In continuing coverage, ABC World News (3/18, story 2, 1:55, Muir) broadcast that on Sunday night, attorneys for 38-year-old Sergeant Robert Bales, the US soldier accused of murdering 16 Afghan civilians, “are arriving at Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas and plan to meet with him face to face for the very first time.” ABC, which noted that Bales could be facing a lifetime prison sentence or the death penalty, showed military law expert Charles Gittens saying post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) “could be a mitigating circumstance that could cause a jury to determine that the death penalty is not appropriate” for Bales. ABC added, “Getting an acquittal by reason of insanity and blaming it on post-traumatic stress is almost unheard of in military court. But Bales has a creative, high-profile legal team and this will not likely be a typical case.”

Many Americans Seem WilIing To Believe There Is Explanation Behind Killings. An AP (3/19, Breed) story run by at least 250 publications reports that many Americans “seem willing to believe that a 10-year US military veteran, worn down by four tours of combat and perhaps suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, simply snapped. That somehow there must be, if not an excuse, at least an explanation” for why Bales may have killed 16 Afghan civilians.

Bloomberg News (3/19, Robison, Nash, Vekshin) notes that a US official “has said family stress and alcohol may have combined to prompt the shootings” that Bales is alleged to have committed. Bloomberg adds, “Friends, neighbors and experts in post-traumatic stress disorder contend that something else must have driven a man they know as unfailingly polite to such horrific acts.” And Harry Croft, MD, “a former Army doctor who has reviewed about 7,000 cases” of PTSD, said, “To kill innocent women and children indicates to me that something happened during these killings that was simply more than the product of PTSD.”

Rieckhoff Hopes Killings Will Lead To More Help For Vets Returning From War. During an appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press (3/18, 10:58 a.m. ET) Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Of America Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff said mental health problems and unemployment are two issues facing vets returning from war. He added, “This country has been disconnected at an unprecedented level.” And, Rieckhoff said, if the recent killing of 16 Afghan civilians forces the American public “to really take note of that and get involved and do something about it, well then that’s a good thing. Let’s have that conversation.”

Related Links:

— “Bales Faced Losing Houses as He Fought 6,700 Miles Away,”Peter Robison, Bloomberg, March 19, 2012.

The Washington Post (3/16, Moyer) reports that Washington, DC, “JM-4 in DC Superior Court” is the “home of a 14-month-old juvenile court intended to help minors with mental health problems avoid the harsh consequences and limited rehabilitation opportunities in the juvenile system. Known formally as the juvenile mental health diversion court,” the new court appears to be reducing the recidivism rate of certain crimes among minors. “A report from the DC Department of Mental Health showed that 56 juveniles enrolled in diversion in 2011. Eight, or 14 percent, were rearrested, compared with 40 percent in regular court. Nationally, the re-arrest rate is 60 percent, according to the report.”

Related Links:

— “At D.C. Superior Court program, a focus on helping minors with mental health problems,”Justin Moyer, The Washington Post, March 15, 2012.

According to the Army News Service (3/16, Lopez), the US Army “will offer 285 service members a chance to have their mental health diagnoses re-evaluated,” after having their diagnoses “changed…to something other” than post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The service members were part of a group of approximately 1,600 service members who “received medical care at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.” The Army News Service adds, “‘What we’re looking at is wanting to make sure that our service members received the best care possible,’ said Surgeon General of the Army Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, before the House Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee, March 8.”

Related Links:

— “Army OKs second look at 1,600 mental health cases, “C. Todd Lopez , .Ft Leaven Worth Lamp., March 15, 2012.

According to the Washington Post (3/16, Jaffe), the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has “reversed its decision to deny a life insurance claim to a Marine who committed suicide in 2010 following a long and largely hidden struggle” with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Marine Maj. Jeff Hackett “was the subject of a front-page story last month in The Washington Post that chronicled his troubles and the VA’s decision to deny the $400,000 claim to his widow and four sons.” In an interview, Hackett’s widow “said she was overwhelmed by the news, and grateful that the VA was able to ‘actually look at a problem and try to fix it.'”

Related Links:

— “Widow of Marine who committed suicide to receive life insurance claim, “Greg Jaffe , The Washington Post, March 15, 2012.

