Latest Morning Briefing Stories
In Los Angeles, there’s a concerted effort to enroll the homeless into Medicaid, as the federal-state health insurance program opens for the first time to all poor adults.
Promises To Fix Mental Health System Still Unfulfilled
Even for those with the will and drive to pursue treatment, the process remains difficult, frightening and full of holes. On the federal level, little has come from the task forces and promises that followed the Newtown shootings.
Coverage Options For Young Adults Who Have A Mental Illness
A reader asks: Where can my son with a mental illness find coverage once he turns 26 and can’t be on our family insurance anymore?
Mental Health Parity Rule Clarifies Standards For Treatment Limits
Jennifer Mathis of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law talks with KHN’s consumer columnist.
Detailing Long-Awaited Mental Health Parity Law Regulations
The Obama administration released the final rules Friday for 1996 and 2008 laws that expanded the kinds of mental health and substance abuse care insurers must cover. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and CQ HealthBeat’s Rebecca Adams discuss.
Health Law Brings Changes In How Therapists Do Business
Mom-and-Pop shops give way to large group practices that often accept discounted rates from insurers.
Oregon Experiment Puts Therapists On Primary Care Teams
Medicaid patients can see different kinds of doctors in one visit, and the hope is it will provide better patient care, eventually at less cost to the state.
‘Peers’ Seen Easing Mental Health Worker Shortage
Peer programs such as Georgia’s “certified peer specialist” licenses could become especially important once the Affordable Care Act takes effect early next year.
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection.
Pittsburgh Researchers Look For Ways To Prevent Depression In Seniors
The study is examining whether offering support for older adults with chronic illnesses, pain and cognitive problems can stave off the serious mental health issues.
Getting Help For Depression Is Important
Recommended interventions for seniors include prescription drugs, problem-solving therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and interpersonal therapy.
Minnesota Ranked Best State For Seniors
Mississippi, Oklahoma are least healthy states for people over 65, according to a United Health Foundation analysis of 34 measures of health.
Colorado Weighs Reopening A Psychiatric Hospital To Serve The Homeless
A proposal by Gov. John Hickenlooper would bring mentally ill and addicted homeless people to Fort Lyon, a one-time mental hospital, then prison, that’s been shuttered for two years. The patients would voluntarily come to the institution. And the tiny town of Las Animas would welcome the jobs that reopening the facility would create.
VA Drive To Hire 1,600 Mental Health Professionals Hits Community Clinics’ Supply
Some experts say the pool of psychologists, psychiatrists and others is too small and the federal effort could jeopardize understaffed local centers.
In The Emergency Department, Gunshot Fatalities Often ‘Hard To Forget’
While some emergency department doctors take strong positions against guns, others maintain that the first defense is keeping firearms out of the hands of people who are mentally ill.
Grieving Doctor Regrets He Didn’t Ask Depressed Patient About Gun
Physicians are urged to discuss access to firearms with patients who might be suicidal.
Pressure Rising To Avoid Federal Spending Cuts That Will Impact Health Programs
Although Medicare and Medicaid will be largely unscathed in the March 1 sequestration, other health-related efforts including medical research, mental health treatments and drug approvals face reductions.
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We will edit for space, and we require full names.
Medicaid Expansion May Be Key To Restoring State Mental Health Funding
Few states are poised to spend their own money to reverse as much as a decade of budget cutbacks in mental health care.
Children, Teens, Young Adults Focus Of Mental Health Provisions In Obama’s Gun Plan
President Obama’s actions and proposals on reducing gun violence include efforts to address the nation’s fragmented and porous mental health system. Mental health advocates are buoyed by the attention given to an issue they say has been ignored for far too long.
