"Greyhound Therapy": Nevada finds solution to high cost of mental health care

And this is without the cuts to SS and Medicare that Obama keeps putting back on the table. Imagine how popular this will become.

Federal probe sought of alleged 'dumping' of mental patient in Sacramento with 3 days of meds for schizophrenia and directives to call 911 on arrival in California.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/05/5236303/federal-probe-sought-of-alleged.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

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California state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, said he believes Nevada engaged in "patient dumping" by sending a mentally ill man to California without showing that he had relatives here or a place to get care.

Late Monday, Steinberg sent a letter to the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, accusing the Nevada facility of engaging in interstate "Greyhound therapy" and calling for an investigation.

Steinberg noted that the hospital is certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and accredited by the federal Joint Commission. Hospitals that violate regulations governing those programs risk losing critical federal funding.

"Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services has unequivocally failed to meet many of these conditions, including an evaluation of the patient's needs upon discharge, a standard discharge plan, and an appropriate arrangement for the patient's transfer to California," Steinberg wrote.

The hospital's handling of Brown's case "is a clear violation of the patient's civil rights, tantamount to abuse," he wrote. "It is imperative for the rights and future safety of patients that those responsible are held accountable."

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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/05/5236303/federal-probe-sought-of-alleged.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy