businesses and high-income households.
Proponents of the pair of tax measures say they will generate $733 million dollars in revenue. If those tax measures fail, a wide range of programs face cuts to make up a projected shortfall in the state budget.
Among the projected cuts: more than 15,000 seniors with disabilities would lose Oregon Health Plan coverage; 3,000 families with two unemployed parents would lose monthly payments; and the Department of Corrections would close three prisons and release 1,600 inmates.
One of the hardest-hit agencies would be the Department of Human Services. The department outlined 16 pages of proposed cuts to make up a 5 percent budget shortfall.
Schools, universities, prisons, state police and courts could all be cut, lawmakers said Monday after releasing the report.
The Legislative Fiscal Office, the Legislature's budget experts, compiled the list from proposals submitted by state agencies for cuts of 5 percent and 10 percent of their current two-year budgets.
"These cuts on top of $2 billion in cuts we made earlier this year would do great harm to our schools, our colleges and universities, and to core services that Oregonians are relying on in these tough times," said House Speaker David Hunt, a Democrat from Gladstone.
But a spokesman for the opposition campaign said the list was compiled to influence the election, which will be Jan. 26.
"It's an effort to create a disaster scenario that says if these measures do not pass, the world as we know it will come to an end," said Pat McCormick of Oregonians Against Job-Killing Taxes.
The $733 million that would be raised if voters approve Measures 66 and 67 amounts to about 5.5 percent of the $13.3 billion state general fund budget.
The tax increases would fall on households earning more than $250,000 on a joint return, or $125,000 for a single filer, and corporations netting more than $250,000.
Small businesses have objected to the restructured corporate minimum tax, which would be raised from $10 to at least $150 and as high as $100,000 on businesses with $100 million in Oregon sales.
Budget cuts could also affect college students by increasing tuition and forcing colleges to cut professors and staff.
Republican Nick Smith labeled the projected cuts "scare tactics" designed to convince voters to approve the tax increases.
http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Report-outlines-deep-cuts-if-Ore-tax-measures-fail-78223297.html
http://www.kgw.com/
Newsxchannel 8
Portland, Oregan
Copyright 2009 KGW.
December 1, 2009
SALEM, Ore. -- A new, 100-page report released by the state of Oregon details potential budget cuts if two tax measures are not passed in a January 26, 2010 special election.
Measures 66 and 67 would raise taxes on businesses and high-income households.
Proponents of the pair of tax measures say they will generate $733 million dollars in revenue. If those tax measures fail, a wide range of programs face cuts to make up a projected shortfall in the state budget.
Among the projected cuts: more than 15,000 seniors with disabilities would lose Oregon Health Plan coverage; 3,000 families with two unemployed parents would lose monthly payments; and the Department of Corrections would close three prisons and release 1,600 inmates.
One of the hardest-hit agencies would be the Department of Human Services. The department outlined 16 pages of proposed cuts to make up a 5 percent budget shortfall.
Schools, universities, prisons, state police and courts could all be cut, lawmakers said Monday after releasing the report.
The Legislative Fiscal Office, the Legislature's budget experts, compiled the list from proposals submitted by state agencies for cuts of 5 percent and 10 percent of their current two-year budgets.
"These cuts on top of $2 billion in cuts we made earlier this year would do great harm to our schools, our colleges and universities, and to core services that Oregonians are relying on in these tough times," said House Speaker David Hunt, a Democrat from Gladstone.
But a spokesman for the opposition campaign said the list was compiled to influence the election, which will be Jan. 26.
"It's an effort to create a disaster scenario that says if these measures do not pass, the world as we know it will come to an end," said Pat McCormick of Oregonians Against Job-Killing Taxes.
The $733 million that would be raised if voters approve Measures 66 and 67 amounts to about 5.5 percent of the $13.3 billion state general fund budget.
The tax increases would fall on households earning more than $250,000 on a joint return, or $125,000 for a single filer, and corporations netting more than $250,000.
Small businesses have objected to the restructured corporate minimum tax, which would be raised from $10 to at least $150 and as high as $100,000 on businesses with $100 million in Oregon sales.
Budget cuts could also affect college students by increasing tuition and forcing colleges to cut professors and staff.
Republican Nick Smith labeled the projected cuts "scare tactics" designed to convince voters to approve the tax increases.
http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Report-outlines-deep-cuts-if-Ore-tax-measures-fail-78223297.html
http://www.kgw.com/
Newsxchannel 8
Portland, Oregan
Copyright 2009 KGW.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Facts About Healthy Hearing
From the Starkey Hearing Foundation
The complexities of health care science often obscure simple facts that every person should know. This is definitely true in the realm of hearing health, where thousands are actively doing permanent damage to their hearing without even knowing it.
So, here are things everyone should know about hearing health:
-People today are losing their hearing two-and-a-half times faster than their parents or grandparents.
-It’s not just old people at risk of hearing problems. We are living longer so making smart listening choices while we’re young is more important than ever.
Choose listening devices wisely.
-Hearing problems can contribute to many health problems, including depression, hypertension and a diminished immune system.
-In most cases, hearing problems develop slowly and imperceptibly.
Only 16 percent of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss. Ask to be screened!
-Most hearing loss can be prevented by using a little bit of common sense.
-Start protecting your hearing now.
-Within a few years, estimates have the number of Americans experiencing hearing loss at more than 40 million.
