| 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.
Celebs aside, rehab can work
Lindsay Lohan is back in rehab. It's not surprising, really. How serious can one be about overcoming addiction when one jumps back into the Los Angeles party circuit wearing an ankle bracelet designed to measure one's blood-alcohol content days after checking out of a chic substance-abuse treatment center? Lohan faces new charges of misdemeanor drunken driving, felony cocaine possession and driving on a suspended license following an incident early Tuesday morning. She had been out of rehab less than two weeks. It is not unusual to relapse in substance abuse recovery, celebrity or no. Actor Daniel Baldwin, who allowed ABC News' "Primetime" to tape various stages of his three-month drug-treatment program in Malibu, Calif., reportedly tried nine other treatment centers in his battle with addiction.
Anderson House benefit this weekend
The 11th annual Anderson House Seafood Festival will be held from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Deer Path Park, West Woodschurch Road, Readington Township. There will be musical entertainment by local musicians. The festival benefits the residential treatment program for women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Suggested donation: $5, free for children 12 and under. Nutrition course at NCC Southside A new, three-credit introductory class in nutrition will be offered from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, beginning Aug. 29, at Northampton Community College's Fowler Family Southside Center, 511 E. Third St., Bethlehem. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of nutrition related to health promotion and disease prevention throughout the life cycle.
IBNLive Chat: 'Cut the guilt, talk about sex in family'
Dr Madhumati Singh, a renowned clinical psychologist and currently a senior psychologist at Samvedna Psychological Center, has been practicing for 18 years. Her areas of specialisation include teenage adjustment, rehabilitation, family therapy, marriage counselling, de-addiction, adolescent sexuality and inter-personal problems. In a live chat on IBNlive on Thursday, Dr Singh exchanged her views on sex education in India. Here is the full transcript of the chat: Naren: Is sex education so important? (Not that I am against it). We never had any formal sex education but learnt it through friends, magazines etc. Why all this hue and cry about sex education? Dr Madhumati Singh: No hue and cry. Just talking about it and trying to form an objective platform without guilt and shame and of course keeping all our Indian culture in mind.
Medicare changes for rehab hospitals worry Brooks
JACKSONVILLE -- As changes in Medicare policy regarding inpatient rehabilitation hospitals draw nearer, hospital officials are worried what effects the changes will have on their patients. One of the changes by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is the 75 Percent Rule, which requires that percentage of patients in inpatient rehabilitation facilities to be there for one of 13 medical conditions in order for hospitals to continue to be reimbursed by Medicare. .
Poll: 1 in 6 young Arizonans tried meth
One in six Arizonans age 18 to 24 has tried methamphetamine according to a new statewide survey. But it might have more to do with curiosity than lifestyle or habit: The telephone poll found that only 4 percent in that age group admitted to using meth in the last year. Attorney General Terry Goddard said thats still twice the national average. He said thats why he and officials from several counties have banded together to run commercials and buy billboard space to try to scare Arizona teens from trying meth even once. But the survey shows theres a tricky balance between instilling legitimate fear about the drug and making claims teens will dismiss as ridiculous. For example, the poll shows that 95 percent of young adults believe trying meth even once can result in addiction. That, he said, is true.
State's sputtering economy may get jump-start from a biofuel boom
Michigan is on the verge of a biofuel boom -- one that experts and lawmakers say could provide a high-octane kick to the state's economy and put the state at the forefront of efforts to end the nation's addiction to foreign oil. Two years ago, Michigan had one biofuel plant -- a corn-feed ethanol facility in Caro. Today, it has six operating ethanol and biodiesel facilities and at least 16 more in the works -- including a cutting-edge cellulosic ethanol plant and two proposed biodiesel locations in Detroit. That growth puts Michigan in the middle of a biofuel industry that has tripled its output since 2000 and is projected to continue its expansion. Some say Michigan is chasing the same glittery dream as a dozen other states and may find nothing more than fool's gold.
2nd blow for rehab center in Bluffdale
Mayor Claudia Anderson's decision to deny a business license for a residential drug- and alcohol-treatment center in Bluffdale was upheld Thursday by the city's Board of Adjustments, setting the stage for a legal battle. The five-resident board unanimously denied an appeal from Renaissance Ranch owner H.R. Brown, who wants to relocate the treatment facility from Park City to Bluffdale. Brown contends the facility qualifies as a "disability group home," making it a permitted use. The board disagreed, supporting the mayor's ruling that the type of facility Brown wants to open requires a conditional-use permit. That leaves Brown to pursue the matter in the courts, which he said he intends to do. "We know this is a permitted use," he said. Ryan Nord, attorney for Renaissance Ranch, cited state law saying that a residential facility for persons with a disability shall be a permitted use in any zone where a dwelling is allowed.
|
