Latest KFF Health News Stories
Debate Arises Over HHS Plans For Privacy Rules On Addiction Treatment
The current guidelines, last updated in 1987, require patients to specify exactly who gets information about their care. But advocates of change say the new rule will fit in better in the era of sharing patient data through electronic medical records.
Algunos expertos dicen que el aumento del 86 por ciento en las hospitalizaciones psiquiátricas, desde el 2007, significa una seria deficiencia en el cuidado preventivo; otros creen que haber reducido el estigma ha llevado a los jóvenes a aceptar ayuda.
Saving Amanda: One Family’s Struggle To Deal With A Daughter’s Mental Illness
It took eight years for Amanda Lipp to get adequate care for her mental illness. Now, she and her mom, Pam, are sharing their story to fight stigma around mental illness so others don’t have to go it alone.
Managing Depression A Challenge In Primary Care Settings, Study Finds
Primary care physicians see many patients with depression. New research finds they continue to struggle to apply the treatment strategies used for other chronic illnesses.
Bridging The Gap Between Medical And Mental Health Care
Recognizing the strong link between psychiatric and physical illnesses, providers across the country are integrating primary care into mental health clinics with the help of federal funding.
Study Links Kindergartners’ Stumbles With Rocky Home Lives
Researchers say children are more likely to have trouble learning and behaving in kindergarten if they’ve had adverse childhood experiences at home before age 5.
Latino Youth In California See Significant Rise In Psychiatric Hospitalizations
Some experts say the 86 percent increase in psychiatric hospitalizations since 2007 means preventive care is seriously lacking; others believe reduced stigma has led more kids to accept help.
Military Health System’s Care For PTSD, Depression Falls Short, Report Finds
Experts cited stigma and a lack of doctors as potential obstacles for soldiers needing treatment.
Medicaid To Fund More Addiction Treatment
Some Medicaid plans will now get federal funding for 15 days of inpatient treatment. But Pennsylvania fears the new rule will close a loophole the state has been using to pay for longer stints.
Mental Health Courts Are Popular But Effectiveness Is Still Unproven
The courts are designed as an alternative for people with mental health issues facing legal charges as a way to get help through community services outside of jail.
Oakland Minister Stripping Away Church’s Knowledge-Gap On Mental Health
Rev. Donna Allen of the New Revelation Community Church sees a strong need among her congregants for help recognizing and dealing with mental health problems.
Depressed? Look For Help From A Human, Not A Computer
Researchers asked people with depression to use an online cognitive behavioral therapy program at home. It helped no more than primary care visits. Most said they were too depressed to use it.
Coping with Autism and Puberty
A family struggles with what to do when an autistic adolescent becomes aggressive.
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.
