Posted on March 19, 2019
Healthline
Reports on a study that found a significant rise in the incidence of major depression among 12 to 25-year-olds in the U.S. The researchers say the trend started about seven years ago and they raised the possibility of a connection to the burgeoning number of people who own a smartphone.
READ MOREPosted on March 14, 2019
Stars & Stripes
Reports on the Commander John Scott Hannon VA Mental Health Improvement Act of 2019 introduced in the Senate which aims to tackle the veteran suicide epidemic by boosting funding, mental health staff, alternative therapies and research at the VA. The bill, introduced by Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), was supported by NAMI and we lobbied for key components to be included and provided guidance by drafting sections of the legislation.
READ MOREPosted on March 6, 2019
CNN
Federal judge blasted a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, the nation's largest insurance company, for focusing on the "bottom line as much or more" than patients' health, saying the insurer illegally denied treatment to thousands of people. The judge also slammed the company's medical directors for being "deceptive" under oath.
READ MOREPosted on February 23, 2019
Newsday
Looks at a New York state program that starts treating young people with schizophrenia and related disorders less than two years after symptoms begin and how it's helping participants stay or transition into the workplace and college, data show.
READ MOREPosted on February 17, 2019
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Reports that Arkansans who rely on Medicaid are struggling to get mental health care because of changes that state officials made to billing which has forced some providers to turn away patients and offer fewer services. The Department of Human Services is enforcing a litany of Medicaid-billing changes, causing long waits to get service, frequent changes in therapists and difficulties in scheduling appointments to get care.
READ MOREPosted on February 15, 2019
SELF
According to Dr. Ken Duckworth, Medical Director, NAMI when it comes to choosing a therapist, people should be open with their insurance companies and spell out exactly what is needed.
READ MOREPosted on February 11, 2019
CNN
Reports on a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics. The researchers analyzed data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationwide survey administered to parents of children and teens. Of the 46.6 million children ages 6 through 18 whose parents completed the survey, 7.7 million had at least one mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and only half received treatment or counseling from a mental health provider in the 12 months prior to the survey.
READ MOREPosted on February 9, 2019
Associated Press
Reports on the Youth Aware of Mental health program developed by researchers at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and Columbia University in New York. But also notes that it’s just one of the programs used to teach teens about mental health. The article mentions NAMI’s Ending the Silence program and includes the stats that it has reached almost 450,000 kids in 41 states since it was offered nationally in 2014.
READ MOREPosted on February 7, 2019
CBS Boston
Reports that up to 40,000 Americans die from firearms every year and mental illness is often blamed, but a new study from the University of Texas says don’t blame mental illness, blame access to guns. They surveyed more than 600 young adults and found that the majority of the mental health symptoms examined were not related to gun violence. Instead, they found that people who simply had access to a gun were 18 times more likely to have threatened someone with a firearm compared to people who had no such access.
READ MOREPosted on February 7, 2019
Medscape
Reports that Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America (SRDAA) has spearheaded a new initiative to reclassify schizophrenia as a neurologic, rather than a psychiatric, disease. The action is designed to reduce stigma and ultimately obtain more research funding from the CDC. The article states that TAC and NAMI are on board with the initiative while the American Psychiatric Association is reluctant to support its reclassification as a neurologic disorder.
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NAMI HelpLine is available M-F, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. ET. Call 800-950-6264,
text “helpline” to 62640, or chat online. In a crisis, call or text 988 (24/7).