-Avoid prolonged noise and even short bursts of very loud sound, both of which can damage your hearing.
-While hearing loss is not reversible, most age-related or noise-related loss can be managed.
Just as eyeglasses are used to correct most vision problems, hearing instruments are used to treat most kinds of hearing loss. Any treatment starts with a hearing screening by a doctor or hearing professional.
Preventative Steps to Protect Your Hearing or the Hearing of a Loved One
Anyone can protect their hearing by following a few, very easy steps to keep the sounds loud and clear!
-Avoid prolonged exposure to entertainment devices, such as MP3 players, televisions, stereos, etc.
-If you are in a noisy restaurant or environment and find yourself constantly asking “what?”, the noise level may be too loud.
-If you are wearing the popular “ear bud” headsets and the people around you can hear the music, it’s too loud.
-When using personal listening devices, check manufacturer’s data on how to set noise volume controls for your children.
-When attending concerts or loud sporting events, wear filtered ear plugs to control your personal noise level. Have your children wear ear protection, too!
-Wear hearing protection when doing lawn work or operating loud equipment such as chain saws, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, etc.
-Set an example for your children and discuss the reason for wearing hearing protection.
-Ask your doctor to screen your hearing annually, or visit a licensed audiologist or hearing specialist. Most of these tests are free!
http://www.soundmatters.org/news_hearinghealth.php
http://sotheworldmayhear.org/aboutus/
© 2009. Sound Matters - A Starkey Hearing Foundation Initiative. All Rights Reserved. Trademarks used are properties of their respective owners. The soundmatters.org domain has been donated by Soundmatters International, Inc. http://www.soundmatters.com/
The complexities of health care science often obscure simple facts that every person should know. This is definitely true in the realm of hearing health, where thousands are actively doing permanent damage to their hearing without even knowing it.
So, here are things everyone should know about hearing health:
-People today are losing their hearing two-and-a-half times faster than their parents or grandparents.
-It’s not just old people at risk of hearing problems. We are living longer so making smart listening choices while we’re young is more important than ever.
Choose listening devices wisely.
-Hearing problems can contribute to many health problems, including depression, hypertension and a diminished immune system.
-In most cases, hearing problems develop slowly and imperceptibly.
Only 16 percent of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss. Ask to be screened!
-Most hearing loss can be prevented by using a little bit of common sense.
-Start protecting your hearing now.
-Within a few years, estimates have the number of Americans experiencing hearing loss at more than 40 million.
-Avoid prolonged noise and even short bursts of very loud sound, both of which can damage your hearing.
-While hearing loss is not reversible, most age-related or noise-related loss can be managed.
Just as eyeglasses are used to correct most vision problems, hearing instruments are used to treat most kinds of hearing loss. Any treatment starts with a hearing screening by a doctor or hearing professional.
Preventative Steps to Protect Your Hearing or the Hearing of a Loved One
Anyone can protect their hearing by following a few, very easy steps to keep the sounds loud and clear!
-Avoid prolonged exposure to entertainment devices, such as MP3 players, televisions, stereos, etc.
-If you are in a noisy restaurant or environment and find yourself constantly asking “what?”, the noise level may be too loud.
-If you are wearing the popular “ear bud” headsets and the people around you can hear the music, it’s too loud.
-When using personal listening devices, check manufacturer’s data on how to set noise volume controls for your children.
-When attending concerts or loud sporting events, wear filtered ear plugs to control your personal noise level. Have your children wear ear protection, too!
-Wear hearing protection when doing lawn work or operating loud equipment such as chain saws, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, etc.
-Set an example for your children and discuss the reason for wearing hearing protection.
-Ask your doctor to screen your hearing annually, or visit a licensed audiologist or hearing specialist. Most of these tests are free!
http://www.soundmatters.org/news_hearinghealth.php
http://sotheworldmayhear.org/aboutus/
© 2009. Sound Matters - A Starkey Hearing Foundation Initiative. All Rights Reserved. Trademarks used are properties of their respective owners. The soundmatters.org domain has been donated by Soundmatters International, Inc. http://www.soundmatters.com/
Friday, October 30, 2009
Axelrod Remains Mindful of Daughter With Epilepsy
Associate Press (AP)
WASHINGTON — White House presidential adviser David Axelrod says the demands of his job can sometimes be hard since he can't spend quality time with his daughter, who suffers from epilepsy.
In a broadcast interview Sunday, Axelrod said he's grateful that newly approved medication seems to be finally controlling the seizures of Lauren, 28, after many years of trial and error with other therapies. But he acknowledges it is still difficult to be away from Lauren, who lives at a home for the developmentally disabled in Chicago.
"It's been hard to explain to her. She doesn't understand why. She asks all the time, 'Why does Barack Obama need so much help?'" Axelrod said.
"There was a time when we have given our right arm for just a — a week of good days. And now, she has them consistently. So, you know, that's a big victory," he said.
Axelrod spoke in an interview with "60 Minutes" along with Lauren and his wife, Susan, who is president of the Chicago-based advocacy group CURE, or Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy.
The couple described the initial shock they felt when their 7-month-old daughter suddenly became limp and blue in her crib. When Susan Axelrod picked up Lauren, she immediately went into a seizure. The medical treatments at the time were limited, and so the Axelrods were forced to try 23 different medications and an unsuccessful brain surgery for their daughter by the time she was 18.
