| Court makes it easier for patients to enter rehab
Pennsylvanians battling drug and alcohol addiction will not need a second opinion from their HMO before entering treatment programs, a state appeals court ruled. In a unanimous decision released Thursday, Commonwealth Court ruled that group insurance companies and HMOs must cover drug and alcohol treatment costs for policy holders referred to detoxification, rehabilitation and outpatient programs by a doctor or psychologist. The ruling will help about 15,000 state residents with private insurance who seek substance abuse treatment each year, said Deborah Beck, president of the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania. It's a really important decision that I think gives power back to doctors and psychologists, said Beck, whose Harrisburg-based organization represents licensed treatment centers and school-run counseling programs.
U-turn on drugs policy
THE Greens have reversed their soft drugs policy in a bid to appeal to the centre of Australian politics. The party has for the first time stated its opposition to the legalisation of illegal drugs, according to its new Drugs, Substance Use and Addiction policy. "The Australian Greens do not support the legalisation of currently illegal drugs," principle No.1 of the policy says. Also, the Greens have called for a crackdown on drug dealers, including criminal penalties for offenders. The Sunday Herald Sun has obtained a copy of the new 10-point policy, agreed on last week at a special National Council meeting. Greens Senator Bob Brown said yesterday the new policy would take the party more to the centre of Australian politics.
Drugs; Drug Use, Possession, Dealing, High ...
Joseph A. Califano, Jr., chairman and president of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, will release the findings from CASA's twelfth annual back-to-school report, "National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XII: Teens and Parents" on Thursday, August 16 at 10:00 a.m. at the Kaiser Family Foundation building, 1330 G Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. .
Pastor: Critics misunderstand church's ministry
The head of a growing and popular non-denominational church in West Orange said misguided critics are misrepresenting the outreach and spiritual guidance efforts the church has for its planned house of worship in the township. Critics have complained Life Christian Church plans to establish a drug rehabilitation center when it relocates from its Harrison Avenue and Ridgeway Avenue locations, to a new one on Northfield Avenue and Vizcaya Boulevard. "There is no truth to the notion that we're putting a drug treatment center on Northfield Avenue," according to the Rev. Terry Smith, head of a church family composed of more than 800 people who come from Essex, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset and Sussex counties, as well as from New York City.
Health Calendar
CANCER SERVICES, 3175 Maplewood Ave., will offer "Buckets of Fun!" for children and teenagers from 9 a.m. to noon. The session is for kids and teens whose family members have cancer. There will be scavenger hunts, games, crafts, snacks and more. Call 760-9983 to RSVP. CLASS ON DIABETES IN CHILDREN: BestHealth in Hanes Mall will hold a class on "The Diabetes Epidemic in Children" at 6 p.m. The speaker will be Dr. James Kerrigan, a pediatric endocrinologist at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. For more information, visit www.besthealth.com. MENTAL-HEALTH-SPEAKER MEETING: Barbara Andersen, a registered dietician and dietician therapist, will discuss nutrition and mental health at 7 p.m. at The Mental Health Association in Forsyth County, 1509 S. Hawthorne Road.
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