Mental Health Coverage Now at Par with Physical Health

Posted by Sasha: 2008-12-16 01:01:31

A new national law equalizing mental health insurance coverage takes effect in 2010. Mental illness insurance coverage must now equal coverage for physical illness.

The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act passed in October and was signed into law by Pres. George W. Bush.

The bill doesn't require that mental health be covered. Instead, it simply requires that, if physical health is covered, that mental health is covered at the same level.

No Comments

Universal Health Care -- a possibility?

Posted by Sasha: 2008-12-16 00:51:32

So many Americans are losing their jobs and it doesn't seem like the global turmoil will end anytime soon...don't you think that this is the best time for the U.S. to implement universal health care? Or is this still a farfetched dream?

This time, can the drug manufacturers, private health-care industry, and the medical profession come to an agreement with the government?

I'm an incurable optimist and I believe that if it is possible, Obama will find a way to accomplish it. I heard him say that health care is a key ingredient to economic recovery. He made a lot of promises, I trust ... more

No Comments

What are the Limitations of Health and Law?

Posted by Michael: 2008-12-07 20:25:24

Recent news reports announced the death of a Wal-Mart worker due to a Black Friday crowd. The family subsequently is suing everyone they can in order to rectify the death. While this has little to do with the concept of health and law, it does bring to mind the question of law and limitations regarding a business and the health of the employees.

If a worker has been released for work from the doctor and they are harmed on the job due to the previous injury is the business to blame for this harm or is the doctor at fault for releasing the patient too soon? These questions are ones doctors and ... more

No Comments

Mental Health and Law

Posted by Michael: 2008-11-28 09:10:20

Mental health and the law often collide when matters concerning the rights of the mentally ill arise for instance, when they commit crimes, it becomes difficult to discern between whether they should be committed in institutions or not and so on. Mentally ill people are people whose normal behavioural, emotional, cognitive functioning are impaired as a result of a number of psychiatric conditions they could be suffering. These conditions are normally caused by psychological, physiological, genetic, social and biochemical factors and so on. Head trauma and infections could cause mental ... more

No Comments

Physician-assisted Suicide

Posted by Hayden: 2008-11-03 00:51:33

It has been legal in Oregon since 11 years ago for terminally ill adults to obtain a doctor’s prescription for a lethal dose of medication. Now, Washington is deciding whether to adopt its own assisted-suicide law. Under the proposal, it would permit doctors only to prescribe the drugs, which patients would give themselves orally.

It's closely contested and as expected, it has reaped a lot of controversy and oppositions. Personally, I'm against it. I think it's encouraging people to give up hope prematurely. It's morally wrong and legislation doesn't make it even halfway right.

No Comments

Can I "buy" a kidney?

Posted by Hayden: 2008-11-02 22:23:37

The best treatment for end-stage renal (kidney) disease is a transplant but many of these candidates a kidney transplant die before getting one. A big reason for is that kidneys are scarce because federal law prohibits the buying and selling of organs. The average waiting time is 5 years and could take as long as 10 years.

The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 was established to protect humans from being treated as commodities. But I think it's high time to loosen these restrictions. Donors should be paid. It's funny to me how the World Health Organization has clarified that it is ... more

No Comments

Safe Haven Law Needs Revising

Posted by Hayden: 2008-11-02 22:01:48

This law in Nebraska, which allows a parent or guardian to abandon a child at a hospital or fire station without prosecution, is now proving to have some serious repercussions. Instead of protecting infants, as the law was designed for, it's protecting parents who have abandoned their kids and teenagers (last count was 24) at the hospitals in Nebraska.

Some of these kids were even been brought in from other states. There's a bigger problem here...if parents are leaving fully grown children at the mercy of the government. And they get to walk free?

Anyhow, Nebraska's governor is ... more

No Comments

Debate on Proposal to Ban Medical Gifts

Posted by Paul_cook: 2008-09-21 13:36:05

In Massachusetts, a debate is raging over a bill proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick seeking to ban certain gifts from drug and medical device companies to medical professionals.

The companies can complain all they want but as a consumer, I laud the notion of limiting their influence to doctors. As much as I want to trust the doctor, at the back of my mind there lies the thought that he is prescribing a medicine that has the most commercial backing. How much does gift-giving has to influence doctors' decisions? Minimal or otherwise, I prefer that there be a level playing field as the generic ... more

Comments count: 1

Mandated Prescription Drug Plan Draws Critics

Posted by Sasha: 2008-09-12 12:40:50

Proposed additions to minimum requirements under the state's health insurance law are facing oppositions by business leaders. The mandate that takes effect Jan. 1, is part of the state's Health Reform Law. The agency implementing the law is the Massachusetts Healthcare Connector.

It is estimated that prescription drug coverage will increase premiums by 10-20%. It is my fear that the cost of prescription drug coverage will be greater than the cost of the drugs themselves. These business leaders have a point. I'm self-employed. Shouldn't I have the right to choose the type of coverage that ... more

No Comments

Should mentally ill patients have the right to refuse treatment?

Posted by Rick_weber: 2008-09-04 21:41:48

In an attempt to curb abuses such as harsh physical handling, neglect and overmedication, patient advocates have been pushing for the rights of the mentally ill. The National Disability Rights Network, which supports this patient-advocacy system, say that these patients are very vulnerable and that there is a need for "an external, independent, legally based advocacy system to make sure they are being treated fairly, equitably and safely."

All this is well and good but I believe that rights are limited when it comes to safety. William Bruce killed his mother in 2006 after he was ... more

Comments count: 1

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next