Their turmoil prompted Susan Axelrod to help start CURE to promote medical research.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gozFvyOn_LmogVmFzZNzcP5kIOGAD9BIE4480Copyright
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
WASHINGTON — White House presidential adviser David Axelrod says the demands of his job can sometimes be hard since he can't spend quality time with his daughter, who suffers from epilepsy.
In a broadcast interview Sunday, Axelrod said he's grateful that newly approved medication seems to be finally controlling the seizures of Lauren, 28, after many years of trial and error with other therapies. But he acknowledges it is still difficult to be away from Lauren, who lives at a home for the developmentally disabled in Chicago.
"It's been hard to explain to her. She doesn't understand why. She asks all the time, 'Why does Barack Obama need so much help?'" Axelrod said.
"There was a time when we have given our right arm for just a — a week of good days. And now, she has them consistently. So, you know, that's a big victory," he said.
Axelrod spoke in an interview with "60 Minutes" along with Lauren and his wife, Susan, who is president of the Chicago-based advocacy group CURE, or Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy.
The couple described the initial shock they felt when their 7-month-old daughter suddenly became limp and blue in her crib. When Susan Axelrod picked up Lauren, she immediately went into a seizure. The medical treatments at the time were limited, and so the Axelrods were forced to try 23 different medications and an unsuccessful brain surgery for their daughter by the time she was 18.
Their turmoil prompted Susan Axelrod to help start CURE to promote medical research.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gozFvyOn_LmogVmFzZNzcP5kIOGAD9BIE4480Copyright
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Blind and Visually Impaired Individuals Are Needed to Take Part in a Research Project at Emory University Hospital
Dr. Krish Sathian’s lab at Emory University’s Department of Neurology is currently looking for blind and visually impaired individuals to take part in research into tactile perception of shape, texture and other aspects of object recognition.
These experiments involve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Scan sessions normally last one hour and pay $25 per hour (plus travel expenses if appropriate). You must be right-handed and have English as your first language.
If you are interested in taking part in our research, please contact Mark Porath(202) 374-9099, mporath@emory.edu, or Dr. Simon Lacey (404) 957-4567, slacey@emory.edu. They will take your contact details, ask you some questions about your suitability for MRI, and take a brief history of your visual impairment. They may also schedule an evaluation with a neuro-ophthalmologist at Emory Clinic. They can then schedule a scan time convenient for you.
MRI scanning takes place at Emory University Hospital, and the Sathian lab is based in Rooms 6207 & 6209, 6th Floor, Woodruff Memorial Research Building.
These experiments involve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Scan sessions normally last one hour and pay $25 per hour (plus travel expenses if appropriate). You must be right-handed and have English as your first language.
If you are interested in taking part in our research, please contact Mark Porath(202) 374-9099, mporath@emory.edu, or Dr. Simon Lacey (404) 957-4567, slacey@emory.edu. They will take your contact details, ask you some questions about your suitability for MRI, and take a brief history of your visual impairment. They may also schedule an evaluation with a neuro-ophthalmologist at Emory Clinic. They can then schedule a scan time convenient for you.
MRI scanning takes place at Emory University Hospital, and the Sathian lab is based in Rooms 6207 & 6209, 6th Floor, Woodruff Memorial Research Building.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Senate Finance Committee Passes Health Insurance Reform Bill Containing Menendez Amendment for Autism Insurance Reform
Washington, DC (October 13, 2009) -- Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today applauds the members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee for their 14 to 9 passage of a health care reform bill, the America’s Health Future Act, containing an amendment for autism insurance reform.
The amendment, introduced in September by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and passed by the Committee with the support of Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), will prohibit discrimination in benefits against people with autism by including behavioral health treatments as part of the essential benefits package.
“We are grateful to Senators Menendez, Baucus, and their Committee colleagues for passing this health care reform bill. The legislation will ensure that families dealing with autism will be a part of larger health care reform,” said Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks. “Short of finding a cure for autism, there is nothing that can have a more significant impact on the lives of people with autism and those who love them than putting an end to insurance discrimination.”
“I am proud to have included a number of my amendments in the legislation, which will help lower health insurance costs, protect consumers and expand access to health coverage,” said Senator Menendez in a press release. “My amendment to guarantee the coverage of behavioral health treatments will help bring economic security and peace of mind to many families dealing with autism or other behavioral health conditions.”
The next step is for the Finance Committee bill to be merged with the Senate HELP Committee bill passed earlier this year. The combined bill will then head to the Senate floor for a vote. Once the Senate and House have passed their respective bills, they must go through a conference committee before reaching the President's desk to be signed into law. Please visit autismvotes.org for updates on health care reform and the elimination of insurance discrimination related to autism.
Take action: Send a Thank you Letter to Sen. Menendez, Sen. Baucus, and Rep. Doyle for leadership on federal autism insurance reform amendments!
Autism Votes1990 K Street, NWWashington, DC 20006
Call Autism Speaks Government Relations Department/ Autism Votes -
(202) 955-3114
http://www.autismvotes.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=frKNI3PCImE&b=3930723&ct=7575647
The amendment, introduced in September by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and passed by the Committee with the support of Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), will prohibit discrimination in benefits against people with autism by including behavioral health treatments as part of the essential benefits package.
“We are grateful to Senators Menendez, Baucus, and their Committee colleagues for passing this health care reform bill. The legislation will ensure that families dealing with autism will be a part of larger health care reform,” said Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks. “Short of finding a cure for autism, there is nothing that can have a more significant impact on the lives of people with autism and those who love them than putting an end to insurance discrimination.”
