Health

"Dr. Ramesh Raghavan, a child mental-health services researcher at Washington University and an expert in prescription drug use among low-income children, said there are circumstances in which prescribing medication is a doctor's only recourse to help a child struggling in school.But he added that society should not force doctors into those situations, and should make available other methods to improve school environments and help families and children who are finding it difficult to thrive academically."

"The Supreme Court ruled this year that Congress could tell states to expand Medicaid but it couldn't penalize those that refused. As a result, many states are expected not to extend coverage to 138% of the poverty line or to able-bodied individuals without dependent children. Low-income seniors in those states could still seek heavily subsidized coverage through the state's insurance exchange, but the out-of-pocket costs would be significantly higher -- too high, some advocates for the elderly warn."

"For example, in an election where a record number of women were elected to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and women, who constitute a majority of the electorate, voted 55-44 percent in support of President Obama, election eve polls point to a stark reality. Women, by a wide margin, apparently believed the president's policies would be more supportive of women and children than those of Governor Romney."

"The CAP report points out that 10 states have publicly declared that they will opt out of the Medicaid expansion, and more are undecided. CAP then found that more than 164,000 seniors live below the poverty line in states that may opt out of the Medicaid expansion, using 2011 data. That means approximately 434,000 seniors could be left without insurance annually by 2021. And this is a conservative estimate - it's based on 2011 data, and the population of seniors will grow significantly over the next decade."

"If the Texas Legislature is in session, there must be a fight about Medicaid going on. The health care program for the disabled, the elderly poor and the impoverished raises hackles every two years, mostly because the number in need keeps rising alongside health care costs."

"The free clinic is new territory for Senior Mobile Dental, which began offering basic dental services, such as cleanings and screenings, in 2007. Most of its work has taken place at local nursing homes, treating a population that is not mobile and often difficult to roust from familiar surroundings. It also operates a similar dental clinic at the Colorado Springs Senior Center, but patients are charged on a sliding scale."

"In defense of Anderson, his motives, while not defensible, are understandable. He, and others, are frustrated by low-income students trapped in failing schools, and the perceived societal neglect of those students' social and emotional needs. Other trends also are at work here. Drugs are a lucrative shortcut. Performance-enhancing drugs in sports are ubiquitous (see Armstrong, Lance). Pharmaceutical companies seek to expand the indications for the use of their drugs (off-labeling') to increase their profits."

"The use of such psychotropic medications, covered by Medicaid, to improve impulse control, listening, and study habits has yielded some positive results. Another generation of poor children who attend inadequate schools should not have to leave school with little prospect for prosperity, just because they live in a society that doesn't fully recognize the value of investing in their futures. Still, the less-than-discriminate use of psychotropic drugs for children carries troubling physical and psychological risks, including addiction, higher blood pressure, stunted growth, and, rarely, psychotic episodes."

"Antipsychotic drugs given to poor children under Kentucky's Medicaid program jumped 270 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to a report prepared by the University of Kentucky's Center for Business and Economic Research. Minority children received these drugs at three times the rate of white children, and the incidence of prescribing varies wildly from region to region, county to county."