The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) includes important, but limited, protections for millions of working Americans and their families around the ability to obtain and keep health coverage. Among its specific protections, HIPAA: (1) Limits the use of preexisting condition exclusions; (2) Prohibits group health…

Significant progress has been made through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in recent years to get health insurance to families who cannot afford it. However, children being raised by their grandparents or other relative caregivers are often harder than other groups to reach through standard outreach activities. To find…

This report is designed to familiarize American Counseling Association members with the concepts and terminology of managed care, and the various options for regulating managed care to safeguard the interests and rights of professional counselors and their clients. Topics covered in this report include controlling costs, private sector oversight,…

This paper highlights the public and private health insurance options for young people with disabilities or chronic health conditions including several recent Federal initiatives to increase access to health care for working adults with disabilities. Discussion of public health insurance eligibility and coverage focuses on aspects of Medicaid and…

Discusses and clarifies the diagnostic system of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II). The DSM-II seeks to provide a detailed description of all categories of mental illness according to five diagnostic axes. Diagnoses are divided into 17 broad categories, each subdivided into specific diagnoses. (JAC)

An annual survey of financial and general operating data for university-owned members of the Association of American Medical Colleges' Council of Teaching Hospitals is discussed. Net patient revenue, hospitals with and without state appropriations, and sources of revenue by type of care are examined. (MLW)

Examined and compared 33 college student health services within one university system. Results indicated that 19 institutions had a health service and student fee charges, daily service hours went from 6-24 hours per day, and services varied greatly among institutions. (PAS)

Long-term disability income coverage is seen as the most rapidly growing staff benefit in recent years. A Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association's survey of existing long-term disability plans, which provide adequate income replacement, is discussed. (MLW)

The "practice" aspect of the dental profession is reviewed. It is suggested that there is no way to separate education, practice, research, financing, government, science, business, management, motivation, and the public from one another. Retail dentistry, health maintenance organizations, franchising, advertising, and denturism are…

Master's and doctoral level counselors face exclusion from the mental health care system because of the trend toward funding by health insurance. Organized psychology is moving to bar doctoral level counselors and counseling education graduates from licensure. Counselors are losing their jobs to practitioners with insurance-eligible credentials.…

The Peoria Public Schools' medical self-insurance program has cut administrative overhead in half. Details of the program are examined. (MLF)

Discusses how psychologists have established themselves as integral health care providers in rehabilitation. Discusses how psychologists and the psychological associations have failed to recognize the importance of public policy for the practice of psychology. Explores the role of Medicare, and the effects of the inclusion of psychologists in…

The New York University College of Dentistry provides oral health care services for a low annual fee. The program meets its objective of providing additional operative procedures to fulfill dental students' educational requirements and accommodates students' oral health care needs at reasonable cost. Some members patronize the clinic after…

Discusses changes in contemporary health care services for rural Appalachians. Examines how rural services are affected by rising costs, technological advancement, aging population, system reorganization, and physician and nurse shortages. Profiles Appalachian Rural Health Program and National Health Service Corps. (TES)

Discusses the National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality's research concerning infant mortality and low birth weight. Also discusses the Commission's public policy efforts regarding the health of children, infants, and pregnant women. (RJC)