Latest KFF Health News Stories
Stemming The Cycle Of Toxic Stress – For The Kids’ Sake
An Oregon pediatrician is among a growing number of doctors nationally trying to help families whose kids are at risk of experiencing trauma with lifelong health consequences.
Texas Strives To Lure Mental Health Providers To Rural Counties
Over a hundred counties in Texas don’t have a mental health worker, affecting about 3 million Texans. A new loan repayment program may not be enough to recruit them to rural areas.
Why Don’t We Have Mental Health Parity?
The law says insurance companies must pay for mental health benefits the same as they do everything else. Addiction as much as diabetes. Depression as much as cancer. But around the country, consumers are taking their insurers to court saying the companies are refusing to pay up. The insurance providers say mental health is complicated, […]
When Prisons Need To Be More Like Nursing Homes
By 2030, nearly one-third of all inmates will be over 55, the ACLU says, and caring for aged prisoners often costs twice as much as caring for younger ones. Some states – New York, California and Connecticut — are confronting the problem, however, with innovative programs meant to improve care and save money.
Achieving Mental Health Parity: Slow Going Even In ‘Pace Car’ State
California regulators have tried harder than most to make mental health parity laws work but it’s been tough to enforce the rules and gain the cooperation of insurers.
Advocates Say Mental Health ‘Parity’ Law Is Not Fulfilling Its Promise
A landmark federal law requiring insurers to cover mental illness as they would any other disease is not being followed or enforced, say patient advocates and attorneys. Insurers say they have taken “tremendous steps.”
Prevention Task Force Recommends Depression Screenings For Pregnant Women, New Moms
Less than 20 percent of those diagnosed with perinatal depression report their symptoms, research shows.
Patrick Kennedy On Moving Mental Health Policy Out Of ‘The Dark Ages’
This former member of Congress wants to change how the nation views mental illness – both in terms of streamlining research for new treatments and improving the mental health care system.
Texas Hopes to Attract More Mental Health Care Workers
The new loan forgiveness program seeks to alleviate the state’s shortage of mental health professionals by luring them to communities that might otherwise be unattractive to new graduates.
LA Police Unit Works To Get Treatment For Mentally Ill Instead Of Jail Time
When officers in Los Angeles encounter people who may be mentally ill, they call in a specialized unit that offers help on the spot.
Advocates For Disabled Are Troubled By California’s Assisted Suicide Bill
Disability rights advocates say the bill allowing doctors to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients could lead some disabled people to prematurely end their lives.
Calming Dementia Patients Without Powerful Drugs
In California nursing homes, just over 15 percent of dementia patients are on antipsychotic drugs. That’s far more than advocates say is necessary. But that number is down from almost 22 percent just three years ago.
Medicare Pays For Spouses To Get Grief Counseling Through Hospice
But a new study of Medicare beneficiaries finds that hospice services had little impact on depression suffered by individuals after the death of their spouses.
NYC Respite Centers Help Keep Mentally Ill Out Of Hospitals
A quiet seven-bedroom facility is one of four publicly funded mental health centers in New York City that provide an alternative to hospital stays for people on the verge of a mental health crisis.
Decoding Your Diagnosis: Psychiatrists Unveil Plain-English Guide For Patients
The American Psychiatric Association is releasing a new resource, Understanding Mental Disorders: Your Guide To DSM-5, to give patients and their families a better understanding of what these conditions involve and arm them with tools to advocate for their care.
Hope, Hurdles In Mental Health: A Medicaid Managed Care Firm’s First Year
Some say Cardinal’s first year’s performance has eased fears about care in Charlotte, N.C., but gaps and challenges remain.
Americans Are Drinking More Heavily, Especially Women
The first study to track drinking patterns at the county level finds that women are driving big increases in heavy drinking.
When Depression And Cultural Expectations Collide
A teen from a Taiwanese immigrant family struggles with depression as her mother worries and tries to understand. Asian American families like this one often have trouble seeking and finding appropriate treatment.
Wynne Lee, 17, struggled with depression and cultural expectations for several years. The teen from Diamond Bar, California, is like many kids from Asian American families who often have trouble finding appropriate treatment.
Many People With Substance Abuse Problems May Find Few To Treat Them
More people are getting insurance coverage for addiction treatment, but there’s already a shortage of trained professionals.
