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N&O considers mental health

Submitted by James on Sun, 04/16/2006 - 9:42am

There's a joke in that headline somewhere, but the subject isn't funny in the slightest. And today's lead editorial in the N&O joins the rising chorus of voices calling for mental health reform. Good on 'em.

North Carolina's mental health system exists to serve fragile people with stubborn, often complicated illnesses. Helping those sufferers isn't cheap, and the costs are driven up even further when help for people with developmental disabilities and drug and alcohol addictions is included.

The state rightly is reforming its system of mental health care delivery, but the complexity of the endeavor means it can't be done in penny-pinching mode. Reform envisioned by the Department of Health and Human Services will keep clients closer to home and give local mental health agencies the money and authority to treat residents in their areas. State-local coordination will be key.

NC Health Care Recommendations: State Health Plan

Submitted by Lance on Sun, 04/16/2006 - 1:13am

On April 11, 2006, the North Carolina House Select Committee on Health Care released recommendations for the 2006 legislative short session. Many of them will be controversial, and taken together they have the potential to significantly change the way that North Carolinians access health care and insurance (and how much we pay). Some of these topics are pretty technical, but no less important for their difficulty. I'm hoping that these posts will begin a conversation on the best course for North Carolina's efforts at healthcare reform.

I'll publish the recommendations of the six subcommittees in six posts, along with some of the background information from each report. The subcommittees are:

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NC Health Care Recommendations: Access

Submitted by Lance on Sat, 04/15/2006 - 7:30pm

On April 11, 2006, the North Carolina House Select Committee on Health Care released recommendations for the 2006 legislative short session. Many of them will be controversial, and taken together they have the potential to significantly change the way that North Carolinians access health care and insurance (and how much we pay). Some of these topics are pretty technical, but no less important for their difficulty. I'm hoping that these posts will begin a conversation on the best course for North Carolina's efforts at healthcare reform.

I'll publish the recommendations of the six subcommittees in six posts, along with some of the background information from each report. The subcommittees are:

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NC News Wire

Submitted by Lance on Sat, 04/15/2006 - 6:21pm

I mentioned before the new feature down in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen: the NC News Wire. Here's some more information.

Unlike just about everything else on this site, we don't add any editorializing to the NC News Wire items. It's simply a list of links to articles that are floating to the top of various news searches and that have something to do with North Carolina. This means that you should feel safe putting the News Wire on your own blog, no matter your political inclination. Here's how:

AAA Carolina's Take on the Cost of a Car

Submitted by TarGator on Sat, 04/15/2006 - 5:57pm

One of the biggest enemies of the environment, AAA, has come out with its estimate of the cost to drive a car in North Carolina. Of course, AAA forgot to include the cost of time lost sitting in traffic and the cost to environment, but their data shows that automobiles are very expensive to operate, even though their numbers are greatly skewed.

They estimate that the average car in North Carolina costs $5,711 a year or 53.68 cents/mile. Of this cost, only 10 cents/mile comes from gasoline. And by extension the 2.8 cents/gallon gas tax that Right has been complaining about would account for less than .1 cents/mile.

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NC Health Care Recommendations: Healthcare Workforce

Submitted by Lance on Sat, 04/15/2006 - 1:00pm

On April 11, 2006, the North Carolina House Select Committee on Health Care released recommendations for the 2006 legislative short session. Many of them will be controversial, and taken together they have the potential to significantly change the way that North Carolinians access health care and insurance (and how much we pay). Some of these topics are pretty technical, but no less important for their difficulty. I'm hoping that these posts will begin a conversation on the best course for North Carolina's efforts at healthcare reform.

I'll publish the recommendations of the six subcommittees in six posts, along with some of the background information from each report. The subcommittees are:

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NC Health Care Recommendations: Patient Safety, Quality and Accountability

Submitted by Lance on Sat, 04/15/2006 - 11:48am

On April 11, 2006, the North Carolina House Select Committee on Health Care released recommendations for the 2006 legislative short session. Many of them will be controversial, and taken together they have the potential to significantly change the way that North Carolinians access health care and insurance (and how much we pay). Some of these topics are pretty technical, but no less important for their difficulty. I'm hoping that these posts will begin a conversation on the best course for North Carolina's efforts at healthcare reform.

I'll publish the recommendations of the six subcommittees in six posts, along with some of the background information from each report. The subcommittees are:

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National Popular Vote - Good Idea for NC?

Submitted by Lance on Sat, 04/15/2006 - 9:55am

Here's the basic idea: You pass a law saying that in a Presidential election, no matter what happens here in North Carolina, our electors go to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. The law wouldn't kick in until states representing 270 electoral votes (the barest majority required to win) pass the same law. The effect would be to reduce the electoral college to a mere formality. (I don't have to tell you how this would have changed 2000.)

Colorado is moving on this, as are Missouri, Illinois, and California.

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Anybody Here Got A Degree from a UNC-System School?

Submitted by Lance on Sat, 04/15/2006 - 9:41am

This guy—this North Carolinian—says that your alma mater is a "rubber-stamp institute where you get a degree for paying the money without actually learning anything." And just to be clear, this isn't a college rivalry thing. This guy believes that public education is for wussies.

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