This report provides data on the use of mobility devices in the United States by providing a detailed profile of the population using these devices. It covers their demographic characteristics; health and disability status, including diagnoses and impairments, physical functioning, and activities of daily living; and health insurance status. The…

Presents a selection of summaries of recent judicial decisions in a number of countries concerninq the application of general legal principles to contracts of employment, acquired rights, liability of employers and workers, access to employment, nature of the employment relationship, and more. (Editor/CT)

The financing and organization of the medical care field is seen as being in an evolutionary stage. It has progressed from an era when most physicians provided services as solo practitioners and patients paid expenses out-of-pocket to group practices and expenses paid by third parties. (MLW)

This article examines a series of studies designed to test four hypotheses concerning psychotherapeutic treatment of the disadvantaged. It is suggested that the research findings have implications in terms of psychotherapy coverage under national health insurance and the role of psycholgists in a national system of service delivery. (Author/EB)

There are many ways a school district can reduce the cost of insuring employees, equipment, and buildings. (Author/MLF)

The problems of the National Health Service in Great Britain are examined with regard to the relationship between public authority and social economy. Attention is directed toward the implications for the position of the medical profession. (LBH)

Explores the status of health care coverage, or lack of coverage, for children and for working families, noting President Clinton's budget plans for improved access, and the implications of managed health care. Suggests that until policymakers devise a solution that will contain skyrocketing health care costs, many American families will continue…

State Medicaid expenditures for Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICF-MR) increased sharply between 1980 and 1984. The ICF-MR bed capacity declined relative to the total state population, while numbers of ICF-MR Medicaid recipients increased. Trends among states are examined, emphasizing changes in demographic factors,…

Results of a survey of 77 public research universities indicated that, in spite of the presence of state legislation for third-party reimbursement of nursing services, legislation is not being implemented in many states by employers in their purchase of group health insurance policies. Nursing services covered by these policies include private…

The importance of communication between the college or university and its employees over health care reform is discussed. Communication needs that have emerged from the health care reform debate are examined, and elements in a successful organizational communication strategy are outlined. (MSE)

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) "risk contracts," under which HMOs cover Medicare-eligible individuals, are explained; and the costs, benefits, and coverage are compared with those of other managed care options. Employers with retiree medical plans are encouraged to consider using HMO risk contracts for both short- and long-term…

Emergency department charts of 186 suspected preadolescent victims of sexual abuse (SSA) were compared with 623 patients evaluated for upper limb fracture. Hospital costs of SSA patients were more often and to a greater degree underwritten by the hospital itself because of lower reimbursement and a higher percentage of uninsured and publicly…

Increases in costs to colleges and universities for employee health insurance have risen as much as 20 to 30 percent annually, requiring adjustments to control costs, a new philosophy of sharing costs with employees, increased proportions of payroll (now 6.1 percent) going for health care costs, and reductions in work force size. (DB)

Increasingly, colleges are finding it hypocritical to have nondiscrimination policies protecting gay faculty and staff but deny benefits available to married employees. Institutions have adopted different criteria to determine who qualifies as a "spousal equivalent." The standards may face legal challenges from unmarried heterosexual couples. (MSE)

Health care reform needs to assure coverage to all children regardless of income level or illnesses; address benefits, financing, administration, and delivery systems; provide substantial subsidies to low-income families; be equitable for all people; provide better monitoring of child health; protect and strengthen health providers who assist…