News at a Glance
Most Minnesota Physicians Favor Single-Payer Universal Health Insurance
Nearly two-thirds of Minnesota physicians believe a single-payer
universal health insurance system would provide the best value for
Minnesota patients, according to research conducted by the University
of Minnesota School of Public Health and the Universal Health Care
Action Network-MN.
The study, published in the
February 13, 2007, issue of the Minnesota
Medicine , found that 63 percent of state physicians believe
that a single-payer universal health insurance system would offer
the best health care to the greatest number of people. twenty-five
percent of Minnesota physicians thought Health Savings Account
(HSA) systems were best, and 12 percent were in favor of managed
care. The link to the article is: www.mmaonline.net/
“This study shows that the majority of physicians support a shift
in our health care system,” said James Hart, M.D., co-author of the
study and assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School
of Public Health. “Governments have the potential to do an excellent
job administering health insurance in a way that is much more fair
and affordable than our current fragmented system.”
A large majority of Minnesota physicians (86 percent) believe that
it is society's responsibility, via the government, to ensure access
to good medical care for all, regardless of ability to pay. Fifty-nine
percent rejected allowing the insurance industry to continue playing
a dominant role in the delivery of medical care.
In addition, 71 percent
of Minnesota doctors said they would accept a ten percent reduction
in fees for a “very significant” reduction
in paperwork, and 64 percent favored physician payment under a salary
system. ![]()
Source: Minnesota Universal Health Care Action Network, www.uhcan-mn.org
Journal
Drops “R” Word
from Name
Washington, DC — After
almost five decades of being called Mental
Retardation, this influential journal in special education
changed its name to Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities under
the leadership of Editor Steven J. Taylor. The journal's name change
is a microcosm of society's ongoing struggle to find a socially
acceptable way of addressing persons with an intellectual disability.
The new name comes close on the heels of the name change of its
publisher, the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental
Disabilities, formerly AAMR, the world's oldest organization representing
professionals in developmental disabilities.
For all those who ask, “What's
in a name?” Dr. Taylor says, “The
term intellectual
and developmental disabilities is simply less stigmatizing than mental
retardation, mental deficiency, feeble-mindedness, idiocy, imbecility, and other terminology we have cast aside over the years.” However, Taylor acknowledges
that the crux of the issue here goes beyond language and terminology into the
deeper issues of inclusion and acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities
in society. He explains, “Anyone who believes that we have finally arrived
at the perfect terminology will be proven wrong by history. I am sure that
at some future point we will find the phrase intellectual and developmental
disabilities to be inadequate and demeaning.”
Vice-president of AAIDD,
Steve Eidelman, like many other experts, goes a step further and calls
for a public education campaign to foster more positive attitudes
towards people with intellectual disabilities. In an article published
in a past issue of IDD, he said, “Changing the term (mental
retardation) will make many people happy. That happiness will quickly
fade when the new term is used as a pejorative. Without a long-term effort
to include everyone and to educate those with negative or neutral attitudes
toward our constituents, a change in terminology will become the new pejorative
very quickly.” Eidelman's comments were made in the midst of a debate on
the name change of AAMR to its current day name, AAIDD. ![]()
Source: AAIDD, www.aaidd.org
“Be the Change” Award
Goes to Strand
Brain Injury Association of Minnesota (BIA-MN) volunteer Mike Strand
was recently honored with the Be the Change Award for his
exemplary contributions by Hands On Twin Cities. Strand was recognized
in the “Health Places” category, which honors one volunteer each
year who has shown exemplary service and commitment to bettering
the health for others. $250 was donated to the Brain Injury Association
of Minnesota in his name.
Strand, who sustained a brain
injury in 1989, is known by BIA-MN as a highly dedicated volunteer
of all trades. In 2006 alone, he authored a column in the association's
newsletter, served as a Mentor , put on his own fundraiser, raised
awareness at numerous events, lent a hand with administrative duties,
and chaired the association's Board of Director's Governance Committee.
Strand says of his passionate
and enormous involvement, “If you
saw a person drowning and they were reaching for your hand, of course
you'd pull them out. When I see something that I can do for the Association,
I always want to hold out my hand. It is all a matter of perspective.” ![]()
Source:
Brain Injury Association of MN
Only 28 Percent of People
with Intellectual Disabilities Use Cell Phones
A new study published in the
February issue of the journal Intellectual
and Developmental Disabilities (formerly Mental Retardation )
examines why only 28 percent of people with intellectual disabilities
use cell phones. The report finds that expense, lack of perceived
need, and difficulty in use are the main factors limiting cell
phone use among this group. By comparison, the national rate of
cell phone use in the general population of the United States is
60%. ![]()
Source: AAIDD
Canada Doubtful as Early Signer of New UN Treaty
TORONTO, ONTARIO —The
following five paragraphs are excerpts from a column by Toronto
Star disability and aging issues writer Helen Henderson:
Poverty and disability go hand in hand. This is true whether you
live in the heart of one of the world's richest, most-developed countries
or the hinterlands of an impoverished emerging nation.
When it comes to government strategies to reduce poverty, [people
with disabilities] are forgotten. Not even a blip on the radar screen.
This year, the United Nations wants to start changing that with
a landmark agreement protecting the rights of people with disabilities.
Many Canadians hoped this country would be in the vanguard in implementing
the agreement, scheduled to be signed March 30 in New York .
“We want Canada to be one of the first countries to sign...to show
some leadership,” says Anna MacQuarrie, policy analyst on government
and legal affairs at the Canadian Association for Community Living,
which helps people with intellectual disabilities.
But it looks as if MacQuarrie and others will be disappointed, as
Canadian approval is likely facing years in bureaucratic red tape. ![]()
Source:
Inclusion Daily Express