“I am proud to have included a number of my amendments in the legislation, which will help lower health insurance costs, protect consumers and expand access to health coverage,” said Senator Menendez in a press release. “My amendment to guarantee the coverage of behavioral health treatments will help bring economic security and peace of mind to many families dealing with autism or other behavioral health conditions.”
The next step is for the Finance Committee bill to be merged with the Senate HELP Committee bill passed earlier this year. The combined bill will then head to the Senate floor for a vote. Once the Senate and House have passed their respective bills, they must go through a conference committee before reaching the President's desk to be signed into law. Please visit autismvotes.org for updates on health care reform and the elimination of insurance discrimination related to autism.
Take action: Send a Thank you Letter to Sen. Menendez, Sen. Baucus, and Rep. Doyle for leadership on federal autism insurance reform amendments!
Autism Votes1990 K Street, NWWashington, DC 20006
Call Autism Speaks Government Relations Department/ Autism Votes -
(202) 955-3114
http://www.autismvotes.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=frKNI3PCImE&b=3930723&ct=7575647
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Stats Show Autism Rising, But Who’s Really Autistic?
By Michelle Diament
For Disability Scoop
October 6, 2009
Earlier this week the federal government released new data indicating that autism is diagnosed in 1 percent of American children, far more than the 1 in 150 children previously thought to be affected.
But a new documentary suggests that the rising number of autism diagnoses does not actually represent an increase in the number of kids who have the developmental disorder. Rather, the filmmakers say that autism is becoming an umbrella term latched onto by parents and diagnosticians alike in their efforts to get services for children whose needs are not easily defined.
“Autistic-Like: Graham’s Story” follows the experiences of filmmaker Erik Linthorst as he and his wife, Jennie, struggle to find a proper diagnosis and treatment for their son Graham, now 5. (Click here to view the trailer >>)
Though Graham is diagnosed with autism, even diagnosticians admit that many of the boy’s behaviors are merely autistic-like. Meanwhile, some of Graham’s characteristics – like his ability to establish eye contact – aren’t consistent with autism at all.
Ultimately, Graham is more appropriately diagnosed with a sensory processing disorder, but the Linthorsts are encouraged to keep the autism diagnosis so that Graham is assured government-funded early intervention and special education services.
Linthorst spoke with Disability Scoop about what it means for a child to be autistic-like and why it matters if kids like Graham are diagnosed with autism.
Disability Scoop: What does autistic-like mean?
Erik Linthorst: That phrase summed up the experience that we had with Graham from the get-go. When we went to our pediatrician she said he looks like he has autistic-like behaviors, but I don’t think he has autism. He looked like he had sensory processing disorder, but she said that diagnosis won’t get you the help he needs and an autism diagnosis will.
We left thinking, so does he have autism or does he not? All we know is that he has autistic-like behaviors and that’s the best way to describe Graham.
Disability Scoop: In Graham’s case, what about him is autistic-like and what about him is definitely not?
Erik Linthorst: The part that’s definitely not is that he’s got this gleam in his eye. He makes good eye contact and he’s social. At the same time, he developed these repetitive behaviors that were very autistic-like. He loved to spin wheels and just stare at them. He became obsessed with patterns and lines along the floor. Those were very autistic-like behaviors and because he was spending so much time engaged in these behaviors, he began to fall off the developmental ladder and he started to miss his milestones.
Disability Scoop: In the film you suggest that the diagnostic rate of 1 in 150 children (now likely lower) might be too high. Why?
Erik Linthorst: If you met Graham today or even back when he was in intensive therapy, anyone who was savvy about children’s development would look at him and say this kid clearly doesn’t have autism. Yet he had an autism diagnosis. He was one of those 1 in 150, but he didn’t have autism.
I talked to a lot of other parents and I was alarmed to find that many parents had a very similar story. The doctor was saying your child doesn’t have autism, but if you want help, here’s what you have to do. You need to take this diagnosis. The result is that a lot of kids that otherwise wouldn’t qualify for an autism diagnosis — or maybe legitimately shouldn’t qualify for an autism diagnosis — are qualifying because it’s the only thing that will get them services.
The average person sees that the CDC is lowering the stat to 1 in 100 and thinks that these numbers are because of increased incidence of a disease and that may not be the case.
To read further click here: Next Page>> Page: 1 2
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/06/autistic-like/5684/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
For Disability Scoop
October 6, 2009
Earlier this week the federal government released new data indicating that autism is diagnosed in 1 percent of American children, far more than the 1 in 150 children previously thought to be affected.
But a new documentary suggests that the rising number of autism diagnoses does not actually represent an increase in the number of kids who have the developmental disorder. Rather, the filmmakers say that autism is becoming an umbrella term latched onto by parents and diagnosticians alike in their efforts to get services for children whose needs are not easily defined.
“Autistic-Like: Graham’s Story” follows the experiences of filmmaker Erik Linthorst as he and his wife, Jennie, struggle to find a proper diagnosis and treatment for their son Graham, now 5. (Click here to view the trailer >>)
Though Graham is diagnosed with autism, even diagnosticians admit that many of the boy’s behaviors are merely autistic-like. Meanwhile, some of Graham’s characteristics – like his ability to establish eye contact – aren’t consistent with autism at all.
