"Health & Medical News"

An integral part of some state and local health system reform efforts has hit a major stumbling block. The business community has taken employer mandates to court.

These state and local laws require businesses to spend a certain amount on workers’ health care coverage or put that money into a fund to provide access for the uninsured. U.S. courts in Maryland, New York and California have sided with the business community and ruled that the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act trumps these efforts.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: unranked [?]

From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Possession of the hallucinogenic plant salvia divinorum is now a felony offense in Illinois, the Associated Press reported Dec. 26.

As of Jan. 1, a new Illinois law puts salvia possession — which is not even a crime in most other states, or under federal law — in the same class as heroin or LSD. “We decided to move forward rather than waiting for someone to be killed because of it,” said state Rep. Dennis Reboletti, who sponsored the law outlawing the herb.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Buprenorphine (Suboxone) was developed as an alternative to methadone that would be equally effective in treating opiate addiction but less likely to be abused. But Baltimore officials say that a black market for the drug has developed, leading to “bupe” abuse and some deaths, the Baltimore Sun reported Dec. 16.

Popularity: unranked [?]

If all currently illicit drugs were legalized only a relative handful of Americans would try drugs like cocaine or heroin, according to a Zogby poll sponsored by a drug-policy reform group.

A poll of about 1,000 likely voters ages 18 or older found that only 0.6 percent replied “yes” when asked, “If hard drugs such as heroin or cocaine were legalized, would you be likely to use them?” Ninety-nine percent answered “no,” and 0.4 percent said they were not sure.

Popularity: unranked [?]

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) and other addiction and prevention organizations fired off a letter objecting to Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) calling them “drug legalization groups” because they oppose his legislation penalizing students with drug convictions by stripping their federal college aid.

Popularity: unranked [?]