February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

What schizophrenia does to families — and why the mental health system can’t keep up - A mother, a son and an unraveling mind. From the Magazine ● By Abigail Jones ● Read more »

Red Flag law – Colorado Just Used Its New Gun Seizure Law for the First Time – One Day After It Took Effect https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/08/colorado-just-used-its-gun-seizure-law-first-time-one-day- after-it-took- effect/?utm_campaign=post_most&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

Bp Magazine - Bouncing Back Financially After the Holidays - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Deep Sleep Can Rewire the Anxious Brain - Read more >>

Stat: This Advocate Wants Mental Health On The Ballot In 2020 - A top mental health and addiction treatment advocate here wants behavioral health on the ballot in 2020. It’s a winning issue, according to Chuck Ingoglia, the president and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health, a D.C. nonprofit that represents thousands of community mental health providers. According to a presidential primary poll the organization released last month, large majorities of New Hampshire voters believe the federal government isn’t doing enough to address the nation’s addiction and mental health challenges. (Facher, 12/2)

Seattle Times: Amid Serious Violations At Washington’s Private Psychiatric Hospitals, A Regulator Remained On The Sidelines - The patient had been admitted to Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital on a 90-day involuntary commitment order. But when his health-insurance plan sent a team to check on him, some 20 days into his stay, he was gone. Representatives of the Community Health Plan of Washington, which provides health services for Medicaid clients, went to the Marysville psychiatric hospital with concerns after reading a Seattle Times investigation of Smokey Point and its parent company, US HealthVest, published three days earlier. (Gilbert, 12/30)

Seattle Times: Washington Health Department Seeks Greater Power To Regulate Private Psychiatric Hospitals - The Washington State Department of Health is putting together legislation to give it greater enforcement power over private psychiatric hospitals, including the authority to immediately halt patient admissions and to levy fines of up to $10,000 per violation. The agency also wants the Legislature in the session that begins Jan. 13 to create a provisional, two-year license for new facilities that would bring more frequent inspections, and require psychiatric hospitals to report every escape and death of a patient within three days, according to a draft reviewed by The Seattle Times. (Gilbert, 12/29)

ProPublica: Chicago Psychiatric Hospital Will Lose Federal Money, And Its License Is Threatened After Allegations Of Abuse - After more than a year of lawsuits and government extensions, federal authorities this week ended their Medicare agreement with a Chicago psychiatric hospital plagued by allegations of abuse and safety violations. The Illinois Department of Public Health said Thursday it is moving forward with plans to revoke the hospital’s license. (Eldeib, 12/27)

KCUR: Kansas Sees Shortage Of Psychiatrists And Other Mental Health Providers - Like the rest of the United States, Kansas is seeing an increase in patients seeking mental health treatment. But the state can’t find enough doctors, nurses and therapists to treat them. Providers say the problem is worse in the state’s least-populated rural areas, where clinic jobs can stay open for years at a time. ...One measure from the federal government suggests only nine of the counties in Kansas have enough psychiatrists, and they’re mostly in urban areas: Johnson, Wyandotte, Shawnee, Douglas, Harvey, Sedgwick, Marion, McPherson and Miami counties. (Ujiyediin, 12/27)

Bp Magazine - Reaching Your Defining Moment of Acceptance - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Take a Minute: Mindful Multitasking - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Top Ten Trending Topics of 2019 #1 Three Clues For Recognizing Mania In The Eyes, Plus Other Physical Symptoms-Read more >> #2 After Searching 12 Years for the Cause of Bipolar Disorder, Team Concludes It Has Many - Read more >> #3 Ten Things NOT to Say to Someone with Bipolar - Read more >>

CLICK TO READ THE FULL LIST

Page 1 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Des Moines Register: Iowa Withholds $44 Million From Medicaid Insurer Over Unresolved Issues - Iowa health officials are withholding $44 million from an insurance company that provides health coverage to Iowans under the state’s privatized Medicaid program, pointing to unresolved issues with payments to health providers. Iowa Department of Human Services staff told Iowa Total Care representatives Friday that the state will withhold about a third of the amount it would have otherwise paid the company this month. (Rodriguez, 1/3)

The Washington Post: Nonprofits, Medical Profession Tackle Human Trafficking As A Health-Care Crisis - An emergency room patient has a broken bone. Could she suffer from human trafficking, too? Thanks to a growing call to treat trafficking as a public health problem, an ER worker who treats a trafficking victim might be able to connect the dots. Trafficking occurs when someone exploits someone else sexually or makes them perform labor against their will. According to the United Nations’ International Labor Organization, an estimated 24.9 million people are being trafficked worldwide. The vast majority are women, and 1 in 4 victims are children. (Blakemore, 1/4)

Kansas City Star: Kansas Governor Describes Problems In State Hospital Unit - Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday that a troubled unit within Osawatomie State Hospital was “not a therapeutic environment” for the seriously mentally ill and promised plans for improvement. The hospital has been plagued by challenges for years, including a decision by federal officials to decertify it – a move that cost the facility of millions of dollars a year. A 60-bed unit in the hospital, called Adair Acute Care, was recertified in 2017. (Shorman, 1/3)

California Healthline: Hospital Known For Glamorous Patients Opens New Doors To Its Neediest - With its deluxe suites, A-list patients and world-class art collection that includes works by Picasso and Chagall, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s nickname is “hospital to the stars.” But starting this year, it is making a change for its poorest patients. Effective Jan. 1, the Los Angeles hospital loosened the income cap for patients to qualify for free or discounted care. Previously, the nonprofit hospital’s financial assistance policy allowed patients with household incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level to qualify for free care, which amounts to $24,980 for an individual or $51,500 for a family of four, based on 2019 figures. (Almendrala and Rowan, 1/3)

The New York Times: Why Are Young Americans Killing Themselves? - Teenagers and young adults in the United States are being ravaged by a mental health crisis — and we are doing nothing about it. As of 2017, statistics show that an alarming number of them are suffering from depression and dying by suicide. In fact, suicide is now the second leading cause of death among young people, surpassed only by accidents. After declining for nearly two decades, the suicide rate among Americans ages 10 to 24 jumped 56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Richard A. Friedman, 1/6)

State-Run Institution Under Investigation For Possible 'Human Subject Experiments' Read More >

Nation Experiencing Severe Shortage Of Autism Therapists - Read More >

Bp Magazine - Finding Lessons in Bipolar Depression - Read more >> Bp Magazine - 4 Signs Your Anger Is Creating Problems - Read more >> Bp Magazine - How to Unlock Your Best Self: Make Your Own Keys - Read more >>

Anxiety in the Classroom - What it looks like and why it's often mistaken for something else. READ MORE ▸

When Kids Refuse to Go to School - How to recognize what's called 'school refusal' and how to get kids back in class. READ MORE ▸

What's ADHD (and What's Not) in the Classroom - Signs of the disorder, and other problems often confused with it. READ MORE ▸

How Trauma Affects Kids in School - Exposure to neglect, abuse, or violence causes learning and behavior problems in children. READ MORE ▸

What Teachers Should Know About OCD - Understanding the anxiety behind a child's rituals. READ MORE ▸

Page 2 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

The Hill: Analysis: ObamaCare Market Stable And Profitable Despite Loss Of Individual Mandate - The ObamaCare market is “stable” and profitable for insurers despite the repeal of the law’s mandate to have coverage, a new analysis finds. When Republicans repealed the health law’s mandate to have coverage in the 2017 tax law, many Democrats and some policy experts warned the move would cause chaos in the markets as healthy people dropped coverage, leaving only sick, expensive patients remaining. (Sullivan, 1/6)

Stat: The VA Approach To Buying Drugs Means Patients Are Less Likely To Skip Medications Due To Cost - As U.S. policy makers grapple with ways to widen access to medicines, a new study suggests that a model used by the Department of Veterans Affairs could improve patient adherence and presumably lower health care costs. To wit, patients who obtain prescription drugs from the Veterans Health Administration were less likely than other insured Americans to skip doses or medicines altogether. They were also less likely to delay filling prescriptions because they were unable to afford them. Moreover, the VA system appeared to reduce racial and economic disparities in accessing medicines. (Silverman, 1/6)

New Hampshire Public Radio: With New State Funding In Place, Hospitals Add Mental Health Beds - Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Parkland Medical Center in Derry have announced they are adding a combined eight new inpatient psychiatric beds. The new beds come amid a years-long shortage that has forced many mental health patients to languish in emergency rooms. (Moon, 1/6)

USA Today: As Marijuana Induced Psychosis Rises, Mental Health Treatment Elusive - When Garrett Rigg moved from a "transitional living program" facility near Chicago last month into a group home, it was a major milestone for the 27- year-old, who traveled 1,000 miles from his home in Denver to get treatment after a cannabis-induced psychotic break five years ago. Rigg had to leave his hometown because it lacked suitable long-term treatment, according to his mother, Connie Kabrick. The three marijuana dispensaries at the intersection a half block from her home are the reason why she says he can't move back. (O'Donnell, 1/6)

Boston Globe: Health Care Tax On Business Brought In Far More Money Than Anticipated - Nobody likes getting hit with a tax hike, but this one was a particularly bitter pill for the Massachusetts business community to swallow. Lawmakers promised the “EMAC,” short for employer medical assistance contribution, would last only two years when they approved it in 2017, ostensibly to cover a shortfall in the state’s Medicaid program. State officials also projected it would raise $200 million a year, or $400 million by the time the sunset arrived at the end of 2019. (Chesto, 1/6)

The Hill: The Need For A Stronger Emphasis On Mental Health In Upcoming Election - As the 2020 presidential candidates continue to unveil their vision for ensuring health-care coverage for all, although varied in their approaches, candidates have vowed to provide health-care coverage through several governments or other funding options. While mental health considerations may be embedded in these options, a more robust public discourse on our nation’s mental health crisis is needed. Regardless of political affiliation or position on health-care coverage, the issue of mental health deserves our utmost attention and allocation of resources. (Janice Phillips, 1/6)

Diversion First Program Leads to Stepping Up Innovator Designation - Fairfax County News Center—Virginia

Broad Effort to Reform Georgia’s Mental Health Treatment Underway - Georgia Recorder—Georgia

[Opinion] Our Florida County Learned How to Prevent Many Rearrests of Mentally Ill - Juvenile Justice Information Exchange—Florida

Winnebago County Veterans Court Celebrates 14th Graduation Ceremony - Rockford Register Star—Illinois

As Police Focus on Crisis Calls, Officers in ST. Paul Are Told to Not Forget Their Own Mental Health - Pioneer Press—Minnesota

Navigating the System: Improving Mental Health Care across Agencies, Counties - Spectrum News—New York

What Happens When Prison ‘Lifers’ Get a Chance at Healing and Redemption? - The Appeal—California

— More than 60% of the inmates with a mental illness in the L.A. County Jail would be eligible for diversion if there were more facilities capable of providing supportive care, a move that could take thousands out of the criminal justice system, a new study finds. Page 3 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

— Gov. Gavin Newsom, citing the need to act quickly to get homeless people off the streets, will ask lawmakers this week for more than $1.4 billion for local and state-run efforts, much of it earmarked as subsidies for immediate housing and community healthcare services.