Ultimately, Graham is more appropriately diagnosed with a sensory processing disorder, but the Linthorsts are encouraged to keep the autism diagnosis so that Graham is assured government-funded early intervention and special education services.
Linthorst spoke with Disability Scoop about what it means for a child to be autistic-like and why it matters if kids like Graham are diagnosed with autism.
Disability Scoop: What does autistic-like mean?
Erik Linthorst: That phrase summed up the experience that we had with Graham from the get-go. When we went to our pediatrician she said he looks like he has autistic-like behaviors, but I don’t think he has autism. He looked like he had sensory processing disorder, but she said that diagnosis won’t get you the help he needs and an autism diagnosis will.
We left thinking, so does he have autism or does he not? All we know is that he has autistic-like behaviors and that’s the best way to describe Graham.
Disability Scoop: In Graham’s case, what about him is autistic-like and what about him is definitely not?
Erik Linthorst: The part that’s definitely not is that he’s got this gleam in his eye. He makes good eye contact and he’s social. At the same time, he developed these repetitive behaviors that were very autistic-like. He loved to spin wheels and just stare at them. He became obsessed with patterns and lines along the floor. Those were very autistic-like behaviors and because he was spending so much time engaged in these behaviors, he began to fall off the developmental ladder and he started to miss his milestones.
Disability Scoop: In the film you suggest that the diagnostic rate of 1 in 150 children (now likely lower) might be too high. Why?
Erik Linthorst: If you met Graham today or even back when he was in intensive therapy, anyone who was savvy about children’s development would look at him and say this kid clearly doesn’t have autism. Yet he had an autism diagnosis. He was one of those 1 in 150, but he didn’t have autism.
I talked to a lot of other parents and I was alarmed to find that many parents had a very similar story. The doctor was saying your child doesn’t have autism, but if you want help, here’s what you have to do. You need to take this diagnosis. The result is that a lot of kids that otherwise wouldn’t qualify for an autism diagnosis — or maybe legitimately shouldn’t qualify for an autism diagnosis — are qualifying because it’s the only thing that will get them services.
The average person sees that the CDC is lowering the stat to 1 in 100 and thinks that these numbers are because of increased incidence of a disease and that may not be the case.
To read further click here: Next Page>> Page: 1 2
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/06/autistic-like/5684/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
H1N1 Striking Children With Disabilities Hard, Officials Say
By Michelle Diament
For Disabilityscoop
October 9, 2009
The number of children who have died from the H1N1 virus is “increasing substantially,” health officials said Friday, and children with disabilities and underlying medical conditions appear to be hardest hit.
Already 76 children have died from H1N1, or swine flu, this year and the flu season is just beginning. Flu season traditionally lasts until May.
The number of deaths is especially striking given that fewer than 90 children died in each of the last three years from seasonal flu.
Most of the children who have died from the H1N1 flu strain had disabilities or underlying health conditions, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
“The majority of children that we have information on had an underlying disease,” according to Anne Schuchat, head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “Among children, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy are quite prominent.”
These findings are consistent with a CDC report released in September, which indicated that two-thirds of children who died from H1N1 during the spring and summer had a chronic illness or developmental disability.
Officials say they are hopeful that the threat of the virus will begin to subside as the swine flu vaccine becomes more readily available, but they do expect more deaths in the coming weeks.
The first doses of the vaccine were administered this week, but only a nasal spray version was available. The nasal spray contains a weakened live version of the flu virus. An injection version of the vaccine, which does not include the live virus, is expected next week.
Individuals with developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability and developmental delay are considered to be at high risk for H1N1, especially if they have respiratory issues as well. Those who are at high risk are first in line for the vaccine, CDC officials say, but are advised to wait for the injection version.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/09/h1n1-disability/5748/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
For Disabilityscoop
October 9, 2009
The number of children who have died from the H1N1 virus is “increasing substantially,” health officials said Friday, and children with disabilities and underlying medical conditions appear to be hardest hit.
Already 76 children have died from H1N1, or swine flu, this year and the flu season is just beginning. Flu season traditionally lasts until May.
The number of deaths is especially striking given that fewer than 90 children died in each of the last three years from seasonal flu.
Most of the children who have died from the H1N1 flu strain had disabilities or underlying health conditions, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
“The majority of children that we have information on had an underlying disease,” according to Anne Schuchat, head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “Among children, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy are quite prominent.”
These findings are consistent with a CDC report released in September, which indicated that two-thirds of children who died from H1N1 during the spring and summer had a chronic illness or developmental disability.
Officials say they are hopeful that the threat of the virus will begin to subside as the swine flu vaccine becomes more readily available, but they do expect more deaths in the coming weeks.
The first doses of the vaccine were administered this week, but only a nasal spray version was available. The nasal spray contains a weakened live version of the flu virus. An injection version of the vaccine, which does not include the live virus, is expected next week.
Individuals with developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability and developmental delay are considered to be at high risk for H1N1, especially if they have respiratory issues as well. Those who are at high risk are first in line for the vaccine, CDC officials say, but are advised to wait for the injection version.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/09/h1n1-disability/5748/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
NIH To Study Fido’s Impact On Human Health
By Shaun Heasley
For Disability Scoop
October 6, 2009
Animals have long been thought to offer therapeutic benefits to people who are ill or have disabilities. Now, the National Institutes of Health is set to research whether or not there’s truth behind the theory.
