Autism Education Costs High
The cost of educating children with autism is almost triple that of educating children who receive no special education services, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. The GAO reviewed data from the Special Education Expenditure Project funded by the Department of Education and found that the average cost of educating a child with autism–$18,000 in the 1999-2000 school year–“was among the highest per-pupil expenditures for school-age children receiving special education services in public schools.” The report also noted that the number of autistic children given special education services increased by more than 500% in the last decade. Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.), who co-commissioned the report, said “that better diagnosis and a broader definition of autism may in part explain the substantial increase in autistic children. However, I believe that further studies should be undertaken of other risk factors, including the correlation between mercury-containing vaccines and higher rates of autism.”
More Drug Treatment Courts Urged
The federal government should spend $30.5 million to increase the number of drug treatment courts nationwide, according to John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. “Drug treatment courts … are an effective way of reducing the drug problem in America,” Mr. Walters said in a statement accompanying the release of President Bush's 2005 National Drug Control Strategy. He quoted research showing that, of 17,000 drug program graduates nationwide, only 16.4% had been rearrested and charged with a felony in the first year. “By giving judges the power to refer people to treatment we reduce criminal recidivism, save taxpayer money, and heal those who have become enslaved by drug addiction.” The 1,600 drug courts now operating in the United States emphasize treatment and frequent monitoring instead of prison time.
Groups Push Nondiscrimination Bill
A coalition of mental health groups is lobbying for the passage of the Medicare Mental Health Copayment Equity Act, which would mandate that copayments for mental health services be the same as those for other health services. Currently, there is a 50% copay for mental health services, compared with a 20% copay for most other health care services. “This is discrimination, plain and simple,” James H. Scully Jr., M.D., medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, said in a statement. “Passage of this legislation is long overdue.” The bill's chief sponsors are Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio) and Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.). Other groups supporting the legislation include the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
Paxil Distribution Halted
The Food and Drug Administration halted distribution of Paxil CR (paroxetine controlled release), an antidepressant made by GlaxoSmithKline, in early March. The agency cited “ongoing concerns about manufacturing quality” but said it did not believe the drug posed significant harm to consumers. During an inspection, the FDA found that “the Paxil CR tablets could split apart and that patients could receive a portion of the tablets that lacks any active ingredient, or alternatively a portion that contains active ingredient and does not have the intended controlled-release effect.” GlaxoSmithKline said in a statement that it agreed the drug posed no immediate threat and urged patients taking the drug to speak with their physicians if they had questions. The company said it was working to resolve the problems as quickly as possible.
Views on Assisted Suicide
More than half of physicians responding to a national survey said that they believe it's ethical to assist a patient in committing suicide. Approximately 57% of the 1,000 physicians said it was ethical, while 39% said it was unethical. The survey was conducted by HCD Research, a marketing and communications research company, and the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Social and Religious Research. In addition, 41% of the physicians surveyed would endorse the legalization of physician-assisted suicide under a wide variety of circumstances, while 30% support its legalization in a few cases and 29% oppose any legalization. Although many physicians support physician-assisted suicide as a public policy, the results were mixed when it came to personally participating in an assisted suicide. About 46% said they would not assist a patient for any reason, 34% would assist a patient in a few cases, and 20% would assist under a wide variety of circumstances.
Conflict-of-Interest Rules Targeted
People with direct financial conflicts of interest should not be put on Food and Drug Administration advisory committees, a coalition of public interest groups has recommended. Financial conflicts undermine “the public's faith in the fairness and credibility of the panel's work,” the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the National Women's Health Network, the U.S. Cochrane Center Consumer Coalition, and eight other groups said in a letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D. The groups cited the FDA advisory committees that recently reviewed the safety of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, noting that 10 of the 32 members had direct financial conflicts. In addition to prohibiting scientists, physicians, and clinicians with relevant conflicts of interest from serving on advisory committees, the groups also recommended that people with any industry ties make up no more than half of a committee.