— L.A.’s first homeless housing project under Proposition HHH is complete, and more are on the way. It’s been more than three years and plenty of missed deadlines since voters approved the $1.2-billion bond for homeless housing.

Kaiser Health News: 5 Things To Know As California Starts Screening Children For Toxic Stress - Starting this year, routine pediatric visits for millions of California children could involve questions about touchy family topics, such as divorce, unstable housing or a parent who struggles with alcoholism. California now will pay doctors to screen patients for traumatic events known as adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, if the patient is covered by Medi-Cal — the state’s version of Medicaid for low-income families. (Ostrov, 1/8)

Los Angeles Times: U.S. Health System Costs Four Times More To Run Than Canada’s - In the United States, a legion of administrative healthcare workers and health insurance employees who play no direct role in providing patient care costs every American man, woman and child an average of $2,497 per year. Across the border in Canada, where a single-payer system has been in place since 1962, the cost of administering healthcare is just $551 per person — less than a quarter as much. That spending mismatch, tallied in a study published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine, could challenge some assumptions about the relative efficiency of public and private healthcare programs. (Healy, 1/7)

Stateline: In Reversal, Counties And States Help Inmates Keep Medicaid - More local and state officials are working to ensure that low-income residents stay on Medicaid when they go to jail. Federal law bars Medicaid recipients from accessing their full federal health benefits while incarcerated. But officials from both parties have pushed for two key changes to ensure little or no disruption of health benefits for pretrial detainees who have not been convicted of a crime and make up most of the 612,000 people held in America’s county jails. In recent years, officials have increasingly implemented a stopgap measure to help inmates more seamlessly reactivate their Medicaid coverage upon release from jail or prison. (Blau, 1/8)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Considers Legislative Action To Ensure Medicaid Providers Are Paid On Time - Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday that she wants to give the state more power to make sure the insurers working with Iowa's privatized Medicaid program pay health care providers on time. "We've got some ideas going into the next legislative session. I'm not going to talk about those today," Reynolds said. Last week, state health officials for the first time announced plans to withhold money from a private insurance company because of unresolved issues over payments to Medicaid health providers. (Rodriguez, 1/7)

CNN: Lifestyle Changes May Combat A Dementia That Strikes People In Their 40s And 50s - Frontotemporal dementia strikes early, typically in the 50s, sometimes as young as age 45. Unlike Alzheimer's, it doesn't affect memory, instead attacking the parts of the brain which control thinking, reasoning and emotions. The first symptom is likely a loss of interest in life and the well-being of others. A person might ignore their spouse or children's feelings, get uncharac- teristically frustrated and say or do inappropriate things -- such as laugh at a funeral. (LaMotte, 1/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Will Open Vacant State Land For Homeless Shelters Under Newsom Order - California will open vacant state land to emergency shelters for homeless people under an executive order that Gov. Gavin Newsom intends to sign Wednesday. The order, which Newsom announced ahead of his annual budget plan due this week, would also create a fund to pay rent and build affordable housing for homeless people. The governor will propose to start the fund with $750 million in taxpayer money, which the Legislature would have to approve. (Koseff and Fagan, 1/8)

Bp Magazine - Trouble Finishing What You Start? Could Be a Clue to a Stability Shift - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Any Amount of Running Increases Longevity - Read more >> Bp Magazine - The Case for Faith in Helping Bipolar & Depression - Read more >>

Kansas City Star: Kansas Is Failing Mental Health Patients In State Hospitals. Lawmakers Must Act - Better pay and working conditions for mental health workers must be a priority issue for Kansas lawmakers in the 2020 session, which begins next week. There are two primary mental health hospitals in Kansas, one in Larned and the other in Osawatomie. In late 2019, the federal government told the state it found deficiencies at an acute care unit in Osawatomie, and ordered it to develop a plan to rectify the problems. The state has submitted a plan, but faces loss of federal Medicare payments in March if the government remains unsatisfied. Even if those immediate challenges are addressed, the 60-bed Adair unit is “not a therapeutic environment,” according to Gov. Laura Kelly. (1/7) Page 4 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Axios: Vitals – the politics of business and health care

Oregon Live: Opinion: America can learn from Oregon’s approach to supporting students

Huffington Post: This Was The Decade That Changed The Way We Think About Mental Health

The Motley Fool: Ask a Recruiter: How Do I Talk About Mental Health With My Boss -- or Prospective Employer?

The Associated Press: New Kansas Proposal Breaks Impasse On Expanding Medicaid -The plan from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning would give Kelly the straightforward expansion of state health coverage that she has advocated, covering as many as 150,000 additional people. But Denning would get a version of a program that he has proposed for driving down private health insurance premiums to make it less likely people would drop existing private plans for Medicaid. Denning had proposed financing his new program by increasing tobacco taxes, including a $1-per-pack increase in the state's cigarette tax, to $2.29. His compromise with Kelly gives the state a year to develop the premium-reduction program and drops the tax increase, which Kelly and many lawmakers thought wasn't likely to pass anyway. (1/9)

Iowa Public Radio: State Auditor Calls Medicaid Data On Home Health Care 'Unusable' - The State Auditor’s office says it cannot determine whether home health care claims are being paid properly under Iowa’s privatized Medicaid system because data provided by the Department of Human Services is inaccurate and inconsistent. State Auditor Rob Sand said his office requested information about home health services provided from April 2016, when the state initiated its privatized Medicaid system, though the end of 2018. (Gerlock, 1/9)

CNN: A Genetic Study Of 200,000 Veterans With Anxiety Points Toward Potential New Avenues For Treatment - A massive genetic study in nearly 200,000 veterans with anxiety is providing new insights into how and why people may be pre-disposed to anxiety issues. The genome-wide association study was the "largest ever study" looking into genes that could be associated with anxiety, according to Daniel Levey, a post doctorate associate at the Yale School of Medicine and one of the authors of the study. (Prior, 1/9)

The Washington Post: Workplace Suicides Have Risen To Record High, With More People Killing Themselves At Work Than Ever Before - America’s climbing suicide rate has become a problem for businesses, too. Buried in a report last month by the Bureau of Labor of Statistics on occupational fatalities was this tragic fact: More people are killing themselves in the workplace than ever before. The number of such suicides for 2018 was 304 — an 11 percent increase from the year before and the highest number since the bureau began tracking the data 26 years ago. (Wan, 1/9)

The CT Mirror: Council Gets Input From Incarcerated People About Discrimination - According to a national study, those with criminal records face more than 550 barriers codified in state statute that make their lives harder after they’re released from prison. Thursday’s forum was a part of the council’s research into those forms of discrimination. Members asked those offering testimony to identify themselves by only their first names to ensure anonymity. (Lyons, 1/10)

The Washington Post: Have Republicans Lost The Argument Over The Medicaid Expansion? In all, 37 states have now expanded Medicaid — many of them red — while 14 have not. It’s true that a handful of the biggest states — such as Texas, Florida and North Carolina — still have not expanded Medicaid, and that’s a big obstacle to progress. But in North Carolina, Democratic governor Roy Cooper — whose efforts to expand Medicaid have been tied up by Republican legislators — and Democrats are vowing to make the issue central in the 2020 statewide and legislative elections. If that produces more victories, that could portend another big breakthrough. (Greg Sargent, 1/9)

American Girl Introduces Doll With Disability - With a new doll, the iconic American Girl lineup is for the first time telling the story of a girl with a developmental disability. Read More >

Group Home Residents Often Live In Costly Isolation - People with disabilities living in group homes are supposed to be integrated into the community and enjoy the same freedoms that others have in their own homes, but that's not always the case. Read More >

Pediatricians Get New Guidance On Autism - Read More >

Page 5 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Can a higher minimum wage save lives by reducing suicides? When U.S. states raised the minimum wage by a single dollar, suicide rates fell among residents clustered around the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder. The higher the unemployment rate, the stronger the link.

U.S. health system costs four times more to run than Canada's single-payer system - In the United States, a legion of administrative healthcare workers who play no direct role in providing patient care costs Americans an average of $2,497 per year. Across the border in Canada, the cost of administering healthcare is less than a quarter as much.