The government health agency is seeking research proposals looking at the affects of human-animal relationships on human development and public health. Researchers are encouraged to bring proposals looking at “why relationships with pets are more important to some children than to others,” among other topics.
NIH officials noted the need for more research on the impact of animals on human health back in 1987, but until now most research looked at adverse affects of pets, like the spread of disease, reports The New York Times. To read more click here.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/06/study-service-animals/5669/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
For Disability Scoop
October 6, 2009
Animals have long been thought to offer therapeutic benefits to people who are ill or have disabilities. Now, the National Institutes of Health is set to research whether or not there’s truth behind the theory.
The government health agency is seeking research proposals looking at the affects of human-animal relationships on human development and public health. Researchers are encouraged to bring proposals looking at “why relationships with pets are more important to some children than to others,” among other topics.
NIH officials noted the need for more research on the impact of animals on human health back in 1987, but until now most research looked at adverse affects of pets, like the spread of disease, reports The New York Times. To read more click here.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/06/study-service-animals/5669/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
Autism Affects 1 In 91 Children, Government Says
By Michelle Diament
For Disability Scoop
October 4, 2009
Autism affects 1 in 91 children in the United States, government data published Monday shows, marking a dramatic increase over the previous estimate of 1 in 150.
The research published in the journal Pediatrics comes from a 2007 telephone survey of over 78,000 parents who were asked if they had ever been told by a health care provider that their child had an autism spectrum disorder.
Results from the survey show about 673,000 children diagnosed with autism, bringing the rate to 1 in 91 children, according to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration who jointly conducted the survey.
Of parents who said their child had been diagnosed with autism, half indicated their child’s condition was “mild” while one third called it “moderate.” The remaining parents indicated that their child had a “severe” case.
In about 38 percent of cases parents reported that their child no longer had the diagnosis.
The 2007 survey marked the first time since 2002 that the government attempted to estimate the prevalence of autism, which many suspect to be on the rise. The 2002 measurement looked at data on 8-year-olds and concluded that autism occurred in 1 in 150 children.
While the significant increase in the rate of autism does appear to suggest a rise in the disorder, researchers say several factors could be at play. Greater public awareness and identification of autism and the inclusion of Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder and other autism spectrum disorders in the 2007 survey could contribute to the higher rate of diagnosis, they say. What’s more, the shear fact that children are being diagnosed with autism at younger ages than in the past means that more children would likely have an autism diagnosis at any one time.
Of children who once had an autism diagnosis but no longer did, many retained other similar diagnoses such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or behavioral problems. Researchers say the difficulty in identifying autism especially in very young children could be the reason nearly 40 percent of children diagnosed with autism lose the diagnosis as they age.
Alternatively, some children could have received an autism diagnosis early on primarily to access needed early intervention or special education services. And, researchers also say the accuracy of parent reporting could be at issue.
The 2007 survey indicates that boys were four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with autism. White children were also more likely to have the disorder than black or multiracial children. Furthermore, children living in the Northeast and Midwest had higher odds of having autism while children with less educated parents had lower odds.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/04/autism-1-in-91/5633/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
For Disability Scoop
October 4, 2009
Autism affects 1 in 91 children in the United States, government data published Monday shows, marking a dramatic increase over the previous estimate of 1 in 150.
The research published in the journal Pediatrics comes from a 2007 telephone survey of over 78,000 parents who were asked if they had ever been told by a health care provider that their child had an autism spectrum disorder.
Results from the survey show about 673,000 children diagnosed with autism, bringing the rate to 1 in 91 children, according to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration who jointly conducted the survey.
Of parents who said their child had been diagnosed with autism, half indicated their child’s condition was “mild” while one third called it “moderate.” The remaining parents indicated that their child had a “severe” case.
In about 38 percent of cases parents reported that their child no longer had the diagnosis.
The 2007 survey marked the first time since 2002 that the government attempted to estimate the prevalence of autism, which many suspect to be on the rise. The 2002 measurement looked at data on 8-year-olds and concluded that autism occurred in 1 in 150 children.
While the significant increase in the rate of autism does appear to suggest a rise in the disorder, researchers say several factors could be at play. Greater public awareness and identification of autism and the inclusion of Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder and other autism spectrum disorders in the 2007 survey could contribute to the higher rate of diagnosis, they say. What’s more, the shear fact that children are being diagnosed with autism at younger ages than in the past means that more children would likely have an autism diagnosis at any one time.
Of children who once had an autism diagnosis but no longer did, many retained other similar diagnoses such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or behavioral problems. Researchers say the difficulty in identifying autism especially in very young children could be the reason nearly 40 percent of children diagnosed with autism lose the diagnosis as they age.
Alternatively, some children could have received an autism diagnosis early on primarily to access needed early intervention or special education services. And, researchers also say the accuracy of parent reporting could be at issue.
The 2007 survey indicates that boys were four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with autism. White children were also more likely to have the disorder than black or multiracial children. Furthermore, children living in the Northeast and Midwest had higher odds of having autism while children with less educated parents had lower odds.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/04/autism-1-in-91/5633/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Rate of Enrollment in Medicaid Rose Rapidly, Report Says
By KEVIN SACK
Money & Policy
The New Times
Published: September 30, 2009
The recession is driving up enrollment in Medicaid at higher than expected rates, threatening gargantuan state budget gaps even as Congress and the White House seek to expand the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Skip to next paragraphThe annual survey of state Medicaid directors, conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, found that the program had been spared the worst effects of massive state budget shortfalls because of federal aid in the stimulus package. But it also revealed grave concerns about what will happen when that relief dries up at the close of 2010.
