The Kaiser Health News (8/14, Gold) reports that despite California’s “proactive stance…in enforcing” mental health parity laws, it is still “proving difficult to ensure mental patients truly have equal access to treatment,” as demonstrated by difficulties encountered by Kaiser Permanente patients that resulted in fines against the health maintenance organization and actions taken by the California Department of Managed Health Care (DHMC). Problems achieving mental health parity are not just restricted to Kaiser, however. Last year, the DMHC found that “of 26 managed care insurers…zero were able to prove that they were fully in compliance.” Randall Hagar, director of government relations for the California Psychiatric Association, said that “after many years of ‘abysmal’ enforcement, ‘now we have regulators who seem to be enthusiastic.’” Still, problems remain, because “access to care…is also an issue of capacity.” There are simply not enough mental health professionals to serve everyone who needs help.

Related Links:

— “Achieving Mental Health Parity: Slow Going Even In ‘Pace Car’ State,” Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News, August 13, 2015.

The New York Times (8/12, Reynolds) “Well” blog reported that a study published last month in PLoS One suggests that “overall, ‘a small dose of exercise’ may be sufficient to improve many aspects of thinking and more sweat may not provide noticeably more cognitive benefit,” although it will improve aerobic fitness. The study of “101 sedentary older adults, at least 65 years of age,” revealed that “briskly walking for 20 or 25 minutes several times a week” appeared to be enough to help keep “brains sharp as the years pass.”

Related Links:

— “The Right Dose of Exercise for the Aging Brain,” Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times, August 12, 2015.

Bloomberg News (8/13, Tracer) reports that after years of shifting more healthcare costs to employees, “companies are slowing their adoption of high-deductible plans next year, according to a survey of more than 100 large US employers.” About 33 percent of business will offer high-deductible plans as the only option next year, up just one percentage point over this year, according to the survey from the National Business Group on Health. Bloomberg News adds that the relief “could be temporary,” however, as companies are waiting to see if Congress will repeal the ACA’s so-called Cadillac tax on high-cost health plans.

CNBC (8/13) reports that the Cadillac tax “is imposed on the employer or the insurer that administers the health plan, but benefits analysts said the costs will likely be shifted to workers especially at smaller companies.” The article notes the levy goes into effect in 2018.

Related Links:

— “Companies Slow Down Shift of Health Costs to Workers,” Zachary Tracer Richard Rubin, Bloomberg News, August 12, 2015.

On its front page, the Washington Post (8/13, A1, Bernstein) reports that one of the “most heartbreaking developments” in the nation’s “heroin epidemic” has been a “sharp rise” in the number of newborns exposed to heroin, leading to a quadrupling of the rate of neonatal abstinence syndrome over the past nine years, up to 2.7 percent of all NICU admissions. In addition, the cost to care for these children “has also soared” to $53,000 on average in 2009.

Related Links:

— “When life begins in rehab: A baby heals after a mother’s heroin addiction,” Lenny Bernstein, Washington Post, August 12, 2015.

US News & World Report (8/12, Leonard) reported that mental health reform legislation pending in Congress has some critics who “point to portions that would loosen the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act – a 1996 measure known as HIPAA that was intended to ensure patient privacy.” In addition, some critics “flag incentives for what’s called ‘assisted outpatient treatment,’ in which a judge can order someone with a serious mental illness – including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder – to follow a treatment plan that may include medication.” But, “John Snook, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, which supports outpatient assisted treatment, pointed to the fact that several groups have recognized it as a treatment option, including the…Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration.”

Related Links:

— “Would Mental Health Laws Threaten Privacy and Patients’ Rights?,” Kimberly Leonard, US News & World Report, August 12, 2015.

HealthDay (8/12, Preidt) reports, “Women with a mental health disorder taking commonly prescribed” selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) “antidepressants during pregnancy appear to have fewer delivery complications,” according to research published online Aug. 4 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association. After examining “data from more than 845,000 single births in Finland between 1996 and 2010,” researchers found that expectant mothers taking SSRIs were less likely to give birth prematurely or undergo a cesarean delivery. The infants born to these women, however, “may have a higher risk of problems, such as breathing issues.”

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants During Pregnancy Have Benefits, Risks: Study,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 11, 2015.

The Washington Post (8/11, Kunkle) reports that the Food and Drug Administration gave de novo marketing approval to Cerebral Assessment Systems’ Cognivue, “a cognitive-assessment tool that functions somewhat like a video game” and “can detect subtle lapses in the brain’s perceptual ability that may signal the early stages of mental decline caused by dementia.” The device is for medical professional use only and “is not intended to be a standalone diagnostic tool.”

Related Links:

— “FDA approves tool for diagnosing dementia in a doctor’s office,” Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, August 10, 2015.

Noting that medical marijuana was legalized in California in 1996, the Pittsburgh Business Times (8/11, Mamula) “Morning Edition” blog reports that a study at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health found that “the number of marijuana dispensaries in a given area of California was a predictor of marijuana-related hospitalizations, abuse and dependence on the drug.” According to the article, “The study found that hospitalizations with marijuana abuse or dependence codes increased to 68,408 in 2012 from 17,469 in 2001, with more than 85 percent of marijuana-related hospitalizations coded as abuse rather than dependence.” The findings were published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence and the project was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Related Links:

— “Pitt study: Marijuana dispensaries related to abuse, dependence,” Kris B. Mamula, Pittsburgh Business Times, August 10, 2015.

In the US News & World Report (8/11) “Policy Dose” opinion blog, psychiatrist Lloyd Sederer, MD, medical director of the New York State Office of Mental Health, writes that the US is now “witnessing a surge in legislation that could improve the lives of people with serious mental illness, their families and even the safety of our communities.” Dr. Sederer discusses mental health reform legislation now pending before Congress, observing, “All this focus and attention is good and likely necessary to move what has been near federal paralysis on mental health care reform.”

Related Links:

— “America Wakes Up to Mental Health,” Lloyd Sederer, US News & World Report, August 11, 2015.

The New York Times (8/8, Grady, Subscription Publication) reports that many of the more than 13,000 survivors of the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa are facing ongoing health issues along with psychological problems ranging from depression to PTSD. About 50 percent of survivors are reporting “chronic joint pain that is often severe enough to prevent them from working,” according to WHO senior consultant Dr. Daniel Bausch. Additional ongoing problems include “persistent headaches, extreme fatigue and difficulty concentrating,” and about 25 percent of survivors have various eye problems, with some reporting lost vision or complete blindness.

Related Links:

— “Ebola Survivors Face Lingering Pain, Fatigue and Depression,” Denise Grady, New York Times, August 7, 2015.