Bp Magazine - 20 Ways to Recharge Your Recovery - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Calming the Chaos & Healing Emotional Wounds: Why I Write Every Day - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Tips for Tackling Night Eating Syndrome - Read more >>

The Hill: Study: Medicaid Expansion Linked To 6 Percent Decline In Opioid Overdose Deaths - “These findings add to the emerging body of evidence that Medicaid expansion under the ACA may be a critical component of state efforts to address the continuing opioid overdose epidemic in the United States,” the study states. The study could provide fodder for Democrats pushing for more states to accept the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. (Sullivan, 1/10)

CNN: Flu Leaves A 4-Year-Old Girl Blind In Iowa - A 4-year-old girl in Iowa nearly died and is now blind because of the flu, and her parents have a message: Get your child vaccinated. "If I can stop one child from getting sick, that's what I want to do," said Amanda Phillips. "It's terrible to see your child suffer like this." (Cohen and Bonifield, 1/11)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Prisons Mishandled Death Data, Sexual Abuse Claims: Audit - Tennessee Department of Correction officials misclassified the deaths of eight Tennessee prison inmates who died from drug overdoses, homicides and suicide, according to a highly critical audit that identified more than a dozen policy breaches at the agency. The audit, overseen by the state comptroller and released Friday, also found Tennessee prisons improperly investigated allegations of sexual abuse and failed to meet required staffing levels. (Ebbert and Tamburin, 1/10)

The Washington Post: The Crisis In Foster Care - The theory behind foster care is grounded in an assumption of stability — placing children whose parents are absent, dead or deemed unfit with stable families where community, schools and peers are roughly familiar. The reality is increasingly the opposite. An acute shortage of foster parents has produced a cohort of vulnerable children, many with drug-addicted parents, who are sent away, sometimes out of state, to live in juvenile detention centers, shelters and group homes. (1/11)

Louisville (Ky.) Courier Journal: We Must Increase Access To Mental Health Care. Too Many People Are Dying - When facing the homicide crisis in the U.S., nearly all of us, citizens and politicians alike, jump to the same questions: What industry is at fault? Who needs tighter regulations? Nobody is asking this about our nation’s mental health. Our healthcare system today clearly is not meeting the needs of Americans suffering from mental illness. Health insurance companies follow vague and unenforceable federal and state regulations that leave enrollees without access to timely mental health care. (Caitlin Liford, 1/10)

The Washington Post: A Psychiatrist Feels Guilt For Making A Homeless Man Leave The ER. - Tonight was yet another night on call in our emergency room — a chilly winter night on which I did a cruel deed: I discharged a homeless man back out into the cold. This is a routine event in the life of psychiatry residents like myself. Normally, no one would bat an eye. It shouldn’t have mattered to me, either — except that the previous night I’d had to walk home from the hospital parking garage in decidedly adverse weather. (Aarya Krishnan Rajalakshmi, 1/12)

The Washington Post: Prince George’s County‘s Mental Health Programs Don’t Work. When Will Someone Listen? It’s Dec. 29, 1 p.m., and I’m at a hospital in Prince George’s County. The emergency room is packed with people with varying degrees of illnesses. Many have severe colds; others have flu symptoms. Some have broken ribs or fractures and cuts and bruises from domestic violence (and broken hearts). Sadly, some have come here to die, their families clinging to the hope that this talented yet overwhelmed staff can whip up a miracle. (Sharon K. Vollin, 1/10)

Page 6 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Bp Magazine - Inside a Bipolar Depressive Episode - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Support Groups: Recovering Together - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Top 5 Medical Conditions Co-Occurring with Bipolar - Read more >>

A Quarter Of Kids With Autism Go Undiagnosed, Study Suggests - A substantial number of children who meet the criteria for autism are failing to receive a formal diagnosis, according to a new study based on data from the CDC. Read More >

Parents Seek Housing For Adult Children With Disabilities - With an imperfect patchwork of existing options — ranging from institutions to group homes to independent living — many parents are wondering the same thing: what happens when we die? Read More >

Institutionalized From Birth, Man Reunites With Family - More than seven decades after he was given up at birth, a man with intellectual and physical disabilities has reunited with a sister who spent much of her life wondering about his existence. Read More >

The New York Times: What Happened When A State Made Food Stamps Harder To Get -In the early mornings, Chastity and Paul Peyton walk from their small and barely heated apartment to Taco Bell to clean fryers and take orders for as many work hours as they can get. It rarely adds up to full-time week’s worth, often not even close. With this income and whatever cash Mr. Peyton can scrape up doing odd jobs — which are hard to come by in a small town in winter, for someone without a car — the couple pays rent, utilities and his child support payments. Then there is the matter of food. (Robertson, 1/13)

Stat: High Cost Of MS Medicines Forcing Patients To Take 'Drastic Actions' - The high cost of multiple sclerosis treatments has forced 40% of patients to take “drastic actions” and alter their use of the medicines, such as cutting back or skipping dosages altogether. And many report the financial burden is not only hurting their lifestyle, but impairing their ability to save for retirement or college for their children, a new survey found. For instance, 14% reported they switched to a generic, despite being satisfied with their existing treatment; 12% stopped using their medication for a period of time; 9% skipped or delayed filling a prescription; and 8% took less of their medicine than prescribed, according to the survey by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. (Silverman, 1/13)

PBS NewsHour: The Hidden Health Costs Of Eviction - Millions of Americans are forced from their homes every year. Evictions are usually considered in economic terms -- an outcome of housing supply and income levels -- but what about their physical and emotional impact? Research increasingly shows housing insecurity takes an enormous toll on people’s health. (Brangham and Fritz, 1/13)

Los Angeles Times: If L.A. Wants Trump's Money For Homelessness, Strings Will Be Attached - A sweeping proposal by the Trump administration to help Los Angeles’ growing homeless population may come with strings attached, raising questions about whether a deal can be worked out between the city and the White House. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson told Mayor Eric Garcetti in a letter last Thursday that Trump officials are prepared to offer Los Angeles an array of resources, including emergency healthcare services and federal land. The Times obtained the letter through a public records request. (Smith, Oreskes and Bierman, 1/13)

Los Angeles Times: Homeless Task Force Proposes Punishment For Cities With People Remaining On The Street - With public and political pressure mounting to get homeless people off the streets of California, a task force appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom is recommending that local governments face tough new legal sanctions for failing to make progress. In a report released Monday, the Council of Regional Homeless Advisors is calling for an amendment to the California Constitution that would create a legally enforceable mandate to reduce the homeless population. The Legislature would have to craft the plan, which would then appear as a statewide ballot measure in November. (Chabria, Oreskes and Luna, 1/13) The Oregonian: Oregon Asks For $20 Million To Tackle Mental Illness Crisis - Oregon’s top health administrator has asked state lawmakers for $20 million to help ensure that people who need mental health treatment get it, particularly those who have been charged with a crime. Monday’s request comes after more than a year of struggles by state health officials to handle an ever-growing volume of criminal defendants needing treatment for schizophrenia and other disorders. Lawmakers must decide whether to take up the request as they meet starting Feb. 3 for a 35-day short session. Under a 2003 federal court order, defendants deemed in need of treatment before proceeding through the criminal justice system must be sent to the Oregon State Hospital within seven days of a judge’s order. But patients have repeatedly had to wait longer than that when the hospital has been full. (Zarkhin, 1/13) Page 7 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

MPR: In Rural Minnesota, A Scarcity Of Beds For People In Crisis - The shortage of mental health care in rural areas means patients in need of inpatient psychiatric care are often waiting days to be transferred to beds far from home. It’s a situation that’s challenging for patients, families and health care providers, one with no obvious solution. (Roth, 1/13)

The Hill: Mental Health Crisis: We Must Speak With One Powerful Voice In 2020 -For many, the start of a new year represents a clean slate — a chance to take stock of what truly matters in life and course correct in search of a better path. Human resiliency is a powerful thing. Mental health and addiction professionals often say it’s why they do what they do. People can recover from their challenges and go on to lead productive, meaningful lives. (Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, 1/13)

How to Change Negative Thinking Patterns - Helping kids get free of what's called 'cognitive distortions.' - READ MORE ▸

Help for Kids Who Are Too Hard on Themselves - Bolstering children who tend to talk themselves down. - READ MORE ▸

Why Girls Apologize Too Much - How to help them stop saying 'sorry' and express confidence. - READ MORE ▸

What Is Borderline Personality Disorder? And why it's now being diagnosed and treated in teenagers. - READ MORE ▸

12 Tips for Raising Confident Kids - How to help children feel they can handle what comes their way. READ MORE ▸

DBT: What Is Dialectical Behavior Therapy? A treatment for teenagers with serious trouble managing emotions. READ MORE ▸

Bp Magazine - It's bp Magazine's 15th Anniversary! - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Golf Celebrity David Feherty Defies Darkness with Humor and Love - Read more >> Bp Magazine - The History of Bipolar: Through the Ages—It’s Been There - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Sugar & Mood: The Bittersweet Struggle - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Sean Astin: My Mom, Patty Duke -Read more >> Bp Magazine - Ask the Doctor: Blessed Are the Caregivers - Read more >>

The Associated Press: US Drinking More Now Than Just Before Prohibition - Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition was enacted. What’s more, it’s been rising for two decades, and it’s not clear when it will fall again. That’s the picture painted by federal health statistics, which show a rise in per-person consumption and increases in emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths tied to drinking. (1/14)

The Hill: Americans Drink About 2.3 Gallons Of Alcohol A Year: Study - Consumption by the average American was just over 2 gallons per year at the time, according to the AP, which noted that the number of deaths per year (88,000) associated from excessive drinking actually ranks higher than the opioid crisis in terms of total deaths. “Consumption has been going up. Harms (from alcohol) have been going up,” Dr. Tim Naimi, an alcohol researcher at Boston University, told the AP in an interview. “And there’s not been a policy response to match it.” (Bowden, 1/14)

NPR: A New Solution For Postpartum Depression: A Help Line For Obstetricians - As a young woman, Jennifer Ford struggled with anxiety and depression. When she got pregnant, her physician advised her to stay on the antidepressant she took to manage her symptoms. Her first pregnancy and childbirth went smoothly, she says, but things were different after she gave birth the second time. "It's when I hit my wall," says Ford. She remembers feeling overcome by grief, immediately after she got home. (Chatterjee, 1/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Bills Would Make Insurers Cover More Mental Health California legislators on Tuesday introduced two bills aimed at improving access to mental health and addiction treatment by requiring health insurance companies to authorize some forms of treatment more quickly and to cover more comprehensive mental health services. State Sens. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, and Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, co- authored Senate Bill 854 and Senate Bill 855 — which both would apply to private health insurance plans only, and not to public insurance programs such as Medi-Cal, the joint federal and state health insurance program for low-income residents. (Ho, 1/14) Page 8 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

The Oregonian: Family Of Former West Point Cadet Who Died By Suicide Alleges Death Resulted From Portland VA Medical Center’s Negligent Health Care - A 24-year-old woman who injured her ankle as a West Point Military Academy cadet ended her life due to medical negligence after she was treated at Portland’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center for chronic pain and associated anxiety, her family alleges in a federal lawsuit. Emylee Darneille was discovered dead in Spain on July 5, 2015, two months after she was prescribed an anti-depressant called fluoxetine, a generic form of Prozac, at the medical center. (Bernstein, 1/14)

