Law And More

"Jane Smith, et al. v. United Healthcare and United Behavioral Health" - America No Land for Mental Illness/Addiction

Patrick Kennedy, son of Ted Kennedy, was the champion on this one: He helped push into law the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

Supposedly that was to create a level playing field in how healthcare insurers covered mental illness and sundry compulsions, including drug-taking. 

As Bloomberg reports in a major article, that's not what has been unfolding.

Over the phone and in the legal system there is a brutal battle to receive treatment which is paid in full or in part by insurance.

A recent high profile lawsuit has been the class action "Jane Smith v. United Healthcare Insurance Co. and United Behavioral Health." Here is a copy of the complaint. So far it's been a victory for the plaintiff class but few expect that decision to endure. A decertification of the class is anticipated on appeal. 

In that litigation, reports Modern Healthcare:

"A federal judge ruled ... that United Behavioral Health breached its fiduciary duty to patients by using unreasonable and overly restrictive guidelines to make coverage decisions for tens of thousands of mental health and substance abuse patients."

Meanwhile, as Bloomberg hammers, America is in a mental health and addiction crisis. All too frequently that ends in suicide. To that we can add: Violence in schools, the workplace, and churches.

Yet, the elephant in the room is the question: What is effective treatment for mental illness and abuse of substances, be it booze or food (or the lack of food as in anorexia)?

So little is still known about that. Among the families of those with those syndromes there are familiar stories of the young adult having 30-day (expensive) stays in multiple rehab facilities - and continually relapsing. Death is not uncommon. That can happen through what appears to be an "accidental" overdose or suicide. 

Also, there is the issue of transparency. As I explain in this article, both insurers and clients must demand more detailed information about the mindset of the healthcare professional, what clinical approaches are being used, why, the expected outcomes, progress so far, and what alternatives are being considered. 

The insurers are not necessarily the bad guys.

Perhaps the real villain is the lack of useful research on what works and what doesn't. Obviously, not much is working.

That even applies to the "free" mode of treatment - Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Too often it is the model for treatment in rehab centers. Stays at those rehabs can be billed at a thousand bucks a day. In a very real sense we are all paying for that.

Also, courts continue to "sentence" substance abusers to AA.

However, AA's success rate, according to addiction specialists, ranges between 8% and 12%. Now classic is the 2105 The Atlantic article analyzing the poor track record of AA. Here is that manifesto. 

Sure, let the court cases continue. Legal rulings have been a game-changer in America.

But perhaps what might be the most productive move would be to conduct a multi-disciplinary investigation (including hard-nosed business types) of what is going on in understanding, treating, and paying the bill for mental illness and substance abuse. 

Until answers are found families will be in turmoil, careers will be derailed, violence will occur, and lots of folks will die. That's just the way it is. But that's not the way it has to be. 

Full Disclosure: From age 11 I have suffered chronic clinical depression. You bet, along the way I received pricey but what I assess as unhelpful treatment. What has been effective is no-cost mindfulness. When my mood is darkening, I stop my day and meditate for two or three minutes. I was trained in mindfulness, without any fee, at the Zen Center, near Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

7-Eleven Testing Out Beer Delivery - Major Threat to DUI Lawyers

There is that moment: Everyone in the social gathering realizes the beer is running out.

The good mood will deflate - unless some hero makes a beer run.

We hear that narrative over and over again at recovery meetings.

Soon enough the cops stop the hero on the road. He or she is arrested for DUI. And, another lawyer gets a nice piece of that niche business.

If the 7-Eleven pilot program pans out, such a common scenario will no longer exist.

Lawyers could lose that wonderful DUI bit of business.

Fortune reports that in 18 markets 7-Eleven is trying out beer delivery through the 7Now app.

Those markets include biggies like New York City and San Francisco but all less prominent metro area like St. Louis, MO.

And the variety is amazing. Along with the old standbys like Bud, there are Stella Artois and other exotic brands. In addition, sure, the socializers can also have delivered munchies like chips and more substantial stuff like pizza.

Obviously, this can be a gold mine for 7-Eleven. And competitors likely will rush in.

Never have I been part of the at-home social event which didn't start running out of beer. A good time is being had by all. The planners never anticipated how much would really be consumed - both of beer and goodies. And then the hero volunteered to keep up the momentum by driving to a store which sells booze. For years members of the group felt guilty when that unfortunate soul wound up ponying up four figures for legal costs. 

So far, 7-Eleven hasn't put wine on the delivery list.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

As in Food Contamination, Executives Allegedly in Loop of Opioid Epidemic Criminally Charged

Back in 2008 through 2009, salmonella-contaminated peanut butter produced by the Peanut Corporation of America resulted in deaths and serious injuries.

