Clip files / Local news from the states
Clip files / Local news from the states
This column features selected short items about state health care policy.
New plans for treatment of asthma given a breath of fresh air in New Hampshire
CONCORD, NH—Nearly 65,000 children and adults in New Hampshire have asthma. For the first time in the state, managed care companies have developed a common set of guidelines for the treatment of asthma. The guidelines, printed on a bright, 11-inch by 17-inch poster, will help physicians assess, classify, treat, educate, and equip asthma patients. The Foundation for Healthy Communities in Concord will send two copies of the poster to every licensed internist, family physician, pediatrician, allergist, pulmonologist, emergency room physician, and nurse practitioner in the state.
Asthma management specialists from Aetna U.S. Healthcare, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Hampshire, Cigna HealthCare, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and the American Lung Association worked with the foundation to produce the guidelines.
—The Foundation for Healthy Communities, Concord, NH
Many children in South Dakota going without insurance because they don’t know of opportunities
SIOUX FALLS, SD—Some 24,000 eligible South Dakota children are not enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a publicly funded plan for kids whose parents cannot afford coverage. The South Dakota Department of Social Services attributes the shortfall to a lack of awareness about changes made to the program last July. "Families don’t even realize they qualify," said Mina Hall, a registered nurse who chairs the South Dakota Covering Kids Coalition.
When the program began in 1998 as an extension of the existing Medicaid program, it covered uninsured children, ages 6 to 18, who were not eligible for Medicaid and whose family income was no more than 133% of the federal poverty line. A year later, the income eligibility level was raised to 140% and applied to all children 18 and younger. In July, the program expanded once again, this time lifting the family income ceiling to 200% of the poverty guideline. A family of four living in South Dakota, for instance, would now qualify if it made no more than $34,000 after the costs of child care.
—Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, SD
More calls to NJ FamilyCare means adding new phones, staff
TRENTON, NJ—Due to the overwhelming response to the new NJ FamilyCare health insurance program, the state is adding more phone lines and staff at eligibility processing centers. It also is placing newspaper ads asking the public to be patient with the enrollment process of the program providing health insurance for low- and moderate-income adults and children.
The steps were announced by Michele K. Guhl, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services. Ms. Guhl said the department has been receiving almost 30,000 calls a week and sending out 1,100 applications a day since ads featuring Gov. Christie Whitman promoting the program were aired in November.
"Until we can get extra staff and phone lines in place, we may not be able to respond to these calls as quickly as we would like," she said. "We don’t want people to be frustrated if they experience some delays in enrolling in the program. We encourage uninsured families to continue to apply."
Since the program began accepting applications for adults in November, 36,800 adults have been enrolled, the department reported. More than 74,000 children have enrolled since the program began as NJ KidCare in 1998. Applications are being processed for another 31,000 adults, the department said. It is estimated that 125,000 and 157,000 children are eligible for the program.
—Associated Press, Nov. 29, 2000
Public sector picking up large share of the tab for mental health/substance abuse
ANN ARBOR, MI—Fifty-six percent of the funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment in 1997 was paid by the public sector, up from 53% in 1987, according to a study conducted by the Medstat Group for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in Rockville, MD. The fastest growing public-sector payers were Medicare and Medicaid for which the average annual growth rate for mental health and substance abuse spending were 11.7% and 9.9% respectively.
Spending for mental health and substance abuse treatment nationwide reached $85.3 billion in 1997. Its growth rate, adjusted for general price inflation, averaged 3.7% per year between 1987 and 1997, significantly below the comparable rate of 5% for total health expenditures.
"Because so many Americans are affected by mental illness and substance abuse, it’s critical that we understand our nation’s investment in this area," said Joan Dilonardo with the project office for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).
"Particularly troubling is a decline of 0.6% in private insurers’ real spending for substance abuse services between 1987 and 1997, which highlights our need to monitor how these trends are affecting patients’ health, said H. Westley Clark, director of CSAT.
—The Medstat Group
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