Modern Healthcare: ACA's Impact On Racial Health Disparities Has Stalled - While black and Hispanic adult uninsured rates dramatically declined thanks to the Affordable Care Act, that progress has largely stalled in recent years and the overall uninsured rate has started to climb, according to a new study released Thursday. Since 2015, black adults in Medicaid expansion states were more likely to be insured than white adults in those states, according to the Commonwealth Fund report. More than 74% of black adults and 58% of Hispanic adults reported having a regular healthcare provider in 2018 compared to 71% and 55% in 2013, the study showed. (Johnson, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: Solutions To Loneliness Elusive For Hospitals - Do you have someone who loves you and cares for you? Do you have a source of joy in your life? Do you have a sense of peace today? Since mid-2018, staff at Advent Health have asked patients in outpatient settings those three questions in an attempt to identify health needs beyond the physical realm. In response, patients often say that they don’t have anyone who cares for them, or they feel isolated from their community. In other words, they’re lonely.“ A top trend (among our patients) is loneliness,” said Angela Augusto, director of mission integration at the Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based health system. “And we are not seeing it in any parti- cular age demographic. It’s as prevalent with our young patients as our older generation of patients.” (Castellucci, 1/11)

The New York Times: Rich People Don’t Just Live Longer: They Also Get More Healthy Years - Yes, indeed, it’s good to be rich in old age. According to a new study, wealthy men and women don’t only live longer, they also get seven to nine more healthy years after 50 than the poorest individuals in the United States and in England. “It was surprising to find that the inequalities are exactly the same,” said Paola Zaninotto, a professor of epidemiology and public health at University College London and a lead author of the study. (Murphy, 1/16)

NPR: In The Lead Up To Menopause, Depression And Anxiety Can Spike - Hines knew she was likely going through perimenopause, that is the years leading up to menopause, when women's monthly hormonal cycles become erratic as their bodies prepare to stop menstruating. What she didn't realize — and many women don't know — is that the hormonal changes of perimenopause can bring with it changes in mood, and for some of us, a heightened risk of anxiety and depression. (Chatterjee, 1/16)

Kaiser Health News: What The 2020s Have In Store For Aging Boomers - Within 10 years, all of the nation’s 74 million baby boomers will be 65 or older. The most senior among them will be on the cusp of 85. Even sooner, by 2025, the number of seniors (65 million) is expected to surpass that of children age 13 and under (58 million) for the first time, according to Census Bureau projections. “In the history of the human species, there’s never been a time like [this],” said Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging, referring to the changing balance between young people and old. (Graham, 1/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Physician Burnout Is Widespread, Especially Among Those In Midcareer - Physicians between the ages of 40 and 54 experience a higher rate of burnout than older or younger doctors, according to a recent survey of more than 15,000 physicians who cited administrative tasks and work hours as key drivers of their stress. Nearly half of Generation X physicians who were surveyed said they felt burned out, compared with 39% of baby boomers, ages 55 to 73, and 38% of millennials, ages 25 to 39. Roughly half of all the doctors surveyed also said that they would be willing to take a substantial pay cut to achieve a better work-life balance. (Abbott, 1/15)

Sacramento Bee: California Governor Urges Crackdown On Mental Health Parity - Leaders of the National Union of Healthcare Workers applauded Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday for committing to crack down on health care companies that fail to provide patients with mental health care comparable with that they provide for physical illnesses. During his budget address Friday, Newsom said the state’s Department of Managed Health Care was “getting in the business of real enforcement, not tacit enforcement.” He added that he would highlight any company found to show a lack of accountability on parity for mental health patients. (Anderson, 1/15)

Page 9 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘We’re Forced To Turn To The Police:’ SF Advocates, Police Commissioners Want Fewer Officers Responding To Homeless - As the twin crises of homelessness and mental illness grip San Francisco’s streets, nearly every city department — from Public Health to Public Works — has boosted resources and staff to address the issue. Now, a chorus of police commissioners and homeless advocates say officers are spending far too much time responding to people who would be better served by social workers. (Thadani, 1/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Mayor Poised To Meet 1,000-Shelter-Bed Goal With Deal For Navigation Center - San Francisco officials have selected a vacant administrative building once used by City College of San Francisco as the site for a 200-bed Navigation Center that will provide shelter and services for the homeless. Mayor London Breed is expected to announce the city’s intent to lease the site at 33 Gough St. on Wednesday. (Fracassa, 1/15)

Commonwealth Fund: How ACA Narrowed Racial Ethnic Disparities Access To Health Care - The insurance coverage expansion ushered in by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has significantly increased Americans’ ability to get the health care they need since the law’s main provisions went into effect in 2014. Research also indicates that the ACA narrowed racial and ethnic disparities in insurance coverage — a key objective of the law, and one that enjoys substantial public support.2In this brief, we examine how much the ACA also has reduced disparities in access to health care among black, Hispanic, and white adults. (Baumgartner, 1/16 et al)

The New York Times: Another Disability Disaster In The Making - On Nov. 18, the Social Security Administration announced its proposal to conduct roughly 2.6 million additional eligibility reviews of adults and children currently receiving Social Security disability benefits in the next decade. If undertaken, the change would be likely to result in the loss of benefits for many thousands of disabled citizens of all ages — raising the specter of a failed attempt by the Rea- gan administration in the early 1980s to shrink federal spending on assistance programs. For reasons both political and humane, President Trump and his policymakers should not make the same damaging mistake. (Jonathan M. Stein, 1/16)

Stat: Why Black Doctors Like Me Are Leaving Academic Medicine - A decade ago, the Department of Health and Human Services made “to achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups” one of its goals for Healthy People 2020. It didn’t come close. Black Americans continue to experience some of the worst health outcomes of any racial group. Black men have the shortest life expectancies. Black women have the highest maternal mortality rates. Black babies have the highest infant mortality rates. (Uche Blackstock 1/16)

Los Angeles Times: Despite Almost No Evidence Of Abuse, Trump Plans To Narrow Medicaid Eligibility - For all that President Trump loves to portray himself as a protector of Americans’ healthcare — witness his fatuous new claim to have “saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare,” when he’s actually undermined those safeguards — perhaps the most consistent administration healthcare policy has been an attack on Medicaid. The new year brings the opening of a new front in this war on the government program specifically aimed at bringing coverage to low-income households. The White House says it’s planning to tighten eligibility rules for Medicaid. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/14)

Health Affairs: Cutting Medicaid Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Will Harm Community-Level Public Transportation - Medicaid’s non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) benefit is stuck in the crosscurrents of competing trends: On the one hand, the value of the benefit is increasingly apparent due to recent research and the increasing interest in NEMT as a tool to address social determinants of health. On the other, the Trump administration is persistently taken actions (including a Request for Information scheduled for this year and a regulation projected for 2021 that will have the effect of curtailing Medicaid NEMT) even as the administration advances policies to promote NEMT in other health care markets (including as a transportation supplemental benefit in Medicare Advantage). (Michael Adelberg, Scott Bogren and Alexandra King, 1/14)

Los Angeles Times: An Empty Hospital. An Exploding Homeless Crisis. Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? - When I texted L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti Monday night to ask about the chance of snapping up St. Vincent, he said he’d just gotten that same question in a supermarket parking lot. The problem, he said, is that the city and county don’t have enough cash sitting around to buy the place. But Garcetti said it wasn’t out of the question for the city, the county and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to jointly lease or rent St. Vincent, and his staff is researching the possibility. (Steve Lopez, 1/15)

Huffington Post: Child Care Is Expensive. So Is Not Fixing Its Problems. - America’s child care system costs the country hundreds of billions of dollars every year, according to a new report. But Americans don’t realize it, the report says, because a big chunk of those costs come in the form of lost wages and opportunities for working parents and child care providers ― and shoddy care for the kids. (Jonathan Cohn, 1/15) Page 10 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

The Washington Post: 14 States, D.C. And New York City Sue To Stop Trump Plan To Slash Food Stamps For 700,000 Unemployed People - A coalition of 14 states along with Washington, D.C., and New York City sued Thursday to block the Trump administration from cutting off food stamp benefits from nearly 700,000 unemployed people, the first of three such planned measures to restrict the federal food safety net. The Agriculture Department finalized the new rule in December, eliminating states’ discretion to waive work requirements in distressed economic areas — a change that would slash nearly $5.5 billion from food stamp spending over five years. (Hsu, 1/16)

Axios: Coalition Of States Sues Trump Administration Over Food Stamp Rule - Why it matters: The stricter rule “eliminates State discretion and criteria” and will end “essential food assistance for benefits recipients who live in areas with insufficient jobs.” It intends to cut benefits for 688,000–850,000 unemployed people, the Post reports, and states' attorneys general who are backing the lawsuit argue the tightened SNAP requirements are unlawful. (Perano, 1/16)

The Hill: Cities, States Sue Over Planned Trump Cuts To Food Stamps - Perdue said that since 2000, the number of Americans receiving food stamp benefits has jumped from 17 million to 36 million, even though the unemployment rate is now lower than it was in 2000. Under the new rules, a county must have an unemployment rate of at least 6 percent before the state can apply for a waiver. The policy change, set to take effect April 1, would reportedly trim $5.5 billion from the federal budget over the next two years. (Johnson, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: HHS Proposes Ending Referral Requirement For Faith-Based Providers - HHS on Thursday proposed reversing an Obama administration policy so faith-based health and social service providers receiving federal funds no longer would have to inform clients about services they don't provide for religious reasons and would not have to refer them to alternative providers. The rule also would clarify that HHS would not discriminate against faith-based organizations on applications for grants or awards on the basis of the organization's religious policies. That could affect Title X reproductive healthcare funding for pregnancy counseling groups that oppose contraception and abortion. (Meyer, 1/16)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Sends Trailers To Help House The Homeless In California - Gov. Gavin Newsom repeatedly promoted a temporary solution to California’s most visible problem this week during a tour on homelessness that began at a shelter in the Sierra foothills and ended in a vacant city-owned lot in the shadow of the Oakland Coliseum: The state would dispatch 100 travel trailers to provide immediate shelter. Newsom and his aides publicized their plan again Thursday, posting a video on social media showcasing a caravan of 15 trailers traveling down the highway toward the Bay Area, where the shelters were on display for a news conference. (Luna, 1/16)

The Washington Post: What Schizophrenia Does To Families — And Why The Mental Health System Can’t Keep Up - Alissa Dumsch flips through her high school yearbook, pausing on a photo of a hulking young man with sandy hair and a chiseled jaw. “There’s Aaron,” she says, pointing to her brother. “He was so good-looking.” She turns a few more pages. “Here he is at student council. I ran every year — and I lost every year,” she says, laughing. “He ran one year and, like, won by a landslide!” (Jones, 1/13)

