About 9,500 parents would lose Medicaid, fewer seniors would receive home care, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers would receive millions of dollars less from the state, and school-based health centers would see a 10 percent funding cut under the budget plan Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed Wednesday.
mental health
Posted inHealth
A health center tries a new way to deliver care, starting with longer appointments
Norwalk Community Health Center’s pilot program is small. But in shifting how care is delivered for patients with complex needs, it has implications for how the center treats all of its patients. It’s also an example of what a major, ongoing change in health care delivery could look like, a shift that could, ultimately, affect all patients in Connecticut.
Posted inHealth
Advocates give legislators a ‘mental health 101’
The dozen or so legislators who showed up heard personal stories and policy pitches. They got some advice and joking sympathy. It was one of the many ways lobbyists and advocates will try to make an impression on legislators in advance of next year’s session.
Posted inHealth, Politics
House approves mental health and addiction bill championed by Murphy, Courtney
WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s Democratic lawmakers split with Rep. Rosa DeLauro and other progressives in their party Wednesday over a bill that included Sen. Chris Murphy’s mental health bill and authorized the spending of $1 billion on the treatment and prevention of opioid addiction.
Posted inHealth, Money
‘There’s a lot of anxiety:’ Mental health system braces for more cuts
So far, the impact of cuts to the state’s mental health system has been mixed, those involved say. Some agencies have absorbed reductions, while others have reduced hours, cut staff or closed programs. But nearly all expect that the cuts they’ve already faced are just a start.
Posted inHealth
House passes mental health bill, Murphy presses Senate to follow
WASHINGTON — As the U.S. House of Representatives passed an overhaul of federal mental health policy on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Murphy pressed for a Senate vote on a similar bipartisan bill he has sponsored with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Posted inHealth
Can an apartment cut health care costs of homeless ‘super users’?
Connecticut is part of a national demonstration program aimed at finding a new way to address the needs of homeless health care “super users.” It’s designed to test the questions: Can housing and support be the answer? Can it save money? And can it be sustainable?
Posted inEducation, Health, Justice, Money, Politics, Transportation
Nonpartisan analysts: Tentative CT budget wipes away lots of red ink
The tentative plan to close a $1 billion hole in Connecticut’s finances starting July 1 also would wipe away more than 40 percent of the red ink threatening state government after the November elections, nonpartisan fiscal analysts reported Tuesday evening.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money, Politics
Down to the wire on chances for a regular-session CT budget
Updated at 10:30 p.m.
Chances of a state budget deal before the legislative session ends Wednesday could hinge on whether negotiations – sparked by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s new budget proposal – bear fruit overnight Monday into Tuesday.
Posted inHealth
Mental health service cuts go along with layoffs
The 68 layoffs announced last week at the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services were accompanied by plans to close programs serving people who are homeless or getting out of psychiatric hospitals or prison, an intensive team that works with people living in the community who have mental health or substance issues, and a behavioral health program for veterans.
Posted inHealth
A push for more data on how insurers cover mental illness
Mental health practitioners, advocates, insurance companies and the Connecticut Insurance Department agree on the need for data to determine whether stories of people struggling to get coverage for mental health care are isolated incidents or signs of a deeper problem. But they disagree on a legislative proposal that one proponent says would require collecting data “essential” in making that determination.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Prospect of detox, psychiatric bed cuts worries hospital officials
As they try to cut more than $34 million from their budget, officials at the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services say they anticipate reducing the number of treatment beds available – a prospect that worries hospital officials and mental health professionals. “In an era when we’re in this opioid crisis, why would we be reducing capacity when there’s already not enough?” said Terri DiPietro, director of the Center for Behavioral Health at Middlesex Hospital.
Posted inHealth, Money
Advocates say social service, mental health cuts will hurt
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget calls for cutting funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment, hospitals, community health centers, school-based health clinics, asthma treatment, respite programs for those who care for people with dementia – and more.
Posted inHealth
Workplace depression under-recognized, expensive, treatable
Depression can take a big toll on workplaces, but too often, it remains hidden and unaddressed, according to mental health and employment experts.
Posted inEducation, Health
Helping children cope with tragedies that don’t make the news
“The truth is that right now, San Bernardino, Sandy Hook, they have to be mass to get our attention,” Nelba Márquez-Greene said as she introduced a mental health conference held in honor of her daughter. “Kids suffer from violence, experiences, all kinds of losses, every day. And we’re missing that because maybe their specific tragedy doesn’t make it on the news.”