Our weekly column will be taking a break the week of September 8.
Obama Plans More Measures to Improve Health Care for Veterans (New York Times, Aug. 26)
President Obama on Tuesday promised several thousand military veterans that he would take further action to improve their access to health care and housing as he seeks to turn around a dysfunctional system that has embarrassed his administration.
Federal Officials Order Medicaid to Cover Autism Services (Kaiser Health News, Aug. 26)
In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that comprehensive autism services must be covered for children under all state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program plans, another federal-state program that provide health coverage to lower-income children.
The Historical Precursor to ADHD (The Atlantic, Aug. 25)
This difference might seem obvious enough, but up until the twentieth century, willpower and intelligence were often considered indistinguishable.
People with Down Syndrome Are Pioneers in Alzheimer’s Research (NPR, Aug. 25)
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that’s best known for causing intellectual disability. But is also causes Alzheimer’s. “By the age of 40, 100 percent of all individuals with Down syndrome have the pathology of Alzheimer’s in their brain,” Rafii says.
Doctors Get New Recommendations for Diagnosing Disabilities (Disability Scoop, Aug. 25)
In a clinical report published in the journal Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its recommendations [for physicians diagnosing intellectual and other developmental disabilities], which were first released in 2006. Specifically, the new report emphasizes advances in genetic testing in recent years that can aid in providing a more precise diagnosis for children with various delays.
OPINION: Mental Health First Aid Act – Ideal opportunity for bipartisan support (The Hill, Aug. 25)
Mental illness is a disease that knows no race, gender, socio-economic background or political party. It impacts Americans from all walks of life. Improving the way this country addresses mental illness should be a priority for the nation, and it is an issue ideally suited for transcending Washington’s partisan political divide.
Judge’s Ruling Favors Globe in Steward Complaint (Boston Globe, Aug. 21)
A Suffolk Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that Steward Health Care System has no right to review the reporting or records collected by The Boston Globe for a yet-to-be-published article about a man’s journey through the mental health care system.