Ed Department Urged To Ban Seclusion In Schools- U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos should ban seclusion and prohibit certain restraint techniques in the nation's schools, a dozen lawmakers say. Read More >

Feds Incentivize Disability Hiring- A federal office dedicated to promoting community living is putting up big money to help businesses find and implement innovative ways to increase employment for people with disabilities. Read More >

Proposed Social Security Changes Could Cut Off Beneficiaries With Disabilities - A proposed change to federal disability assistance would result in millions more case reviews, likely cutting off many recipients with disabilities if the changes are enacted. Read More >

Bp Magazine - 10 Time-Tested Tips for Achieving and Maintaining Stability - Read more >> Bp Magazine - 5 Famous Funny People with Bipolar Disorder - Read more >>

Fighting suicides in dairy country through a Farmer Angel Network - Farmers in Wisconsin are trying to pull each other through harsh times. One remembers past struggles: “I felt so alone.”- By Dan Simmons ● Read more »

Bp Magazine - 10 Signs of Bipolar Disorder - Read more >> Bp Magazine - 5 Steps to Help You Learn from Past Manias & Avoid Future Relapses - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Bipolar and the Head-Hand Disparity - Read more >> Bp Magazine - 7 Tips for Changing Doctors - Read more >> Page 11 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Psychologists who specialize in treating ministers say that Christian pastors are still regularly fired after church elders discover they suffer from depression, bipolar disorder or other mental-health problems, and there are no protections in place to help them. The Wall Street Journal: ‘It’s Like I Got Kicked Out Of My Family.’ Churches Struggle With Mental Health In The Ranks. - In most industries, federal laws protect workers with disabilities, including mental illness. Church is an exception. Employees including pastors are still regularly fired after disclosing mental-health problems. For eight years, Brady Herbert led a booming church in Waco, Texas. The congregation had a couple hundred members when he took over and grew to an average of more than 1,200 people on Sundays. By early 2018, he told the church’s elders he was burning out and needed a break. They gave him a paid leave. (Lovett, 1/20)

The Washington Post: Fighting Suicides In Dairy Country Through ‘Farmer Angels’ - On what would have been Leon Statz’s 59th birthday, two dozen plaid-shirted farmers sat in the basement of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church to talk about how they were coping with the forces conspiring against them — the forces that had pushed their neighbor, a third- generation dairyman, to kill himself. The gathering was therapy of the most urgent kind. Statz’s 2018 suicide was the first some of the farmers had ever experienced, and in the small community of Loganville, it was a tragic jolt. (Simmons, 1/18)

St. Louis Public Radio: One In 3 Missouri Jail Officers Struggles With Depression, Study Reports - About 1 in 3 jail officers surveyed in Missouri showed symptoms of depression — with younger officers at a higher risk than their older colleagues. More than 745,000 people are held in county and city jails in the U.S., according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Farzan, 1/21)

FDA Misses Deadline To Ban Devices Used To Shock Those With Special Needs - The Food and Drug Administration missed its own deadline to finalize a ban on devices used to administer electric shocks on people with developmental disabilities. Read More >

Amtrak Tells Wheelchair Users To Pay $25,000- Amtrak is under fire for reportedly telling a group of people with disabilities that it would cost $25,000 for them to travel by train on a route that typically costs just $16 per person. Read More >

Couples With Disabilities Navigate Red Tape On Way To Altar - Marriage often means sacrificing much needed government benefits for people with developmental disabilities, but a proposed law could change that. Read More >

Judge Slashes Verdict In Risperdal Case - A judge chopped an $8 billion award to a man who claimed the maker of Risperdal failed to warn that boys using the drug — commonly prescribed to those with autism — could grow breasts. Read More >

A Quarter Of Kids With Autism Go Undiagnosed, Study Suggests - Read More >

The Power of Positive Attention - How to use it (instead of negative attention) to change behavior. READ MORE ▸

Why Are Kids Different at Home and at School? - Some hold it together at school, only to lose it at home. Others struggle in class. - READ MORE ▸

When Siblings Won't Stop Fighting - How parents can keep the peace and help kids learn to resolve conflicts.- READ MORE ▸

What NOT to Do When Your Child Is Having a Tantrum- Tips on responding to difficult toddler behavior. -READ MORE ▸

Helping Kids With Self-Regulation Skills - Some kids need help learning to control their emotions and resist impulsive behavior. READ MORE ▸

How Can We Help Kids With Transitions? With the right support, children can learn to change gears without whining and tantrums. - READ MORE ▸

Page 12 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

MPR: New Generation Pushes Hmong Mental Health Concerns Into The Light - Forty to 85 percent of Hmong people have experienced some kind of mental health issue compared to 20 to 26 percent of the general population, according to research published in 2010 by the Wilder Foundation. Trauma from war and migration, and stress from adapting to a new culture contribute to the high rate. (Bui, 1/22)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Getting Mental Health Care Can Be Hard Enough. Then Comes Paying For It. Eventually, the Dugans, of Linwood, N.J., placed their son, now 16, in residential treatment in Utah. He was there for a year-and-a-half, though the Dugans’ insurance company, United Behavioral Health, started denying their claims in September 2018. The family paid the $12,000-a-month price tag out-of-pocket, using up their savings and taking out a second mortgage. The Dugans had to bring their son home in late December, not because he was ready, but because of the cost, Joe said. (Bond, 1/22)

Modern Healthcare: Philanthropist Supports Intermountain's $500 Million Pediatric Project -Intermountain Healthcare committed to fund at least half of a $500 million project that will bolster children-oriented programs and facilities, spurring a $50 million donation, the integrated not-for-profit health system announced Tuesday. Salt Lake City- based Intermountain aims to build a second Primary Children's Hospital campus in Lehi, Utah; expand telemedicine and digital services; increase the number of pediatric emergency clinicians in rural areas; grow Primary Children's Hospital and its services in Salt Lake; and add behavioral health services. (Kacik, 1/21)

Seattle Times: This South Seattle Treatment Center Has Been Helping Native People Beat Substance Use Disorders For More Than 30 Years. So Why Is It Closing? - Roxanne White was in a “very desperate and very broken place” when she first came to Thunderbird Treatment Center in 2002.White, who is Nez Perce, Yakama, A’aninin (Gros Ventre) and Nooksack, was grappling with addiction and a history of trauma she had not yet confronted. Thunderbird was the first place White heard a story that paralleled her own, told by women attending one of the center’s open Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. (Brownstone, 1/21)

Los Angeles Times: Use-Of-Force Incidents Against Homeless People Are Up, LAPD Reports - More than one out of three times that a Los Angeles police officer used force in recent months involved a person experiencing homelessness, according to a new LAPD report. During the third quarter of 2019, officers used force on homeless people 217 times, a 26% increase from the same period in 2018 when that number was 172. (Miller, 1/21)

The New York Times: Are My Friends’ Deaths Their Fault Or Ours? - When my wife and I wrote about my old school- mates who had died from “deaths of despair,” the reaction was sometimes ugly. “They killed themselves,” scoffed Jonathan from St. Louis, Mo., in the reader comments. “It was self-inflicted.” Ajax in Georgia was even harsher: “Natural selection weeding out those less fit for survival.” (Nicholas Kristof, 1/18)

Boston Globe: From Lab To Clinic: Hope For Those Suffering From Depression - As other areas in medicine move rapidly forward with findings in their fields — for instance, targeted cancer therapies are extending the lives of oncology patients — psychiatry lags decades behind in providing new answers. The options we give a patient today are largely the same ones we offered a patient 30 years ago. (Donna Jackson Nakazawa, 1/21)

Bp Magazine - Too Much Sugar Can Lead to Low Moods - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Evidence of a Link Between Compulsive Overeating and Addiction - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Coping with a New—or Another—Diagnosis - Read more >>

NPR: Survey: 3 Out Of 5 Americans Are Lonely - More than three in five Americans are lonely, with more and more people reporting feeling like they are left out, poorly understood and lacking companionship, according to a new survey released Thursday. Workplace culture and conditions may contribute to Americans' loneliness. And loneliness may be on the rise. The report, led by the health insurer Cigna, found a 7% rise in loneliness since 2018, when the survey was first conducted. (Renken, 1/23)

USA Today: Depression, Loneliness Risks Increase For Americans Who Work At Home - The findings have big implications for employers. Lonely workers are twice as likely to miss a day of work due to illness and think about quitting their job more than twice as often as non-lonely workers. More than one in 10 lonely workers say their work is not as good as it should be. "It's important that we remember to give employees the opportunities to engage with others, to make sure we're not creating work environments that make loneliness worse," said Nemecek. (O'Donnell, 1/23)

Page 13 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Chicago Tribune: Women Have Different Needs Than Men When Treating Alcohol And Other Substance Use - Addiction experts say women in recovery often have different needs and obstacles than men, and accommodating them is important at a time when research shows women are drinking more, and in higher amounts. The stakes are high: A report released earlier this month by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shows alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. overall are climbing, especially among women. (Thayer, 1/22)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Spent $2.6 Billion On 2018 Post-Op Visits That Didn't Happen - A new CMS-funded study suggests surgeons are overpaid for certain bundled procedures and proposes a solution it says could save the agency billions of dollars annually. The New England Journal of Medicine report found that just a fraction of post-operative visits the CMS pays for as part of procedure bundles actually take place. The report says reducing the payments accordingly would have saved Medicare $2.6 billion in 2018 by decreasing payments for 10- and 90-day global procedures by 28%. The findings have "huge" implications for physician revenue, but also for Medicare patients, who face a 20% co-pay under Medicare Part B, which includes post-operative visits, said Andrew Mulcahy, lead author of the study and senior health policy researcher with RAND Corp. (Bannow, 1/22)

Portland Press Herald: Maine Plans To Review Reimbursement Rates For Medicaid Programs The state will conduct a comprehensive review of its Medicaid reimbursement rates for treatment of mental health and substance abuse as well as for adults with intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders. ... Nonprofits that provide services for some of the most vulnerable Mainers – including those with intellectual and developmental disorders and mental health conditions – have complained for years that services are at risk because reimbursement rates are so low. (Lawlor, 1/21)