As unemployment surged, enrollment in state Medicaid programs grew by an average of 5.4 percent in the previous fiscal year, the highest rate in six years, according to the Kaiser survey. In eight states, the growth exceeded 10 percent.
Last year’s average growth was well above the 3.6 percent that had been forecast by the Medicaid directors a year earlier. In this year’s survey, the directors projected that enrollment would continue to accelerate in the current 2010 fiscal year, growing by 6.6 percent.
The states and the federal government share the $333 billion annual cost of Medicaid, which insured 62 million low-income and disabled people at some point in 2007. It is the states, however, that regulate that spending by setting eligibility cutoffs, benefit levels and provider payments, within federal guidelines.
The Kaiser survey found that the growth in Medicaid spending in 2009, at 7.9 percent, was the highest in five years. That number also may increase this fiscal year. Three-fourths of the agency directors said they already fear their appropriations will not be enough and that lawmakers will have to find more money or, more likely, cut benefits or provider payments.
One such state is Nevada. “We’re seeing the trajectories of our enrollment growth as well as our revenues all going in the wrong direction,” said Charles Duarte, administrator of the state’s Division of Health Care Financing and Policy.
Medicaid is, by definition, a countercyclical program. Demand for it is always highest at the time that states can least afford it because of slumping tax revenues.
The highest spikes in Medicaid enrollment often trail the worst recessionary indicators. It was not until a year after the 2001 recession that the growth in Medicaid enrollments peaked at 9.3 percent.
Vernon K. Smith, who directed the survey for Health Management Associates of Lansing, Mich., said he doubted that enrollment growth would reach that level as a result of this recession, but that it was not out of the question. “Significantly many states said the pace of growth accelerated as the year went on,” he said.
Some states did cut certain Medicaid benefits last year, and two-thirds of them either froze or reduced payments to providers. Those payments are typically the lowest made by any insurer -- often falling below actual costs -- and as a result some physicians decline to accept patients with Medicaid.
Nonetheless, state budgets were buffered from even worse pain by the federal stimulus package enacted in February. The largest single component of state aid in the package, worth about $87 billion, provided a temporary increase in federal Medicaid reimbursement to the states.
The survey found that 38 states used the money to avoid or reduce cuts in provider payments and that 36 avoided benefit cuts. Because the federal money was conditional on states not reducing eligibility for Medicaid, 14 states reversed previously enacted restrictions and five abandoned plans to tighten coverage.
But state officials are already panicking about how to compensate when the spike in federal matching funds expires at the end of 2010. Few anticipate any significant reduction in their Medicaid rolls by then.
“Many states believe they may be pressured to consider previously unthinkable eligibility and benefit reductions,” the Kaiser report concluded. Unless Congress and President Obama extend the federal aid, the cuts needed to balance state budgets may be “on a scale not ever seen in Medicaid,” the authors warned.
“What we will have to look at is wholesale elimination of eligibility groups,” Mr. Duarte said.
Deborah Bachrach, New York’s Medicaid director, said her state would face a $5 billion annual gap and would have to consider deep cuts in home and personal care.
Both Mr. Duarte and Ms. Bachrach said there likely would be further cuts in provider payments. “This could affect access,” Mr. Duarte said, “but we’re at the point where that may be a secondary consideration.”
Governors also have expressed concern about the fiscal impact of the health care legislation being negotiated in Washington, which would vastly expand eligibility for Medicaid as one means of covering the country’s 46 million uninsured.
The program is largely limited at present to low-income children, pregnant women and parents of qualifying children. But under bills in both houses, eligibility would be granted to anyone with an income of up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (currently $29,326 for a family of four). That could add an estimated 11 million people to the rolls.
Initially, the federal government would absorb most of the cost. But the bills vary on that score and some states may bear higher costs than others. Three-fourths of the Medicaid directors said they thought the changes might deepen their budget holes.
“Many officials felt that their states would be unable to finance the cost of a Medicaid eligibility expansion unless the federal government assumed 100 percent of the costs, especially during the early years,” the report said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/health/policy/01medicaid.html?_r=1&hp
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Money & Policy
The New Times
Published: September 30, 2009
The recession is driving up enrollment in Medicaid at higher than expected rates, threatening gargantuan state budget gaps even as Congress and the White House seek to expand the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Skip to next paragraphThe annual survey of state Medicaid directors, conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, found that the program had been spared the worst effects of massive state budget shortfalls because of federal aid in the stimulus package. But it also revealed grave concerns about what will happen when that relief dries up at the close of 2010.
As unemployment surged, enrollment in state Medicaid programs grew by an average of 5.4 percent in the previous fiscal year, the highest rate in six years, according to the Kaiser survey. In eight states, the growth exceeded 10 percent.
Last year’s average growth was well above the 3.6 percent that had been forecast by the Medicaid directors a year earlier. In this year’s survey, the directors projected that enrollment would continue to accelerate in the current 2010 fiscal year, growing by 6.6 percent.
The states and the federal government share the $333 billion annual cost of Medicaid, which insured 62 million low-income and disabled people at some point in 2007. It is the states, however, that regulate that spending by setting eligibility cutoffs, benefit levels and provider payments, within federal guidelines.
