Local newspapers report on health care issues including mental health in Arizona, the stimulus "windfall" in Texas and a family health insurance plan in Nebraska.
The Arizona Republic reports: "The number of seriously mentally ill people in Maricopa County has exploded in recent years, growing by 94 percent since 2000. It will grow another 45 percent by 2015, according to state estimates. ... The annual state audit of the system's performance that was released this year found it fails nearly all of its patients on key measures: placing them in stable housing and providing them with a job or other meaningful activity. Among those who have not been in jail or hospitalized for their illness, the system failed 86 percent. Among those who have, it failed 83 percent. Interviews with patients, providers, state officials and company executives reveal instability at every level of the system. ... The results are deadly: Nationally, the life expectancy of a mentally ill person is 25 years shorter than that of a healthy person. In Maricopa County, their life expectancy is 32 years shorter" (Newton, 8/30).