Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Calls To Missouri Mental Health Centers Rise 30% After 988 Hotline Launch
St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Call Centers See Increase In 988 Hotline’s First Month
During the first month of a national mental health crisis line, calls to Missouri mental health centers have gone up 30%, state officials said. (Fentem, 8/19)
KHN: Journalists Dig Into Questions About The 988 Hotline And Inflation Reduction Act
KHN correspondent Aneri Pattani discussed social media criticism of the new 988 mental health hotline on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday” on Aug. 13 and on WAMU’s “1A” on Aug. 16. ... KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the health policy implications of the Inflation Reduction Act on WAMU’s “1A” on Aug. 16. (8/20)
In related news about the burden on emergency departments —
North Carolina Health News: Mental Health Data Show ‘Unsustainable’ Emergency Department Burden
A 9-year-old girl with mental health issues spent at least four months this spring living in a Novant Health emergency room in Wilmington: sleeping, eating, doing school work. During that time, emergency department staff searched for an available mental health facility that could take a child so young. (Knopf, 8/22)
In other news about mental health —
Stat: FDA Approves Axsome’s Fast-Acting Treatment For Major Depression
After a lengthy review, the Food and Drug Administration approved a fast-acting depression treatment from Axsome Therapeutics on Friday, clearing the way for the first new oral therapy for major depressive disorder in decades. (Garde, 8/19)
Kansas City Star: Psychiatrist Lifts Depression With Brain Stimulation Therapy
Depression sucked the life from Lori Jackson’s time on this earth for nearly 40 years. On her darkest days in college she hung a blanket over her dorm room window to block out the light and slept, skipping classes. (Gutierrez, 8/22)
Chicago Tribune: Why Is It So Hard To Find Therapists Who Take Insurance?
Meena Thiruvengadam faced a choice when her therapist stopped taking health insurance about a year ago. She could try to find someone else who would take her insurance, or she could pay her therapist — whom she trusted and had already been seeing for years — out-of-pocket, without using insurance. (Schencker, 8/21)
Detroit Free Press: Student Mental Health: Schools Take New Approaches To Growing Challenge
The start of a school year can be exciting and full of possibility, from the feel of fresh lined notebook paper to the promise of routine, friendship and belonging. But two years of pandemic-induced stress, anxiety and grief have been heaped atop the overflowing plates of children who were already struggling with the anxiety and depression of living in an unstable and unsafe world. The consequence: a staggering rise in the numbers of kids with poor mental health. (Brookland, 8/22)
USA Today: Public Librarians Say They're Struggling To Serve Patrons Seeking Shelter, Mental Health Care
“Some of my co-workers are very engaged with helping people, and they’re able to do the work,” said Elissa Hardy, a trained social worker who until recently supervised a small team of caseworkers providing services in the Denver Public Library system. Denver boasts some 50 lives have been saved since library staffers five years ago began volunteering for training to respond to drug overdoses. (Scheier, 8/21)