Bloomberg: Fixing Health Care For The People It Often Fails - In America, poverty is linked to shorter lifespans. The wealthiest 1% of Americans live more than a decade longer than the poorest 1%, and that gap has grown wider in recent years. The medical community is increasingly examining the role that poverty and difficult social circumstances play in illness. Some people are asking whether the health care system could do more to address the things that influence people’s health beyond their medical care. This week on Prognosis, we look at one startup that’s trying to redesign care for some of the most vulnerable patients, taking into account the complex realities of their lives. The company is trying to improve care for people and communities whom the medical system often fails – and it believes that fixing those failures will not only make people healthier, it will also save money. (Tozzi, 1/23)

Los Angeles Times: Meet The Woman Who Runs L.A.'s Massive, Annual Homeless Count - The hand-drawn thermometer on the wall had just jumped to 7,100, assuring everyone in the command center that this year’s homeless count would have enough volunteers. But for Clementina Verjan, in charge of every count since the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority began conducting them in 2005, that didn’t mean all was well. She knew it would be next to impossible to spread that many people across Los Angeles County in an even manner. Some locations would have too many volunteers and some would have too few. (Smith, 1/22)

Reuters: California Governor Seeks Free Surplus Federal Land To Help House Homeless - California Governor Gavin Newsom, stepping up his bid to enlist U.S. government help to combat homelessness, has urged the Trump administration to open up surplus federal property for construction of more low-cost housing across the state. Newsom's request came in a letter on Tuesday to U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, who rejected pleas from California in September for more money to fight homelessness but has since adopted a more cooperative stance on the issue. (1/23)

The Washington Post: Virginia Senate Approves ‘Red Flag’ Law Allowing Temporary Seizure Of Guns From Someone Deemed A Threat - The Virginia Senate on Wednesday passed a "red flag" law that would allow authorities to temporarily seize the firearm of someone deemed a threat, a measure that was strongly opposed by gun rights advocates who swarmed the streets around the state Capitol on Monday. The bill passed on a party-line vote of 21-19, with every Democrat in favor and every Republican against. Debate grew unusually sharp as some GOP senators suggested that the bill would violate the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. (Schneider, 1/22)

Boston Globe: R.I. Child Advocate’s Office Criticizes Nonprofit’s Youth Group Homes In Providence - The state child advocate’s office said that the local group homes run by Communities for People were poorly supervised and showed little to no accounting for the services promised to the troubled adolescents in their care. A three-month investigation into the Providence group homes found “incomplete and substandard” files and medication records, lack of supervision and unprofessional staff, sexual activity between youths, and, at one home, not enough food. (Milkovits, 1/22)

Page 14 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Des Moines Register: Iowa's Board Of Medicine Reviewing Treatment At State-Run Facility For People With Disabilities - An investigation into possible human experimentation at a state-run institution in southwest Iowa that provides care to people with severe disabilities has expanded to include an additional state regulatory board. The Iowa Board of Medicine, which licenses physicians and regulates the practice of medicine in the state, notified the Iowa Department of Human Services on Jan. 16 that it is reviewing "any studies or experiments conducted" at the Glenwood Resource Center. (Rodriguez, 1/22)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: 'It's A New Day In New Orleans': New Children's Hospital Mental Health Unit Near Completion - After a 15-month construction period, the new behavioral health center is almost finished. Officials expect construction on the top three floors of the five-story building to be completed over the next two months. The facility is the only psychiatric program in the Gulf Coast region for children and teens with mental health issues and will replace an older facility on the hospital's 17-acre Uptown campus. (Woodruff, 1/22)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cuyahoga County Lawyers Suspended Over Effort To Pressure Suicide Victim’s Father Into Paying Them $1 Million For 15 Hours Of Work - The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended two Cuyahoga County lawyers who tried to collect $1 million in legal fees from the family of a teenage suicide victim as part of a wrongful death case on which the lawyers did about 15 hours of work. Attorneys Mark D. Amaddio of Beachwood and John J. Wargo of Berea tried to pressure the girl’s father into paying the fee by threatening to ask a judge to remove his name from his daughter’s estate in the county’s probate court, according to court records. (Shaffer, 1/22)

MPR: In Many Minneapolis Schools, The Therapist Is Just Down The Hall - More than 15 years ago, Minneapolis Public Schools program helped pioneer a national model of bringing community mental health care directly to its students. Today, most of the public schools in Minneapolis — more than 50 of them — have a therapist on site, and many other districts, like Elijah’s, have followed suit. (Roth, 1/23)

Marie Claire UK: You can now send positive text messages to strangers, shunning online negativity once and for all

Washington Examiner: Daily on Healthcare: A look at US health disparities on MLK Day 2020

Thrive Global: Creating a Work-Health Balance

The Dallas Morning News: ‘Relapse is part of the journey’: Dallas lawyer enlists colleagues to help watch for bipolar symptoms

NBC News: Opinion | Quitting my depression meds wasn't my happily-ever-after. Staying on them is.

Forbes: The Mental Health Of Student-Athletes: A Necessary Operational Investment In Contemporary Collegiate Athletics

Large Study Identifies Trove Of Genes Linked To Autism - In what's being called the largest study of its kind, researchers say they've identified more than 100 genes associated with autism. Read More >

New Restrictions Proposed For Service Animals On Planes - Federal regulators are seeking to place new limits on service animals in flight in an effort to ensure that such animals really are providing assistance to people with disabilities. Read More >

After Coming Off Wait List, Families Still Struggle To Find Services - Being selected to come off the waiting list for disability services can feel like "winning the lotto," but the thrill is short-lived for families who can't find programs to serve them. Read More >

Trump Administration Throws Support Behind Down Syndrome Abortion Ban - The Justice Department is backing a state ban on abortions of those with a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis, arguing the law would prevent disability discrimination. Read More >

Page 15 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: EPA Rule Change Leaves More Wisconsin Waters And Wetlands At Risk - In a move designed to help business interests, the Trump administration on Thursday announced a new rule to reduce federal protections under the Clean Water Act. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule sets a "new, clear definition for waters of the United States” that "protects the nation’s navigable waters from pollution and will result in economic growth across the country," said Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Smith, 1/23)

The Washington Post: Scientists Leave Federal Jobs Under President Trump - Dozens of government computers sit in a nondescript building [in Kansas City], able to connect to a data model that could help farmers manage the impact of a changing climate on their crops. But no one in this federal agency would know how to access the model, or, if they did, what to do with the data. That’s because the ambitious federal researcher who created it in Washington quit rather than move when the Agriculture Department relocated his agency to an office park [in Kansas City] last fall. (Gowen, Eilperin, Guarino and Tran, 1/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Thousands Of Housing Vouchers For Homeless Veterans Go Unused - Rising rents across the country and hiring difficulties at the Department of Veterans Affairs have left unused thousands of housing vouchers designated for homeless veterans. Last week, officials testified at a congressional hearing that 11,000 vouchers remain unused. They cited a number of issues such as a shrinking number of homeless veterans, which makes it harder to find people eligible to use the vouchers. More than 100,000 of housing vouchers for veterans are currently allocated to public- housing authorities. (Kesling, 1/23)

Bp Magazine - Looking at Bipolar Through a Rearview Mirror: The Peril of Living in the Past - Read more >> Bp Magazine - 4 Tips for Telling Someone about Your Bipolar Disorder - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Bipolar & the Eyes: What Does the Research Reveal? - Read more >>

Politico Pro: White House Signs Off On Medicaid Block Grant Plan - The Trump administration on Thursday will announce a long-developing plan to overhaul Medicaid by letting states shift some program funding to block grants, four individuals with knowledge of the announcement confirmed. “The status quo is unacceptable,” said a senior administration official. “We have to give states some more flexibility. ”The plan — developed for more than a year by CMS Administrator Seema Verma — is slated to be announced at a Jan. 30 event that HHS has called “Transforming Medicaid: A New Opportunity for Better Health.” POLITICO obtained a copy of the invitation sent to outside groups. (Diamond, 1/25)

Tucson.Com: State's Medicaid Program, Insurers Working To Address Shortage Of Care Givers - Arizona’s Medicaid program is working with three insurers to create a long-term-care workforce to address the expected shortage of in-home caregivers needed as the state’s elderly population rapidly increases in coming years. The insurers the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS, contracted with are Southwest Catholic Health Network Corp., Banner-University Family Care and United Healthcare Community Plan. These insurers are contracted to build a long- term-care workforce within its AHCCCS network by 2024. Also working on the initiative is the Department of Economic Security’s Division of Developmental Disabilities. (Duarte, 1/26)

NPR: When Insurers Don't Cover Drugs, Prescriptions Often Go Unfilled - The majority of Americans have health insurance that includes coverage for prescription drugs. But unfortunately that doesn't ensure that they can afford the specific drugs their doctors prescribe for them. In fact, many Americans report that their insurance plans sometimes don't cover a drug they need — and nearly half the people whom this happens to say they simply don't fill the prescription. That's according to a poll released this month on income inequality from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (Neighmond, 1/27)

The New York Times: Cities Prepare For The Worst As Trump’s Food Stamp Cuts Near - Next month, Cuyahoga County, Ohio’s second largest, will begin sending letters and fliers, making phone calls and hosting information fairs to alert struggling citizens of a change about to befall them: Come April, able-bodied adults without children may lose their food stamps if they do not find work fast. A Trump administration rule change, long in the making, is about to become real, and by the administration’s own estimates, nearly 700,000 people across the country — 20,000 of them in Ohio, 3,000 alone in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County — will be dropped from the food-stamp rolls. (Fadulu, 1/25)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Lawmaker Introduces 'Red Flag' Gun Law During 2020 Session - A Tennessee lawmaker wants to allow residents to petition the courts to temporarily remove firearms from relatives who may pose a threat. Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, is sponsoring a bill that would allow family members, household members, intimate partners or law enforcement to petition to temporarily confiscate guns from an individual who shows an immediate risk of harming themselves or others. This type of law, commonly known as "red flag" laws or extreme risk protection orders, is being introduced nationwide in response to gun violence. Under the proposed Senate Bill 1807, the petitioner would sign

Page 16 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation a sworn affidavit for the emergency protection order. If a judge grants the order, the person in question will be prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm during the period the order is in effect. (Hineman, 1/24)