The Kaiser survey found that the growth in Medicaid spending in 2009, at 7.9 percent, was the highest in five years. That number also may increase this fiscal year. Three-fourths of the agency directors said they already fear their appropriations will not be enough and that lawmakers will have to find more money or, more likely, cut benefits or provider payments.
One such state is Nevada. “We’re seeing the trajectories of our enrollment growth as well as our revenues all going in the wrong direction,” said Charles Duarte, administrator of the state’s Division of Health Care Financing and Policy.
Medicaid is, by definition, a countercyclical program. Demand for it is always highest at the time that states can least afford it because of slumping tax revenues.
The highest spikes in Medicaid enrollment often trail the worst recessionary indicators. It was not until a year after the 2001 recession that the growth in Medicaid enrollments peaked at 9.3 percent.
Vernon K. Smith, who directed the survey for Health Management Associates of Lansing, Mich., said he doubted that enrollment growth would reach that level as a result of this recession, but that it was not out of the question. “Significantly many states said the pace of growth accelerated as the year went on,” he said.
Some states did cut certain Medicaid benefits last year, and two-thirds of them either froze or reduced payments to providers. Those payments are typically the lowest made by any insurer -- often falling below actual costs -- and as a result some physicians decline to accept patients with Medicaid.
Nonetheless, state budgets were buffered from even worse pain by the federal stimulus package enacted in February. The largest single component of state aid in the package, worth about $87 billion, provided a temporary increase in federal Medicaid reimbursement to the states.
The survey found that 38 states used the money to avoid or reduce cuts in provider payments and that 36 avoided benefit cuts. Because the federal money was conditional on states not reducing eligibility for Medicaid, 14 states reversed previously enacted restrictions and five abandoned plans to tighten coverage.
But state officials are already panicking about how to compensate when the spike in federal matching funds expires at the end of 2010. Few anticipate any significant reduction in their Medicaid rolls by then.
“Many states believe they may be pressured to consider previously unthinkable eligibility and benefit reductions,” the Kaiser report concluded. Unless Congress and President Obama extend the federal aid, the cuts needed to balance state budgets may be “on a scale not ever seen in Medicaid,” the authors warned.
“What we will have to look at is wholesale elimination of eligibility groups,” Mr. Duarte said.
Deborah Bachrach, New York’s Medicaid director, said her state would face a $5 billion annual gap and would have to consider deep cuts in home and personal care.
Both Mr. Duarte and Ms. Bachrach said there likely would be further cuts in provider payments. “This could affect access,” Mr. Duarte said, “but we’re at the point where that may be a secondary consideration.”
Governors also have expressed concern about the fiscal impact of the health care legislation being negotiated in Washington, which would vastly expand eligibility for Medicaid as one means of covering the country’s 46 million uninsured.
The program is largely limited at present to low-income children, pregnant women and parents of qualifying children. But under bills in both houses, eligibility would be granted to anyone with an income of up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (currently $29,326 for a family of four). That could add an estimated 11 million people to the rolls.
Initially, the federal government would absorb most of the cost. But the bills vary on that score and some states may bear higher costs than others. Three-fourths of the Medicaid directors said they thought the changes might deepen their budget holes.
“Many officials felt that their states would be unable to finance the cost of a Medicaid eligibility expansion unless the federal government assumed 100 percent of the costs, especially during the early years,” the report said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/health/policy/01medicaid.html?_r=1&hp
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Friday, October 02, 2009
Health Care A Struggle For People With Disabilities, Government Report Finds
By Michelle Diament
For Disability Scoop
September 30, 2009
Significantly more needs to be done to track and provide health care for people with disabilities, a National Council on Disability report finds.
Adults with disabilities tend to be in worse health than their peers and are less likely to take advantage of preventive services. Meanwhile, this population is stereotyped by providers and often unable to obtain needed accommodations at medical facilities, according to the report, The Current State of Health Care for People with Disabilities, which will be presented to Congress and the president.
Many of these problems are caused by this country’s “highly fragmented health care delivery system,” the report indicates. But the government’s approach to disability health issues is also part of the problem since much of the federal research focuses on preventing disability rather than improving quality of life for people living with disabilities.
The report recommends that a technical assistance system be established to provide doctors and patients information on improving accessibility. Additionally, the report indicates that the Department of Justice should step up monitoring of health care providers compliance with discrimination laws and that health care reform should ensure that insurance is available to everyone regardless of preexisting conditions.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/09/30/health-care-report/5597/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
For Disability Scoop
September 30, 2009
Significantly more needs to be done to track and provide health care for people with disabilities, a National Council on Disability report finds.
Adults with disabilities tend to be in worse health than their peers and are less likely to take advantage of preventive services. Meanwhile, this population is stereotyped by providers and often unable to obtain needed accommodations at medical facilities, according to the report, The Current State of Health Care for People with Disabilities, which will be presented to Congress and the president.
Many of these problems are caused by this country’s “highly fragmented health care delivery system,” the report indicates. But the government’s approach to disability health issues is also part of the problem since much of the federal research focuses on preventing disability rather than improving quality of life for people living with disabilities.
The report recommends that a technical assistance system be established to provide doctors and patients information on improving accessibility. Additionally, the report indicates that the Department of Justice should step up monitoring of health care providers compliance with discrimination laws and that health care reform should ensure that insurance is available to everyone regardless of preexisting conditions.
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/09/30/health-care-report/5597/
Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.
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