That, of course, was nothing new.

As plaintiff lawyer Bill Marler of Marler Clark continually explained to the media, food contamination remained a major threat in the U.S.

What turned out to be different about that particular epidemic was this: The executives at Peanut Corporation were criminally charged. What had been a civil matter evolved into a criminal one. Not only that. The executives were convicted and sentenced to prision. Stewart Parnell received a 28 year sentence, Michael Parnell a 20 year one.

Now, that kind of first - criminal charges - has occurred in the pharma industry.

The case concerns the opioid epidemic. That could mean no longer will drug companies and their leaders get away with paying big fines. The latter could wind up in prison.

The situation has crossed the line from a scandal to be managed by public relations experts to executives winding up being branded as criminals. They could wind up with stiff prison sentences. 

And, ironically, this is occurring amid the deregulatory times of the Trump Administration.

As Richard Gonzales reports in NPR:

"Rochester Drug Co-Operative Inc., one of the nation's 10 largest pharmaceutical distributors in the U.S., its former CEO Laurence Doud III and former chief of compliance William Pietruszewski were charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled narcotics ... and conspiracy to defaud the United States."

The person overseeing this is U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman. He could emerge a superhero, a symbol of the ultimate in consumer protection. 

There had also been the theatrics of Doud's being carted off in handcuffs. David Muir featured that on the ABC evening news.

Through his lawyer Robert Gottlieb, Doud pleaded not guilty. Earlier Pietruszewski had taken a guilty plea.

But both face possible stiff sentences. For each those could include life in prison at the upper limit and at the minimum 10 years on drug trafficking.

This could send a message to all of pharma that the leadership and those in the compliance loop: They could wind up doing the perp walk and spending most if not the rest of their lives in prison.

But, will that message resonate throughout such a lucrative and powerful industry? 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

Substance Abuse Standard in American Culture - And, Some, Such as Jeff Adachi, Will Die From It

Maybe it's leveraged as a form of self-medication.

Often, it's simply a source of fun. 

And, there are theories about addiction.

For whatever reasons, what's labeled "substance abuse" has become standard in American culture. The form of the substance can be illegal and legal drugs, alcohol, food, and tobacco. 

Given that, premature deaths have to be expected. That's just that.

The medical examiner ruled the death of San Francisco public defender Jeff Adachi the result of a combination of cocaine and alcohol toxicity.

He had been a superhero as the legal advocate for the wrongly accused. For example, he prevented illegal immigrant Jose Zarate from being convicted of murder. At one time he even ran to be mayor of San Francisco. Here are more details form the LA Times. 

On March 19th, in the lesser known circles of Youngstown, Ohio Metro area recovery fellowships, a 30-year-old beautiful, brilliant, high-energy woman died. Cover stories quickly emerged to protect her family. But everyone knew. Death is commonplace in such niches in society. 

It's naïve to express shock that those with so much going for them will cave to what could take their lives. And along the way eat away at their professional success, nest egg, relationships, sense of self, and health. 

Different eras in the history of mankind have their own kill-offs. During the time of America revolutionary John Adams, it was small pox. When I was a child it was heart disease. After the popularity of substance abuse peaks and is over, it will be something else. 

May Jeff Adachi rest in peace.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

 

Future of Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh, PA) - In Hands of Policy Planners (retailers should hire lawyers, lobbyists)

The Tree of Life massacre seems so far away.

The Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania seems back to normal.

Yesterday when I was driving through, families were leaving Sabbath services at the temples.

Shopping, dining, and people-watching were brisk on the main drag - Forbes. In this era of the crash of brick and mortar retail, Forbes seems just fine.

But, I didn't decide to stop driving. There was no parking, except in pay-for-a-spot multi-level structures and pay-for-a-spot on-the-street. Those spots not tagged for payment frequently were categorized as only-for-an-hour.

So, the merchants on Forbes lost my business. So did the restaurants. 

And, in terms of Pittsburgh per se, those who have left the area are voting with their pocketbooks. Yes, the city is losing the kinds of residents who are unwilling to put up with either a capitalist ploy and/or a green measure to encourage leaving the car at home (Pittsburgh has excellent public transportation).

Regarding green, even lefty town of Cambridge, Massachusetts isn't having the expected success in reducing the number of cars owned and operated by residents. 

