NBC News (5/18, Lovelace) reported, “A growing number of older adults say they can’t afford their prescription medications, a study…found.” Investigators found that approximately “1 in 5 adults ages 65 and up either skipped, delayed, took less medication than was prescribed, or took someone else’s medication last year because of concerns about cost.” These “findings were based on a national survey taken by more than 2,000 older adults from June 2022 through September 2022.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “1 in 5 older adults skipped or delayed medications last year because of cost ” Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, May 18, 2023

According to Health Exec (5/19, Murphy), a “new Crowe report, ‘Time for a Commercial Break,’” indicated that “it took commercial payors three months or longer to pay 31% of inpatient claims submitted in the first quarter of 2023; this was the case for just 12% of claims submitted to Medicare.” Health Exec added, “Crowe – a public accounting, consulting and technology firm – derived its data from financial transactions at 1,800 hospitals and 200,000 physicians across the” US.

Related Links:

— “‘Forced to jump through hoops’: Commercial insurers are making life harder for physicians “Hannah Murphy, Health Exec , May 19, 2023

The Hill (5/19, Migdon) reported, “Health care organizations including Planned Parenthood are suspending gender-affirming medical care in Florida to comply with a new state law that bans transition-related care for transgender minors and places heavy restrictions on care for adults.” According to The Hill, “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)…on Wednesday signed legislation immediately prohibiting health care professionals from administering puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and surgeries to transgender minors.” Individuals “who violate the law risk being convicted of a third-degree felony crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Florida’s criminal code.”

Related Links:

— “Florida health care providers are pausing gender-affirming care for adults “Brooke Migdon, The Hill, May 19, 2023

HealthDay (5/19, Solomon) reported, “Poor verbal memory increases the risk for psychiatric hospitalization among individuals with affective disorders,” investigators concluded in a study that “included 518 individuals with bipolar or major depressive disorder in national registers, followed for up to 11 years from 2009 to 2020.” The findings were published in the April issue of the journal eClinicalMedicine.

Related Links:

— “Poor Verbal Memory Tied to Psychiatric Hospitalization With Affective Disorders “Lori Solomon, HealthDay, May 19, 2023

NBC News (5/18, Pettypiece) reports, “Republicans and Democrats appear to be at a stalemate over a GOP proposal to tie eligibility for Medicaid…to a certain number of hours worked each month.” According to “the Republican plan…Medicaid recipients would have to document 80 hours a month of work…or log hours doing community service or participating in a work training program.” Medicaid “recipients would lose their coverage if they don’t meet the hourly or monthly income requirements for three consecutive months during the year.” The piece mentions that “six major medical groups, including…the American Psychiatric Association, issued a statement opposing Medicaid work requirements, arguing it would increase medical debt for patients and add barriers to care while driving up costs for states and not improving employment rates.”

Related Links:

— “The debt ceiling debate could put health insurance in jeopardy for millions ” Shannon Pettypiece, NBC News, May 18, 2023

HealthDay (5/18, Murez) reports, “Teens who use electronic cigarettes are significantly more likely than non-vapers to binge-drink and use cannabis, new research finds.” Surveys of teens between the ages of 13 and 18 indicate “that vapers were 20 times more likely to use marijuana than teens who used no nicotine products.” Moreover, “those who vaped in the previous month were six times more likely to have had multiple binge-drinking episodes in the previous two weeks.” These connections “were even stronger for kids who smoked traditional cigarettes and vaped.” The findings were published in Substance Use and Misuse.

Related Links:

— “Vaping Could Up Teens’ Odds for Marijuana Use, Binge Drinking “Cara Murez, HealthDay , May 18, 2023

The Washington Post (5/17, Ovalle) reports, “Drug overdose deaths in the United States plateaued in 2022 but still topped 105,000,” according to “provisional data released” May 17 by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The data reveal that “105,452 people succumbed to overdoses in 2022, a number poised to increase as more deaths are reported by state agencies.” This “death count mirrors 2021, when drugs such as illicit fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamines killed more than 107,000 people – a stunning record high in U.S. history.”

According to the AP (5/17, Stobbe), experts remain unsure, however, whether the plateau in 2022 “means the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in U.S. history is finally reaching a peak, or whether it’ll look like previous plateaus that were followed by new surges in deaths.” Last year, “most overdose deaths continued to be linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (5/17) reports, “Inflation is causing a significant amount of stress for most Americans, especially women and people who are socioeconomically more vulnerable,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from the Household Pulse Survey collected from September 2022 to February 2023 by the U.S. Census Bureau.” Some 370,000 people took part in that survey. The findings were published online May 15 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Most Americans Feeling Stressed About Inflation, Survey Shows, Psychiatric News, May 17, 2023

Kaiser Health News (5/17, Rosenthal) reports, “In the past few years, 10,000 to 20,000 apps have stampeded into the mental health space, offering to ‘disrupt’ traditional therapy,” and now, “with the frenzy around AI innovations like ChatGPT, the claim that chatbots can provide mental healthcare is on the horizon.” Still, “in the mental health space, evidence of effectiveness is lacking.” In fact, “few of the many apps on the market have independent outcomes research showing they help; most haven’t been scrutinized at all by the FDA.” Even though they are “marketed to treat conditions such as anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and depression, or to predict suicidal tendencies, many warn users (in small print) that they are ‘not intended to be medical, behavioral health or other healthcare service’ or ‘not an FDA cleared product.’”

Related Links:

— “An AI Chatbot May Be Your Next Therapist. Will It Actually Help Your Mental Health? “Elisabeth Rosenthal, Kaiser Health News, May 17, 2023

CNN (5/17, McPhillips) reports, “Depression is more widespread than ever in the United States, according to” new survey data from Gallup that indicated that “about 18% of adults – more than one in six – say they are depressed or receiving treatment for depression.” Additionally, “nearly three in 10 adults have been clinically diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetime, according to the survey, which is also a record high.” The findings emphasize the “undeniable toll” taken on mental health by the Covid-19 pandemic. Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD, “president of the American Psychiatric Association, which was not involved in the new research,” stated, “The fact that Americans are more depressed and struggling after this time of incredible stress and isolation is perhaps not surprising.” Dr. Brendel added, “There are lingering effects on our health, especially our mental health, from the past three years that disrupted everything we knew.”

STAT (5/17, Owermohle, Subscription Publication) reports that “the Gallup survey of more than 5,000 adults in late February indicates that depression, already labeled a crisis among children amid Covid-19 shutdowns and social media use, is much more widespread.” In particular, “depression rates have sharply risen among women and Black and Hispanic people.” These “data come as the Biden administration tries to overhaul mental healthcare costs and boost the number of healthcare workers licensed to practice behavioral health care.” In this year’s budget, Congress “also allotted hundreds of millions of dollars to mental health care grants and programs, many of them trained on children or substance misuse.” Also covering the story are The Hill (5/17, Sforza) and Forbes (5/17, Japsen).

Related Links:

— “More than 1 in 6 adults have depression as rates rise to record levels in the US, survey finds “Deidre McPhillips, CNN, May 17, 2023