Welcome to LRM'S PLACE, the personal web site of yours truly, Laura Remson Mitchell.

I am a public policy analyst, consultant and writer with 20+ years' experience, primarily in the area of economic, health-care and disability issues.   (For more on my background, you can read my online BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH or check out my listing in the 26th edition of Who's Who in the West.)

Although this site deals primarily with public policy, it also includes other areas that interest me. The site is an ongoing project. Among other things, I hope to continue adding links to other interesting sites.

As anyone who knows me could tell you, I've never been shy about expressing my opinions. So, of course, I have posted some of those opinions here.   Please remember that unless otherwise indicated, these opinions are my own and don't necessarily reflect the views of any group or organization with which I have worked or currently may be working.

I also like to play and write music.  For the last several years, I've been working with MIDI music. So I thought I'd include links to a few of my songs, including one I wrote as a theme for the disability rights movement. The disability rights song is named Justice for All, after a national network of disability rights advocates associated with Medal of Freedom winner Justin Dart, Jr., which is now part of the American Association of Persons with Disabilities (AAPD).

[If you're curious, you can click here to see some photos.   Please note that because of the graphics, this page may take a while to load.]

Please sign my Guest Book below and let me know you've stopped by.

• As I See It: Analysis and Commentary on Public Issues
[New item added June 12, 2006.]
• Songs 
[Latest song, "London Bridge Piano Variations," added July 27, 2005.]

To hear mp3 versions of my original music, click on the "miniplayer" below. (Note: You need Flash Player for this to work.  If you don't have the software, you can download it for free here.  If you have a problem with that, you still can hear my music by  going directly to my mp3 website or by listening to MIDI versions of the music on my Songs page.)  
Song titles listed in the miniplayer are very small. For a larger version of the player in a separate window, click here. 

For even easier access, you can click on this link to all of my posted mp3. music. You can access track information and download mp3 versions of my music from this site as well.

The default song selected to begin listening is "Justice for All." I can't sing anymore, but I have recorded spoken lyrics over the music.  Only a few of my songs have lyrics,  and so far, this is the only one for which I have recorded the words. However, the lyrics to all of my songs are available through my Songs page and on the "track page" for each of these songs at my mp3 website.

Real Audio versions of selected songs added Nov. 15, 2001. Real Audio of my original composition, As Heaven Weeps, added Nov. 19, 2001.] See Songs page for information on getting free Real Player software. As Heaven Weeps and many more of my songs also are now available in near-CD quality .mp3 format at my MP3 web page, <http://www.MP3.com.au/LauraRemsonMitchell>.

• Links to Interesting Sites 
[Links last updated Jan. 28, 2004.]
• Advocacy: Government and Legislative Links
• Disability Links
  • MS Links
• Health Care Links
• Voter Information and Registration Resources
• Web-Related Links
• Web Rings
(LRM's Place is part of several "web rings," which link pages that share a similar theme.  Clicking on the Web Rings option above will take to a page that lists the web rings to which LRM's Place currently belongs and gives you several options for viewing the member sites within each ring.  Most recently added: Disability Studies Web Ring.)
• California Action Alert 
• [2007-8 Legisation (added July 18, 2008)]: Stealth Assisted Suicide Bill
  
• [2005-6 Legislation (updated June 30, 2006): Assisted Suicide Bill Fails]
• [2004 legislative update: SB 921 Status Report) 
• Power Point Shows: Follwing are links to two Power Point shows that may be of interest. The first is based on a presentation I made at the RespectAbility disability rights conference in Los Angeles (Oct. 3-4, 2003). The second is a brief explanation of the California legislative system and ways to do legislative advocacy. Neither is exhaustive. However, they may provide a good starting point for those new to health-care issues from a disability perspective or to legislative advocacy. These shows are interactive, not automated, so that you will be able to control the speed of the show and focus on each element individually until you are ready to proceed. To advance the show, press the spacebar or the Page Down key on your computer, or click your left mouse key. To go back to the previous element in the show, press the Page Up key. (I'm not certain whether the show will play on a computer that doesn't have Microsoft Power Point installed. Please e-mail me if you have any impairment-related accessibility problems with these files.)  
• System-Wide Health-Care Issues for People with Disabilities
• Legislative Advocacy: Using the System to Improve Life for People with Disabilities
  
• Public Policy Making and the Grass Roots  [Added April 20, 2002]
Based on my panel presentation at the 2002 Workforce Inclusion Conference in Los Angeles, CA, this is my attempt to share some of what I have learned about effective public policy analysis and advocacy.  Long-time advocates probably already know this, but for those just starting out, I thought it might be helpful.  (By the way, I welcom your feedback.  You can send me e-mail at af752@lafn.org or dhcpolwnk@hotpop.com.)
• ADA's Fable: A Disability Policy Fairy Tale [Added Feb. 13, 2002]
• Articles/Stories
Miscellaneous articles and stories by yours truly. (Please check the main Articles/Stories page if you are interested in reprinting any of these copyrighted items.) [Latest article added June 12, 2006.]
• Why I Hate SuperCrip Stories
• Red Flag on the Slippery Slope
• Disability Definitions  [A new and fun look at old words.  New words added June 11, 2000.]
• Ode to Geri Esten
• The Subtle Violence Against the Disabled
• My Spin: A Disability Hierarchy?
• Suicide Prevention Double Standard Excludes Disabled
• If It's [All] Voluntary, It's Not Reform
• Assisted suicide a threat to health-care system
• Mitchell's Musings
Capsulized versions of my thoughts on a range of topics.  [Last updated 5-29-00.]
• My Biographical Sketch
• Memories of Mom
A memorial to my mother who died on Jan. 3, 2000. [Photo of "Mom's rose" added 4-23-00.]