Other obstacles to the scaling of retail in the area include:

• High gas prices. When I left Austintown, Ohio, I filled up for $2.42 a gallon (that included 3-cents off for Giant Eagle rewards points.) Throughout the Pittsburgh metro area the price of a gallon ranged from $2.63 to $2.69. 
•  Rigid inspection of autos. A now OH neighbor who fled Pittsburgh complained about the need to replace his whole windshield. He had a nick stopped from spreading with one of those buttons. No go, ruled the inspection station. OH has no inspection.

My day trip to Pittsburgh will likely be my last. The area does not seem to want me. Overall, OH is lots more welcoming to human beings. There is plenty of free parking around cool spots like Lake Erie, including resort town of Geneva on the Lake.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Courts, Medical Community, Society Must Move Beyond Alcoholics Anonymous

Darkness can move in slowly - but relentlessly.

Several years ago, Julian, Kristoff St John's son, committed suicide. St John, who portrays Neil Winters at "The Young and The Restless," threatened to take his own life.

Now, reports Daily Mail, law enforcement suspect that excessive consumption of alcohol caused St John's death at age 52. 

This is no stunner. Those from families with a suicide gene and members of substance-abuse recovery programs know that alcohol can frequently provide a form of passive suicide. Drink enough long enough and death will follow. The cause of death could be listed as from "natural causes" or a result of a fatal accident when driving drunk. 

Many times the decision to take this route to self-delivery is unconscious. To observers, there is simply the appearance of a person unable to stop drinking.

Sometimes, though, troubled human beings will admit to themselves and to others that they intend "to drink themselves to death." And often they achieve that goal. 

Can there be effective interventions on preventing the use of alcohol as a mechanism for suicide? The reality is that there are still so many unknowns about why some people become addicted to alcohol and most don't as well as why some stop and stay stopped and many don't.

A now seminal article in The Atlantic documented how well-meaning 12-step program Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has a low success rate. Yet, "sentencing" those convicted of crimes such as DUI and domestic violence remains standard practice. 

The wealthy who struggle or whose loved ones or employees battle alcohol abuse should fund research about alternates to AA.

Not only is AA essentially ineffective. Its fundamentalism drives too many away. Among the alienating beliefs are that the more meetings attended the better. How inefficient a mode of treatment. Another is the concept of surrender to a higher power. Although that might align with the best of zen, many who are troubled can't buy in.

This blog passes along deep compassion to those who cared about Kristoff St John. Two of my uncles, the family suspects, checked out through compulsive use of alcohol.

Get amazing results through out of box communications strategies/content. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. I help, not sell.

Stella Artois - Symbol for BigLaw of How Change Looks, Feels, Smells, and Tastes

Touchdown for Super Bowl commercials has been Stella Artois.

And it can function as a symbol for BigLaw for how the experience of change could play out. 

Next year, genius marketers, ditch the robots. 

Get amazing results through out of box communications strategies/content. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. I help, not sell.

Loneliness in the Legal Sector: Too Damn Tired to Make Friends

This weekend there will be those loading up their shopping carts with Doritos, dip, chicken wings, and beer.

They're the lucky ones.

They will not be watching the Super Bowl alone.

Then there are those trapped in the loneliness epidemic.

A symbol of this time when it's so difficult to build a social network that meets up in-person, they will be taking in the Super Bowl alone. They are probably self-conscious of being isolated - loneliness carries with it stigma - so they won't go to a sports bar to do the game.

Loneliness, of course, isn't new. The Beatles wrote a great song about it - Eleanor Rigby. There was also that best-selling book Bowling Alone. And, from the get-go way back in the 1930s, the two founders of the 12-step movement - Dr. Bob and Bill Wilson - warned about the link between isolation and problem drinking. 

What is new is that loneliness has become standard. That's no surprise.

Since it requires so much time to make a good living we have less energy to devote to nurturing friendships. In fact, we are so bone tired at the end of the work day that we are even reluctant to communicate. Increasingly, we send a subtle or even blatant signal: Leave me alone.

Those in the legal sector are at the top of the list who are forced to snatch in the welcome mat. Most lawyers simply have no choice. It's either extreme hours or no hours.

Being online so much on social networks also creates the illusion of having relationships in our lives. Only if we are delusional, though, does anyone step out from the iPhone or laptop and join us for real conversation over a coffee or beer.

Lunch? Hell, who has time. And we've been all told to save our pennies for retirement. Eating out is expensive. Also, more economic watchers are predicting an economic downturn. Recall in 2009 in the legal sector 6000 souls were put out on the street. You bet, watch the money.

In addition, in this era of rage we are losing our ability to tolerate  imperfections. This one or that one gets under our skin. No, we won't let them into our lives. And, the reverse is also the case. In their eyes, we aren't up to snuff, either. The mutual intolerance is palpable. 

