Federal Mental Health Parity Law Taking Effect

After gaining interim final rule on July 14, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) has officially been enforced by the federal government, making health insurance coverage for mental health and addiction disorders parallel to coverage for other medical benefits. With the support of Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D) and former Congressman Jim Ramstad (R), the federal mental health parity law gained passage in the House. MHPAEA requires insurance companies that provide mental health benefits to make these benefits no different from the coverage for other medical benefits–including similar co-pays, deductibles, lifetime/annual limits, treatment limits, and out-of-network benefits–as of July 1, 2010.

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National Campaign Targets Mental Health Issues among Cultural Groups

In honor of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has announced its partnership with the Advertising Council to launch a new series of advertisements targeting specific cultural groups that have been underserved for mental health treatment. The public service campaigns that are aimed to open discussions and encourage mental health education among Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, African American, and Chinese American communities will appear in print and television advertisements.

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Studying Students’ Behavior in Ontario, Canada

For the first time, Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey Mental Health and Well-Being Report looked at “screen time,” or the amount of time students spend watching television or on the computer. The report found that nearly 10 percent of students in grades 7 to 12 spend an average of seven hours a day glued to computer or TV screens. The report also looked at how students rated their physical and mental health.

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Illinois Passes Law to Increase Veterans’ Access to Mental Health Care

Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois signed a new bill into law on July 8, 2010, that expands veterans’ services and accessibility to mental health care and coverage within the state. House Bill 6103, which won unanimous support in Illinois’ General Assembly and goes into effect immediately, exempts all Illinois veterans from being charged for services provided by any state mental health facility that are not covered under their own insurance plan.

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Army Experiencing Influx of Non-Deployable Soldiers Due to Mental Health Issues

After nine years in two ongoing wars, Army commanders are now more than ever being forced to leave behind thousands of soldiers declared unfit for duty due to not just injury and illness but also poor mental health. More than 13,000 active-duty Army soldiers have been found to be unfit for duty, according to a new report. With more soldiers becoming burnt out from an exhausting war, those at the front line are feeling the brunt of the crisis by having less help, more responsibilities, and surmounting anxiety.

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Model Mental Health Care Program Effective in Helping Inmates upon Release

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has published a new study on the success of a model program that helps individuals with serious mental illnesses enroll in Medicaid upon release from a correctional facility. The model assistance program took place in Oklahoma and was designed to strategically collate local, state, and federal resources to help enroll eligible inmates with mental illnesses in the Medicaid program upon the day of their discharge. At the end of SAMHSA’s study, Medicaid enrollment among this population increased by 15 percent. In general, the ability to obtain health care coverage for those who suffer mental illnesses and have a criminal history tends to be quite difficult. Yet SAMHSA’s model program efficiently increased the likelihood of ex-offenders accessing mental health services by eliminating obstacles for health insurance enrollment.

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Gulf States Seeking Mental Health Funding from BP for Affected Residents

BP PLC has yet to respond to a month-old request submitted by health department officials from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi to fund emergency mental health programs for community members affected by the BP oil spill. The states’ health departments predict a looming mental health care crisis caused by the oil spill disaster and are seeking millions of dollars from BP to help fund mental health programs and services to treat the Gulf population’s imminent health care needs.

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Study Finds Danish Children at Risk from Psychotropic Medications

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, have found that Danish children are at a high risk of experiencing adverse reactions to psychotropic medications. The study, published in the journal BMC Research, found that more than half of the 429 adverse reactions in Danish children under 17 between 1998 and 2007 were serious and several were birth defects, which suggests that pregnant women should be advised against taking psychotropic medications.

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Veterans with Substance Abuse Disorders More Likely to Commit Suicide by Violent Means

Of the more than 30,000 suicides that take place in America each year, approximately 20% of them are committed by veterans, according to the Secretary of U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA). It is well known that veterans face multiple mental health risks following combat duty—including depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, homelessness, and suicide—and the risk rates have surged for current and returning Afghanistan/Iraq war military personnel. However, new data on veterans’ mental health has revealed an even more alarming statistic among this demographic. A U.S. study, which will be published in July issue of the Journal on Studies of Alcohol and Drugs, shows that veterans diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder who commit suicide are more likely to do so by violent methods than by nonviolent methods.

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Anger and Aggressiveness Linked to Specific PTSD Symptoms in Veterans

A new study sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Veteran Affairs, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine reveals that focusing on particular symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may help health officials better treat anger and aggression issues among veterans returning home from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

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