General Mental Health Articles
- Communities known for longevity have cultures that value social connectedness. Married people have lower mortality rates than singles. Death of a spouse or divorce significantly increases one’s mortality and morbidity risk and adversely affects mental health, contributing to depression, anxiety, suicidality, neglect of one’s health, and substance abuse. A meta-analytic review found that loneliness increased the likelihood of mortality by 29%—and the risk was present across gender and world regions. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted social connectedness worldwide and resulted in considerable mental health problems in people of all ages. Read more here.
Veterans
- Democratic lawmakers and veterans’ groups are fuming over the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) plans to cut roughly 80,000 employees in the coming months, decrying the lack of transparency and lack of pushback from their colleagues across the aisle. VA officials insist the dismissals won’t damage or delay veterans’ medical care or benefits. VA Secretary Doug Collins, who confirmed the planned firings, maintained that the effort is difficult but necessary. Read more here.
Health Insurance Coverage
- The Trump administration is proposing to shorten ObamaCare’s annual open enrollment period by a month, a move the administration said is aimed at helping consumers pick the right plan. According to a proposed rule released, open enrollment would run from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15, instead of through Jan. 15. Read more here.
Research
- Tailoring interventions and future research for identified priority subpopulations, such as justice system–involved individuals in the community, and implementing policy measures addressing the SDOH that showed strong associations with suicide mortality, attempts, and ideation, such as gun licensing requirements, are critical to counteracting social and environmental forces that increase suicide risk. Read more here.
- Though all patients had contact with mental health services in the 12 months prior to death, patients with a recent onset of schizophrenia and other primary psychotic disorders were more commonly in recent contact with services at the time of death. They had fewer social and behavioral factors known to be common to suicide, suggesting lives recently disrupted by illness. Services should provide intensive support for patients who have been recently diagnosed, encouraging engagement and monitoring for deteriorating social factors. Read more here.
Transgender Issues
- Progressive California lawmakers have proposed a number of bills aimed at bolstering privacy protections for women, transgender people, and immigrants in response to such intrusions by anti-abortion groups, conservative states, and federal law enforcement agencies as President Donald Trump declares the nation “will be woke no longer” and flexes his executive power to roll back rights. Read more here.
Federal Policy
- Although the details will take months to iron out, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a report indicating that it was impossible for House Republicans to meet their goal of eliminating $880 billion in spending over the next 10 years from the committee that oversees Medicaid and Medicare without cutting from either of the social safety net programs. Medicaid provides health insurance for disabled and low-income people. Medicare insures seniors over 65. Read more here.
- The funding bill House Republican leaders released does not avert cuts for doctors who treat Medicare patients — a blow to Republicans who had pushed for the changes that also could risk alienating members whose support will be needed to pass the legislation. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), who co-chairs the GOP Doctors’ Caucus, said in recent months that Republican leadership was open to including the policy in the bill to keep the government funded through September, and that Trump administration officials had assured it would be addressed. Read more here.
- Physician and other health professional services should get an annual 1.3% increase in Medicare claims reimbursement, and Congress should set a separate safety-net payment averaging 1.7% more for clinicians serving low-income fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries. Read more here.
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