Reflection: Make this the last Super Bowl you will take in alone. Resolve to develop at least one friendship in 2019. An executive coach is helping me with that. 

Get amazing results through out of box communications strategies/content. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. I help, not sell.

Super Bowl LIII, Coca-Cola, Diversity - What Seems to Have Already Gone Very Wrong

Of course, everyone wants to see Tom Brady do his magic in the Super Bowl this year. 

But, the suspense isn't red-hot. The Patriots is the favored team for winning. 

Yet, what CBS is charging for ad packages is high. According to Variety, it ranges from $5.1 million to $5.3 million.

For that reason, Coca-Cola is staying on the bench. It won't play in prime time. Instead it is airing a 60-second commercial pre-game. That is a public service message, delivered via animated characters, about diversity. The meme is: Different is beautiful.

Here you can view it. Essentially, it leverages Andy Warhol's democratic observation that a Coke is a Coke. Anyone, ranging from a celebrity to a thirsty farmer in the fields, can enjoy it. But, for me, it's too much of a stretch to get from that to the value diversity creates in the workplace. 

Clever, maybe. But Warhol is yesterday. And the deliverable is no wanting to give the world a Coke.

So, no, not very promising.

Sure, diversity is a difficult topic to position and package in a way that breaks through the clichés. As a ghostwriter and marcom content-provider, I have been struggling with that since the late 1980s. Nothing I have produced has won any awards - or generated a massive response to the Call to Action. 

However, given that diversity has been the issue in recruitment, socialization of the workforce, retention, and preventing litigation, Coca-Cola might have struggled to veer away from clever to dig for how diversity really is a positive factor in the workplace.

Perhaps the most engaging way to connect with the spirit of what is different is to feature how it actually operates in a successful business. One of those is Abovethelaw.com, which is in the glut niche of digital legal news. Yet it is thriving.

The founder is David Lat, whose family background is Filipino. Lat has also identified himself as gay.

The current editor in chief is African-American Elie Mystal.

Two journalists are females.

The majority of the small workforce are parents, which entails juggling. Those parents include Lat and his husband who adopted a baby.

The point of view at ATL has always been out of the box.

Diversity is too important an operational and legal issue in business to dance around with what might be too clever by far.

However, we have to wait until Super Bowl Sunday to bear witness to the impact this ad may have on the world. 

I may be underestimating the corporation and its ad agency Weiden+Kennedy.

The post-game analysis will involve a lot more than Brady's arm. More focus could be put on trends in commercial speech. Will Coca-Cola be a voice that is heard?

Get amazing results through out of box communications strategies/content. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. I help, not sell.

Booze Sales Down - Bad News for SmallLaw, Solos, AA Could Die of Natural Causes

A predicable piece of business for SmallLaw and Solos has been the DUI. 

But that could go poof, like so many other B2C niches in the legal sector.

The Wall Street Journal documents how the sale of booze keeps declining.

During 2018, it went down another 0.08%. Beer got hit the worse, with another 1.5%.

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, those in alcoholic beverages are diversifying. Soon enough they could be opening spas in southwestern Arizona. 

Without the DUI, SmallLaw and solos could be even more in a pickle to land enough work to keep the lights on. 

Another institution to take a hit - maybe even collapse - is 12-step program Alcoholics Anonymous. For several years its effectiveness has been questioned. Membership is down worldwide. And, critics frequently quote from the hatchet job done by the now iconic anti-AA article in The Atlantic.

Without a nation of boozers, AA would lose its reason for being. Of course it could rebrand as Opioids Anonymous but that's not what it is about at its core. The "trusted servants" who oversee AA probably wouldn't allow that. The organization tends to be fundamentalist.

How will America be as post-boozing nation?

Could be we will sip herbal tea while watching the Superbowl. Since there is already an epidemic of loneliness we will likely be experiencing that sporting event alone. Instead of bros and sistas, there will only be our dog next to us, along with our smartphone. 

Overall we seem to have given up on socializing, unless it has a definite professional agenda. Sure, I will meet you for a drink - only one - if there is a possibility of business. 

Several years back I took my last shot at the joys of human companionship. Somehow four former college classmates and I found our way back into each other lives. It should have been predictable that would be a disaster + BigTrauma.

My father bowled alone. I will do the SuperBowl alone.

Tonight we will watch another episode of supposed friends' saga "A Million Little Things." Could be we could pick up some tips about getting back into the human interaction game.

Get amazing results through out of box communications strategies/content. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. I help, not sell.