Latest KFF Health News Stories
After Newtown Shootings, Questions About Mental Health Insurance Coverage
Gaps in insurance coverage for mental health treatment persist despite new laws — including the health law and the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 — expanding such coverage. Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about mental health care in America.
Parity for Behavioral Health Coverage Delayed by Lack of Federal Rules
The Obama administration has yet to complete federal regulations implementing rules that would enable states to enforce a mental health parity bill President George W. Bush signed into law, and in the meantime, behavioral health may have fallen behind.
Oklahoma Looks for Ways to Keep Mentally Ill Ex-offenders Out of Prison
Oklahoma prisoners with mental illnesses face a myriad of obstacles in rejoining society, but a state program seeks to reintroduce them to society, keep them on medication and save them from returning to prison.
Seeking Treatment For Binge Eating Disorder
Even though the DSM will soon recognize binge eating disorder, many patients have trouble getting coverage for treatment.
Patients Often Find Getting Coverage For Eating Disorders Is Tough
Treatment can involve medical care, mental health treatments and nutritional therapy, but insurers say there is little research to show what is the best course of action.
Psychiatric Patients Languish In Emergency Rooms
Competition to reduce ER wait times has spurred one Denver hospital chain to add a 40-bed psychiatric ward.
Proposed Changes To Psychiatric Manual Could Impact Addiction Diagnosis
Supporters say the new guidelines will make it easier to address drug or alcohol problems before they become serious. But others worry that one of the tools to evaluate such problems falsely suggests there is a natural escalation from non-use to occasional use to risky use to addiction.
Off-Label Use Of Risky Antipsychotic Drugs Raises Concerns
The expensive medications, designed for people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorders, are being prescribed regularly for common problems such as anxiety and attention-deficit disorder and are being used on children and the elderly.
Nation’s Jails Struggle With Mentally Ill Prisoners
More Americans receive mental health treatment in prisons and jails than in hospitals or treatment centers, yet the criminal justice system was never built to handle people with mental illnesses. A judge in Miami-Dade County is trying to prevent those with mental illnesses who have committed minor crimes from ending up in jail.
SSI Program For ADHD, Other Disabled Kids Under Scrutiny
The SSI program for low-income disabled children is rapidly expanding, with the biggest increase among kids with mental, behavioral and learning disorders, including ADHD, speech delays, autism, and bipolar disorder, sparking criticism in Congress.
Q&A: Can I Get Medical Treatment And Hospice Care At The Same Time?
Michelle Andrews answers a question from a reader who wonders if there are states where they can get both curative care and hospice care at the same time. The health law may provide some solutions, Andrews says.
Audit Finds Widespread Use Of Antipsychotic Drugs In Nursing Homes
About 14 percent of elderly nursing homes residents receives a so-called atypical antipsychotic medicine despite an increased risk of death when the medicines are used to manage dementia in older people.
Q&A: My Uninsured Daughter Needs More Inexpensive Care, Where Can She Go?
Michelle Andrews answers a question from a mother whose daughter is uninsured and needs some inexpensive care. Andrews says going to a community health center may be a good option for her.
Q&A: My Daughter With A Pre-Existing Condition Lost Her Insurance, What Can We Do?
Michelle Andrews answers a question from a mother whose daughter lost her insurance and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. What are her options to get coverage?
Emergency Rooms Provide Care Of Last Resort For Mentally Ill
With states reducing the number of psychiatric beds, mentally ill patients often languish in hospital emergency rooms for several days, sometimes longer. At most, they get drugs but little counseling, and the environment is often harsh.
For People With Mental Health Issues, Care Is Often Elusive
The wait for an appointment with an expert can be long, and psychiatrists especially are in short supply. Psychologists seek to expand their role by prescribing drugs.
States’ Mental Health Budgets Fall In Recession
Analysis by advocacy group NAMI finds cuts of $1.8 billion, or about 8 percent of the states’ total budgets, from 2009 through 2011.
Justice Increases Efforts To Enforce Olmstead Ruling
Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, is making a “paradigm shift” in his division to focus more on care-at-home cases.
Private Providers In Texas Fight Back Over Service Change
For years, the state paid private providers who care for people with disabilities to handle their clients’ case management. But an 11th-hour change inserted into the budget last session stripped them of that responsibility, giving it instead to quasi-governmental Mental Retardation Authorities – and potentially creating a conflict of interest.
Justice Dept. Pushes For Services To Move Patients Out Of Mental Hospitals
Sweeping agreement with Georgia points to new Obama administration campaign to ensure people with mental illness and developmental disabilities get community services and are not forced into institutions.