North Carolina Health News: Former Dorothea Dix Chapel Reopens - The chapel that patients and staff at Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Hospital attended for almost 60 years is getting a $2 million facelift and will greet visitors to Dix Park as well as offer concerts, community meetings, educational programs, spiritual events and more. The All Faiths Chapel opened in 1955 as a brand new resource for people at Dorothea Dix, a state-run hospital for people with mental illness, substance abuse problems, and intellectual disabilities that housed people from all over North Carolina. It closed along with the hospital in the 2010s, but the imposing red-brick building with a soaring sanctuary appears much as it did during its life as a church, when patients such as Lori Brinson, of Asheville, found it a refuge on the campus. (Goldsmith, 1/27)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Plans A Coed Training Center For Inmates Heading Home, But Women’s Advocates Say It’s Not Enough - Maryland corrections officials plan to convert a Jessup facility into a center dedicated to preparing inmates to return home, but advocates say incarcerated women still won’t have the same access to services as men. The state wants to turn the Brockbridge Correctional Facility into a “comprehensive pre-release, re-entry, and workforce development facility” for both men and women. Corrections leaders say it will offer programs to get people on the right track as they leave prison, with a focus on job training, education and family mediation. “It represents the next step of going home,” said Secretary Robert Green of the state’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. But the plan doesn’t satisfy those who have been lobbying for several years for the state to open a prerelease center solely for female inmates. They say women haven’t had opportunities equal to those for men in terms of job training, housing referrals and other services to help them be successful once released. (Knezevich, 1/27)

Axios: Ditching Insurance Companies Doesn't Help Employers Cut Health Care Costs - Conventional wisdom holds that big, self-insured companies do a better job controlling health care costs than firms that rely entirely on insurance companies to provide their workers’ coverage. But that’s not true. Why it matters: Although a handful of big self-insured companies get a lot of attention for their cost-control efforts, the data tell a different story: Self-insured and fully insured companies are equally bad at controlling health care costs. (Drew Altman, 1/27)

Bp Magazine - The Truth about the Link between Bipolar Mania and Creativity - Read more >> Bp Magazine - My BFF and Me: Bipolar Opposites - Read more >> Bp Magazine - 5 Ways to Tell That Our Thoughts Need a Tune-Up - Read more >>

The Philadelphia Inquirer: National Suicide Rates Rose 40% From 2000 To 2017, With Blue-Collar Workers Most At Risk - Between 2000 and 2017, the suicide rate in the U.S. increased by 40%, with blue-collar workers in industries such as mining, oil and gas extraction, construction, agriculture, transportation, and warehousing most at risk, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study used data from 32 states — including Pennsylvania and New Jersey — that participated in the 2016 National Violent Death Reporting System, which combined data from death certificates, coroner and medical examiner reports, and law enforcement reports. Researchers looked at the suicide rates by profession for 20,975 people, ages 16 to 64. They found that both male and female workers in construction, mining, oil, and gas had the highest suicide rates. (Ao, 1/27)

Dallas Morning News: After Her Young Teen’s Death By Suicide On A Plano ISD Campus, This Mom Fights For Change - Late last year, Melanie Uriegas vowed to take action against a problem that was invisible to her until it swamped her young son. Armed with research, she has lobbied Plano ISD to bring the student-to-student Hope Squad initiative to its campuses. Her message never changes: “I can’t save my son but, in the name of my son, I want to help others.” Like many North Texas districts, Plano has seen an increase in suicide victims in the past four to five years. Just eight months after Jesse’s death, another PISD student, 16-year-old Jaedon Mills, a sophomore at Shepton High School, died by suicide Oct. 6. (Grigsby, 1/27)

Los Angeles Times: My Daughter Was Murdered, But It Was Misguided Mental Health Laws That Put Her In Danger - Earlier this month, word came to me that my precious daughter Amy had died, probably at the hands of another. Her body was found in an abandoned rental car in an upscale neighborhood of Hermosillo, Mexico, four hours south of the Arizona border. ... About five years ago, in her late 30s, Amy had fallen victim to mental illness. One shrink called it bipolar psychosis; another, schizoaffective disorder. Whatever its name, it gripped my little girl’s psyche and wouldn’t let go. Medication never had an opportunity to help because her fevered brain told her not to take it. Therapy was futile. (Dennis McDougal, 1/26)

Page 17 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Best Medication for Kids With Anxiety - Antidepressants trump all others as the most effective evidence-based choice.- READ MORE ▸

Understanding ADHD Medications - A look at the most common meds and the alternatives, and how they work. - READ MORE ▸

Is Your Child Getting the Right Dosage? - Why starting medication slowly and observing kids carefully is essential. - READ MORE ▸

What Parents Should Know About Risperdal - Pros and cons of using the medication to treat severe behavior problems. - READ MORE ▸

How to Take Kids Off Medication - Tips for making sure your child makes a good transition. - READ MORE ▸

Parents Guide to Multiple Medications - What to know if your child is prescribed more than one medication.- READ MORE ▸

The Washington Post: Trump Administration To Offer States Medicaid Block Grant Option - Top Trump administration health officials are inviting states to convert part of Medicaid into a block grant — a longtime conservative goal Congress rejected more than two years ago. A letter to every state Medicaid director, to be dispatched Thursday, will offer the possibility of trading away an entitlement program that expands and contracts depending on how many poor people need the government health coverage. In exchange, for able-bodied adults in the program, states could apply to receive a fixed federal payment and freedom from many of the program’s rules, according to several individuals familiar with the plans. (Goldstein, 1/28)

Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Lawmakers Question Officials About Medicaid Performance, Funding Issues - Iowa lawmakers questioned Medicaid officials Tuesday about the finances and performance of the state’s health insurance system for low-income and disabled Iowans. Medicaid issues have been controversial at the Iowa Capitol since the state hired private insurance companies in 2016 to manage the government-funded system. (Sostaric, 1/28)

Mississippi Today: Children With Disabilities Losing Medicaid Coverage - Lawmakers were right: People ineligible for Medicaid in Mississippi have been receiving the health care benefit anyway. But they aren’t adults scamming the system. They’re children with disabilities, whose middle-class parents relied on the public health insurance loophole to afford expensive monthly medical treatments.Because of a recent crackdown on Medicaid eligibility, many families who had been receiving the Disabled Child Living at Home waiver have been denied the benefits when they’ve tried to renew them. (Wolfe, 1/27)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Lawmakers Hear Reaction To Child Advocate Report On Restraint And Seclusion - Lawmakers heard reaction on Tuesday to a recent report from the Office of Child Advocate that found widespread use of restraints and seclusion on children in behavioral health facilities in New Hampshire. The report released earlier this month found that restraints and seclusion, while declining overall, remain widespread in New Hampshire, with more than 20,000 incidents reported between 2014 and 2018. (Moon, 1/28)

WBUR: 'I Wanted To Go Home': Sobbing, Justina Pelletier Describes Boston Children's Psych Ward - Like every day for the past week, Justina Pelletier’s family rolled her into court Monday morning in a wheelchair. Her nails had a fresh coat of lavender polish, and a fuzzy gray blanket lay over her legs. Now 21 years old, Pelletier took the stand in the malpractice suit she and her family are bringing against Boston Children’s Hospital and the doctors who treated her there. (Chen, 1/28)

The Wall Street Journal: The Pharmacist Is Out: Supermarkets Close Pharmacy Counters -In some towns, it is getting harder to pick up your blood-pressure pills with that gallon of milk and rotisserie chicken. Hundreds of regional grocery stores in cities from Minneapolis to Seattle are closing or selling pharmacy counters, which have been struggling as consumers make fewer trips to fill prescriptions and big drugstore chains tighten their grip on the U.S. market. (Terlep and Kang, 1/26)

The Hill: As The Mental Health Crisis Grows, Puerto Ricans Need Long-Term Care - Today, New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray announced the City is sending nine mental health experts to Puerto Rico to provide crisis counseling, emotional support, connections to mental health services, and help with coping with stressful events. This is in Page 18 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation addition to the staff already on the ground, which includes health professionals, building inspectors, engineers, and emergency managers to support the cities with the worst damage. Governor Cuomo also pledged to send extra mental health experts to Puerto Rico as part of the State’s emergency response. But we need consistent support from the federal government. (Oxiris Barbot, 1/28)

To Those Who Don’t Understand My Favorite-Person Relationship - For those with borderline personality disorder, it's common to develop a favorite-person (FP) relationship. Here are Alicen's tips for managing her FP relationship in a healthy way. READ MORE »

Why We Should Be Honest About How We’re Doing -"When you are feeling alone, it can be very helpful knowing there is someone who knows exactly what you are going through." READ MORE »

5 Reminders for Survivors of Trauma - Learn from a trauma therapist, who also has lived experience, some of the important aspects of recovering after trauma. READ MORE »

Ways to Manage and Cope with Stress - In order to manage stress, we need to know the warning signs that stress levels are too high and learn healthy coping techniques. Here are a few to get started. READ MORE »

Using Humor as A Coping Tool - "If used in the right way, humor is a way to take depression down a notch, a way to tell the truth and a way to cope." READ MORE »

Stay Up to Date on Research News - Find up-to-date information and research news from government organizations, private institutions and academic and industry researchers. REGISTER TODAY »

Check out Our New Infographics - These numbers are powerful tools for measuring how common mental illness is, raising public awareness, stigma-busting and advocating for better health care. LEARN MORE »

Housing Providers Must Accommodate Service Animals, Feds Say - For the second time this month, the Trump administration is weighing in on where and how animals assisting people with disabilities should be welcome. Read More >

Students Aim To Brighten Future For Classmates With Autism - High school students are looking to help their peers with special needs build a foundation for productive, fulfilling lives after graduation by equipping them with skills to run small businesses. Read More >

Strip Club Accused Of Exploiting Teen With Developmental Disability - A lawsuit is seeking to hold a popular strip club accountable for hiring a 17-year-old with a developmental disability. Read More >

Proms For Those With Special Needs Expected To Draw 115,000 - Thousands of teens and adults with disabilities are set to dance the night away at a series of special proms all held on a single night at hundreds of sites around the world. Read More >

Large Study Identifies Trove Of Genes Linked To Autism Read More >

Bp Magazine - Making a Marriage as Strong as Possible - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Feeling Loved in Everyday Life Linked with Improved Well-Being - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Readers’ Choice: The Best Movies Featuring Bipolar - Read more >> Bp Magazine - Serenity, Courage, Wisdom—and Celebration - Read more >> Bp Magazine - How to Help Others Understand Your Bipolar Disorder - Read more >>

6. What's In A Name? Medicaid Block Grant Model Gets A Re-Branding, But Its Objectives Remain The Same - CMS is expected to send letters to states today to encourage them to transform their Medicaid programs into a block grant model that has long been a controversial goal for conservatives. CMS Administrator Seema Verma frames the change as a way for states to invest more money into their most vulnerable population, but critics say it will lead to a loss of coverage for many who need it. Meanwhile, dozens of Democrats have warned the Trump administration that the block grants are illegal.