 
• LRM's Place Surveys
  
• Results of completed surveys.
• Under-Insurance (Preliminary Statistical Results):   Half of the people I surveyed reported coverage gaps for prescription drugs, and 43% reported gaps in coverage for durable medical equipment (DME).  Want to know more?  Click on the "Preliminary Statistical Results" link above. [Results last updated Aug. 3, 2002.]
• New surveys (none currently active)




• Visit the LRM's Place News Page
Clicking on the News Page link above will generate a search for the latest new items on health-care reform, disability rights and related subject matter, courtesy of News Index.  You also will have an option to search additional topics that you can select for yourself.   Unfortunately, News Index displays the search results in a page format that may not be accessible to people with certain kinds of disabilities or to those using special screen readers. In addition, the news sites at which the complete stories are posted may or may not be accessible. I have asked the people at News Index to offer a text-only alternative, and I will continue trying to find a way of  providing a text-only option myself.  Meanwhile, I invite those of you who are able to access this page to take a look for yourself, and I urge those who are unable to view the news page as currently offered to send an e-mail comment to News Index asking for a text-only alternative.

To link to my analyses, commentaries and recommendations on disability, health-care or other issues, click on the subject that interests you.
 
Remember:   Unless otherwise indicated, opinions expressed at this web site are my own and do not necessarily express the views of any organization with which I have been or currently am associated.
   

Disability-Sensitive Health Care

A summary of key health-care reform issues of importance to people with disabilities.  The text is from a flyer I developed as part of the Southern California Campaign for Health-Care Reform.

Public Policy Implications of Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide

A different way of looking at this controversial issue. Includes relevant links.

[Link to American Medical News editorial, When pain trails other concerns ... , added to this page 5-6-01]

[Direct link to Red Flag on the Slippery Slope, my Los Angeles Times commentary on this subject.] 

Also see California Action Alert and Assisted suicide a threat to health-care syste, my May 25, 2006, Capitol Weekly commentary.

Mutual-Risk Point-of-Service Option: A Conceptual Outline

For health care policy wonks.   This describes a possible approach to reforming managed care.

Managed Care: Dangers for Persons with Disabilities

A paper I wrote on managed care and people with disabilities for the California chapters of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Mitchell testimony on managed care

My written testimony to the California Managed Health Care Improvement Task Force.

Mitchell recommendations to task force.

Specific recommendations that I submitted to the California task force on managed care.

Mitchell observations on Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs)

My outline of questions and concerns about MSAs and their potential impact on people with disabilities—especially low- to moderate-income people with disabilities.

Mitchell Comments on Proposed Medi-Cal Regulation R-5-99E

My comments on proposed regulations for California's Medicaid program regarding coverage for durable medical equipment.  The comments were submitted on July 28, 2000.   UPDATE: I am very pleased to report that the Sept. 25, 2000, version of Medi-Cal Regulation R-5-99E  (which was revised following the comment period) specifies that the Medi-Cal definition of "durable medical equipment" includes equipment needed because of a functional impairment and that it includes equipment appropriate for use outside of the patient's home as well as inside. This is a very significant change for the better.

Disability Rights and Medicare Wrongs

Mitchell remarks to HICAP managers and staff regarding Medicare failure to meet the needs of people with disabilities, especially non-elderly beneficiaries.  Includes discussion of Medicare standards for coverage of wheelchairs, scooters and other durable medical equipment. [Added Aug. 25, 2000]

Mitchell Comments on Disability, Health Care and Independent Living

My written comments to the California Assembly Committee on Human Services in response to a March 14, 2001, videoconference/hearing on "Supports for Californians with Disabilities: Enhancing Independence." This hearing was conducted in Sacramento with video links to several sites around the staate.  Many individuals with disabilities were able to participate in the hearing via the "satellite" sites. [Added March 28, 2001]

Evidence-Based Medicine, Cost-Effectiveness and Medi-Cal Redesign: Concerns  (Microsoft Word format) [Added May 5, 2004] 

My comments on behalf of the California Disability Alliance and the California Work Group on Work Incentives and Health Care regarding California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's effort to "redesign" Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid. Redesign was an effort to effect a major overhaul of Medi-Cal in response to California's budget crisis. The issues addressed in my comments don't sound much like the kind of nitty-gritty, day-to-day things that worry many Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Those concerns have been raised elsewhere in the process. But the concepts of "evidence-based medicine" and "cost effectiveness" can have a big influence on access to appropriate health care. If done right, applying these concepts can improve care. If done wrong, they can undermine it. 

[Html version of this file added June 12, 2006. Note: the html version has been slightly modified in recognition of the fact that the comments apply to Medicaid in all states, not just in California.]   

Assisted suicide a threat to health-care system

My Capitol Weekly commentary on assisted suicide, published May 25, 2006. This is available in both .pdf and html formats. [Added June 12, 2006]

Last revision: July 18, 2008. 

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(New guestbook added Oct. 10, 2006.)