State highlights: Calif. readies new checks on foster kid psych meds; Kan. employment support for those with mental illness

Sep 22 2014

A selection of health policy stories from California, Kansas, Washington state and Maryland.

San Jose Mercury News: Drugging Our Kids: California Calls For New Checks On Psych Meds For Foster Kids
In a significant step toward curbing the overuse of psychiatric drugs in California's foster care system, doctors will soon be required to get extra authorization to prescribe antipsychotics, a new safeguard to protect some of the state's most overmedicated children. Beginning Oct. 1, a state pharmacist must verify the "medical necessity" of each antipsychotic prescription before the medications can be given to children who are 17 and younger and covered by Medi-Cal, the state's health program for the poor that also includes foster children (De Sa, 9/18).

Kansas Health Institute News Service: Kansas To Expand Employment Support To Mentally Ill
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services has been awarded a five-year, $3.9 million federal grant to expand employment services for Kansans with severe mental illness, including those with a mental illness and co-occurring substance disorder. KDADS received the grant to expand individual placement and support services from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Enhancing Supported Employment in Kansas (ESEK) project is designed to help people with mental illness achieve steady employment in mainstream competitive jobs, either part-time or full-time (9/17).

Seattle Times: Planned Parenthood 'Office Visit' Via App Gets You Birth Control
"Isn't there an app for that?" Turns out there is, if what you're after is birth control or a test for a sexually transmitted infection. In the latest example of fast-growing "telemedicine," video conferencing that virtually extends medical expertise, Planned Parenthood is rolling out a pilot project for real-time "office visits" that bring patient and medical provider face to face on a smartphone, tablet or personal computer. Fueling the Planned Parenthood Care project, under way in Washington and Minnesota, is a "horrible statistic," says Chris Charbonneau, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest: "People are sexually active for six to nine months before they get a really reliable birth-control method" (Ostrom, 9/18). 

Kansas City Star: Hospital Will Start Billing Health Insurers For Claims In Auto Accidents Instead Of Collecting From Auto Insurance Settlements
Truman Medical Center in Kansas City has agreed to stop a billing practice that involves refusing to accept a patient's health insurance. The concession is part of a proposed settlement valued at $478,000 to dispose of a lawsuit against the hospital. Truman Medical Center allegedly didn't file health insurance claims for some patients injured in auto accidents, which allowed it to avoid the deep discounts typically required by health insurers. It could then seek more money for its medical services, mainly from auto insurance settlements. In court documents, the hospital said it is ready to stop the billing method and provide some financial relief to more than 180 patients who were subjected to the billing practice. The hospital said it will partly reimburse those who have already paid their bills and seek no further payments from those who haven't (Everly, 9/18).

Baltimore Sun: A Push For Paid Family Leave
A growing movement of workers -- and their supporters in Annapolis and Washington -- wants to make the [paid leave] benefit universal. Democrats in Congress have proposed a fund that would pay a worker up to two-thirds of his or her monthly wages for 12 weeks to care for a new child or an elderly family member. California, New Jersey and Rhode Island have expanded their state disability insurance programs to cover family leave. The Obama administration has offered grants for other states to study how they might also offer the benefit. In Maryland, Del. Heather Mizeur proposed a paid family leave program modeled on California's during her unsuccessful campaign this year for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. In California, a portion of the state payroll tax paid by employees goes into a fund. Eligible workers on family leave can draw on that fund to cover a portion of their salary (King and Campbell, 9/19).