Page 19 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Politico: ‘Block Grants’ No More: Trump's Medicaid Overhaul Has New Name, Same Goals -The Trump administration will rebrand its Medicaid block grant program and look to safeguard the policy against an expected wave of legal challenges from patient advocates, according to two officials with knowledge of the plan set for release Thursday. The forthcoming block grant program comes with a new name — “Healthy Adult Opportunity” — but retains the original mission long sought by conservatives: allowing states to cap a portion of their spending on Medicaid, a radical change in how the safety net health program is financed. (Diamond and Roubein, 1/29)

Modern Healthcare: Direct-Care Worker Shortage Expected To Disrupt Staffing In Post-Acute Care - Loretto Health & Rehabilitation in Syracuse, N.Y., was struggling with a nearly 65% turnover among certified nursing assistants, home health aides and licensed practical nurses, many of whom faced difficult challenges with transportation, child care and other issues. That’s a chronic and growing problem for nursing homes, home-care agencies and hospital systems, which rely on these staffers to provide the bulk of hands-on, nonclinical care for patients. Good post-acute and home care are key factors in achieving quality outcomes in value-based care, but research shows that high turnover hurts quality. (Meyer, 1/25)

The Associated Press: House GOP Lawmakers Try To End Transgender Right In Iowa Law - Republican lawmakers on Wednesday proposed a bill to amend the Iowa Civil Rights Act by removing protections against discrimination for transgender people. Iowa law currently prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, ancestry and disability. Gender identity was added by lawmakers in 2007 when Democrats regained control of the Iowa Legislature and held the governor’s office with the election of Gov. Chet Culver. (Pitt, 1/29)

The New York Times: We Lost Our Son To Suicide. Here’s How We Survived. - On Sept. 7, 2017, my 31st wedding anniversary, a date marked by happy memories turned tragic. That was when I learned that my 23-year-old son, Garrett, had died by suicide. Two-and-a-half years later, the news that brought me to my knees rings in my memory as if it were delivered just yesterday. Garrett was popular, talented and loved by his many friends and family members. Yet he felt alone in his struggles. Despite our fervent efforts to get him help, he slipped through our grasp. My husband and I had to come to terms with the most brutal outcome for a parent: We could not save him. (Julie Halpert, 1/30)

The Washington Post: For Mississippi To Fix Its Prisons, It Must Recognize Their Dehumanizing, Eugenic Roots - On Monday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) announced the closing of a unit at Parchman, the epicenter of a crisis in its prison system, as well as other broad reforms. These moves were precipitated by 13 deaths in the Mississippi penal system in less than a month, nine of them at Parchman, the state’s oldest penitentiary. Several of the deaths resulted from violence during what authorities called a “major disturbance” and altercations. Three men were found hanging in their cells, in apparent suicides that are under investigation. Two people have also managed to escape.(Shobana Shankar, 1/29)

8. CMS Encourages States To Move To Block-Grant Funding For Medicaid While Bracing For Inevitable Court Battle - CMS Administrator Seema Verma and the Trump administration rolled out the new plan on Thursday that would allow states to cap Medicaid spending for adults who were enrolled in the program under the health law expansion. The idea has been a long-held goal for Republicans, but critics say the change would jeopardize medical access and care for some of the poorest Americans.

The New York Times: Trump Administration Unveils A Major Shift In Medicaid - The Trump administration said on Thursday that it would allow states to cap Medicaid spending for many poor adults, a major shift long sought by conservatives that gives states the option of reducing health benefits for millions who gained coverage through the program under the Affordable Care Act. Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said states that sought the arrangement — an approach often referred to as block grants — would have broad flexibility to design coverage for the affected group under Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor that was created more than 50 years ago as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society. (Goodnough, 1/30)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration’s Medicaid Block-Grants Option Touches Off Ideological Fight - In announcing changes to a portion of the safety-net program, senior administration officials avoided any mention of “block grants,” a polarizing concept, instead naming the initiative “Healthy Adult Opportunity.” Officials portrayed it as a “groundbreaking opportunity” for states to upgrade care, limit the program’s strain on their budgets and gain more freedom to shape Medicaid to local needs. “Our administration is committed to protecting and improving the lives of Medicaid recipients,” said Seema Verma, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the chief champion of the idea among President Trump’s aides. (Goldstein, 1/30) Page 20 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Politico: Trump Pushes Forward Conservative Transformation Of Medicaid - CMS Administrator Seema Verma, who’s crafted the politically sensitive and closely guarded plan for over a year, on Thursday encouraged state Medicaid directors to request budgeted federal payments to cover poor adults who enrolled through Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion in recent years. States who voluntarily cover adult populations outside of the Obamacare expansion could also receive capped funding. Some conservative states have expressed interest in block grants in recent years, but it's not clear how many will take up the Trump administration's new offer. (Roubein and Diamond, 1/30)

NPR: Medicaid Block-Grant Option Rolls Out - With the announcement, CMS is inviting states to design Medicaid plans that work with a new capped-funding approach; they have flexibility in how they design these plans and could be exempted from certain Medicaid requirements. For example, the plan would allow states to create a formulary to pick and choose which drugs are covered — normally Medicaid covers all drugs. In her remarks, Verma anticipated critics who might consider this an attack on the safety net. She spoke passionately about the purpose of Medicaid, calling it "a lifeline for millions of Americans." (Simmons-Duffin, 1/30)

Stat: Trump Medicaid Plan Offers States New Drug Pricing Power — With A Catch - The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a powerful new tool for states to rein in prescription drug spending. But there’s a catch: States can only wield their newfound power if they accept a cap on the federal funding they get for their Medicaid program. The new tool on offer would effectively help states negotiate lower prices directly with pharmaceutical companies by denying coverage for certain drugs. Right now, unlike private insurers and some other federal providers, Medicaid programs must cover every single drug—a fact that some states say hampers their ability to get the best deal on pricey medicines. (Facher, 1/31)

Kaiser Health News: 5 Things To Know About Trump’s Medicaid Block Grant Plan - The Trump administration unveiled a plan Thursday that would dramatically revamp Medicaid by allowing states to opt out of part of the current federal funding program and instead seek a fixed payment each year in exchange for gaining unprecedented flexibility over the program. Medicaid, a federal-state health program that covers 1 in 5 Americans, has been an open-ended entitlement since its beginning in 1965. That means the amount of money provided by the federal government grows with a rise in enrollment and health costs. (Pradhan and Galewitz, 1/31)

NBC News: Trump Administration Announces Medicaid Funding Overhaul - In a letter Wednesday, three dozen House Democrats warned that block grants would be detrimental to the viability of Medicaid and patient outcomes because of the negative fallout it would have for Americans who get health care coverage through the "safety-net health program." "Medicaid block grants necessitate cost-cutting measures like restricting enrollment, decreasing provider reimbursement, and limiting eligibility and benefits through managed care," the representatives wrote in the letter, which was organized by Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass. "These actions endanger the lives of the most vulnerable patients, the population Medicaid was created to protect." (McCausland, 1/30)

The Hill: Trump Administration To Allow Medicaid Block Grants - The block grant will apply to the ObamaCare Medicaid expansion population’s “able-bodied” people. Advocates argue this gives an incentive for GOP governors in expansion states to roll back benefits and spending. Anyone who is covered by traditional state Medicaid programs, disabled or eligible for long-term care is excluded. Other low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities will also be excluded. (Weixel, 1/30)

Stateline: Trump Administration Announces Shift To Medicaid Block Grants - The American Medical Association immediately announced its opposition, saying that federal caps on Medicaid funding “would increase the number of uninsured and undermine Medicaid’s role as an indispensable safety net.” The bipartisan National Governors Association also tweeted out its concerns, saying that the change “would significantly curtail the longstanding flexibility states have to fund and pay for services in their Medicaid programs, which could negatively impact beneficiaries.” (Ollove, 1/30)

Axios: Trump's Health Care Plans Often Target Medicaid - The bottom line: The courts will ultimately decide how much of this agenda survives, but within the administration, it’s been full steam ahead since the beginning. The Medicaid cuts in the repeal-and-replace bills sparked big protests and scared away moderate Republican senators, but CMS is still pursuing block grants. It didn’t stop approving work requirements after work requirements ran into problems In court. And while some of the White House’s ideas on drug pricing or the Affordable Care Act have faltered or been discarded, its push to reframe Medicaid has been consistent. (Baker, 1/31)

Page 21 of 22

February 2020–Additional Mental Health Related Videos and Articles from Around the Nation

Stateline: Rural America's Health Crisis Seizes States' Attention - Rural residents are in poorer health than those living elsewhere and have less access to treatment, partly because so many rural hospitals and health clinics have shuttered in recent years. As state legislatures begin their 2020 sessions, many lawmakers are struggling to find answers. Brock Slabach, senior vice president of the nonprofit National Rural Health Association, said big ideas are needed to truly change the trajectory of rural health. The good news is that because of scale, rural areas are promising places to test out innovations in the delivery and financing of health care. (Ollove, 1/31)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Advocates Rally To Get Philadelphia School District To Publicize Mental Health Resources For Students - Mental health advocates rallied outside a meeting of the Philadelphia Board of Education on Thursday, protesting what they see as a broken promise to help students find mental health resources. The nonprofit organizations involved — Youth United for Change and the National Women’s Law Center — expressed frustration with the lack of action from the School District, which they said verbally committed to a multiplatform rollout of a list of existing mental health resources for students on the first day of school during a meeting in June. The conversation followed months of meetings with district officials, school board members, and city councilmembers. (Ao, 1/30)

We Lost Our Son to Suicide. Here’s How We Survived. I tried many of the supports available to help parents heal, like therapy, support groups, exercise and finding a way to honor our son’s memory.

Bp Magazine - 7 Tips to Maintain a Healthy Sleep Schedule and Keep Moods on Track - Read more >>

Page 22 of 22