Judith Anne, after looking over the White House link all I see is more funding for programs that are already implemented and some new programs coming down the line that don't come close to what WND is writing about.
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Posted on 06/21/2004 10:19:15 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
President Bush plans to unveil next month a sweeping mental health initiative that recommends screening for every citizen and promotes the use of expensive antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs favored by supporters of the administration.
The New Freedom Initiative, according to a progress report, seeks to integrate mentally ill patients fully into the community by providing "services in the community, rather than institutions," the British Medical Journal reported.
Critics say the plan protects the profits of drug companies at the expense of the public.
The initiative began with Bush's launch in April 2002 of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, which conducted a "comprehensive study of the United States mental health service delivery system."
The panel found that "despite their prevalence, mental disorders often go undiagnosed" and recommended comprehensive mental health screening for "consumers of all ages," including preschool children.
The commission said, "Each year, young children are expelled from preschools and childcare facilities for severely disruptive behaviors and emotional disorders."
Schools, the panel concluded, are in a "key position" to screen the 52 million students and 6 million adults who work at the schools.
The commission recommended that the screening be linked with "treatment and supports," including "state-of-the-art treatments" using "specific medications for specific conditions."
The Texas Medication Algorithm Project, or TMAP, was held up by the panel as a "model" medication treatment plan that "illustrates an evidence-based practice that results in better consumer outcomes."
The TMAP -- started in 1995 as an alliance of individuals from the pharmaceutical industry, the University of Texas and the mental health and corrections systems of Texas -- also was praised by the American Psychiatric Association, which called for increased funding to implement the overall plan.
But the Texas project sparked controversy when a Pennsylvania government employee revealed state officials with influence over the plan had received money and perks from drug companies who stand to gain from it.
Allen Jones, an employee of the Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector General says in his whistleblower report the "political/pharmaceutical alliance" that developed the Texas project, which promotes the use of newer, more expensive antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs, was behind the recommendations of the New Freedom Commission, which were "poised to consolidate the TMAP effort into a comprehensive national policy to treat mental illness with expensive, patented medications of questionable benefit and deadly side effects, and to force private insurers to pick up more of the tab."
Jones points out, according to the British Medical Journal, companies that helped start the Texas project are major contributors to Bush's election funds. Also, some members of the New Freedom Commission have served on advisory boards for these same companies, while others have direct ties to TMAP.
Eli Lilly, manufacturer of olanzapine, one of the drugs recommended in the plan, has multiple ties to the Bush administration, BMJ says. The elder President Bush was a member of Lilly's board of directors and President Bush appointed Lilly's chief executive officer, Sidney Taurel, to the Homeland Security Council.
Of Lilly's $1.6 million in political contributions in 2000, 82 percent went to Bush and the Republican Party.
Another critic, Robert Whitaker, journalist and author of "Mad in America," told the British Medical Journal that while increased screening "may seem defensible," it could also be seen as "fishing for customers."
Exorbitant spending on new drugs "robs from other forms of care such as job training and shelter program," he said.
However, a developer of the Texas project, Dr. Graham Emslie, defends screening.
"There are good data showing that if you identify kids at an earlier age who are aggressive, you can intervene ... and change their trajectory."
/sarcasm
I'm afraid that bird has flown the coop..
Got seatbelt?
I know.
I hope a country opens up that's got freedom like I remember America used to. I'll go there.
Slightly off topic...I just read an article about a little league where it is *mandatory* that the parents attend a class, and watch a video tape that protrays the proper way to conduct themselves at a game. How to applaude, what not to say, words not to be used, how not to offend anyone....
I was *blown* away when I read the part where it said:
"This is mandatory, no child we be allowed to sign up for little league until the parents have met the training requirements by attending the class and watching the video".
I ought to post it as a thread.
Yeah, but we did have about a 230 year run, which wasn't too bad.
Don Joe,
That is funny... thanks for the serious giggle..
and after re-reading my sentence... I should have said prisons are filled with "untreated" crazy folks...
Regards, ba7
I'll use smaller words this time around.
You continue to harp on the fact that this article came from WND, even though it's been demonstrated to you multiple times that the underlying sources are legit. That tells me you can't attack the argument head-on, so instead you're diverting attention from the issue by using tactics.
It's an obvious ploy. My guess is, you're trying to run the clock out before you must admit the article is legitimate.
It took you long enough to get here. Sheesh!
Yeah, but at least I'm not billin' ya for it! :)
lol! Nah - you'd have to run for Congress.
Sorry. I work hard these days. Kinda gets in the way of Freepin'.
No "underlying sources" are legit. There has been an effort on the part of some on this thread, and on the internet to ramp this up in rhetoric, as I've noted in post #618.
Polemics may work for attorneys. It doesn't work for me.
Do what I do...FReep while you work. ;-)
Judith Anne, after looking over the White House link all I see is more funding for programs that are already implemented and some new programs coming down the line that don't come close to what WND is writing about.
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I think two things:
1. BFD.
2. I'm reminded of something Euell Gibbons said when confronted by a socialite who, when told that Pigweed (AKA "Lambsquarters" AKA "Chenopodium Album") was favored by pigs, she would never eat it, because she could never allow herself to consume anything that pigs enjoyed eating.
He replied to her that if she refused to eat anything that pigs enjoyed eating, her menu would be spartan indeed.
BTW, pigweed is absolutely delicious.
Bonus item:
3. If I call 911 and say I need a policeman or fireman, should I tell the operator that before she dispatches them, I'll need to know how they feel about Bush?
Amazing...
Then read what she read, and form your own opinions. It's what I did. Here it is:
Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America, the White House's source document
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