The Los Angeles Times (3/16, Roan) “Booster Shots” blog reports, “Abuse in childhood appears to be a particularly strong risk factor for developing alcohol addiction later in life,” according to a study published online March 15 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. “Researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse surveyed 196 men and women who were inpatients being treated for alcohol dependence.” Notably, nearly “one-quarter of men and 33% of women reported a history of childhood physical abuse, while rates of sexual abuse were 12% for men and 49% for women.”

HealthDay (3/16, Preidt) points out, “Previous studies have found that alcoholics have higher self-reported rates of physical and sexual abuse in childhood than people in the general population, Markus Heilig, clinical director at the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a journal news release.”

Related Links:

— “Abuse in childhood common among alcohol addicts, study finds,”Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times , March 15, 2012.

The WUSF-TV Tampa, FL (3/15, O’Brien) website notes that Florida lawmakers have passed a bill that “authorizes each judicial circuit to set up a Veterans’ Court or program to handle the cases of veterans with psychological problems,” like substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, “or traumatic brain injury as a result of their military service.” WUSF adds, “Four Veterans Courts are already operating in Florida and will serve as a blueprint for other jurisdictions that have seen an increase of military veterans involved in the justice system.”

Related Links:

— “Florida Lawmakers Authorize Veterans’ Courts, “Bobbie O’Brien, wusf, March 14, 2012.

CQ (3/15, Bristol, Subscription Publication) reports, “Health and Human Services officials haven’t issued final regulations for mental health parity because they want the requirements for such coverage to be part of the health care law implementation, the agency’s Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Sherry Glied said Wednesday.” Glied said, “I don’t think it’s a hold-up around parity. Implementing the health care law includes ‘the challenge of building this regulatory infrastructure around the insurance industry that should incorporate [mental health benefits].'” She added, “Mental health should no longer stand out there as a separate thing. It should be part of the fabric of what we do.”

In continuing coverage, the Los Angeles Times (3/15, Gorman) reports that “California will receive funds to expand emergency psychiatric care, part of a national push to get mentally ill patients out of hospital emergency rooms and into psychiatric facilities, the federal government announced this week.” The Times quotes Marilyn Tavenner, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as saying that “treating psychiatric patients in ERs is not an ‘efficient use of healthcare dollars, and may be detrimental to vulnerable patients.'”

The Bangor Daily News (3/15, Cuda) reports that “the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that 11 states — including Maine — and the District of Columbia will participate in the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration.” The Daily News quotes Tavenner as saying that “this new demonstration will help ensure patients receive appropriate, high quality care when they need it most and save states money.”

MedPage Today (3/15, Walker) reports that “the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a new demonstration project aimed at Medicaid beneficiaries who experience psychiatric emergencies.” The story adds that the new program is part of the Affordable Care Act and “will test whether Medicaid beneficiaries receive faster, more appropriate care when psychiatric institutions receive Medicaid reimbursement.”

Related Links:

— “California to get funds for emergency psychiatric care, “Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2012.

In continuing coverage, the Atlantic (3/10, Entin) reported, “A follow-up study to 2004 research, which had noted an increased risk of suicide among people taking certain antidepressants, particularly children and adolescents, has now reached a different conclusion. Contrary to earlier results, the new study,” published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, “found that when the antidepressant prescribed is a good fit for the individual, there’s a lower risk of suicide. The new study’s results were especially strong for adults and the elderly. Though there was no decrease in suicide risk among children and adolescents, there was also no increase.”

Related Links:

— “Can Antidepressants Actually Make Us More Likely to Commit Suicide? The Atlantic, March 9, 2012.

Bloomberg News (3/11, Ratnam, Cortez) reported, “Some in the military have questioned whether the name ‘post-traumatic stress disorder,’ designated by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980, carries its own stigma that discourages service members from seeking help and brands them as unstable.” Now, “as an alternative to changing the name, the psychiatric association is considering creating a separate category for PTSD that results from combat stress, said John Oldham, the group’s president and chief of staff at the Menninger Clinic in Houston. The new combat category may be included next year in the fifth edition of the association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).”

Related Links:

— “Pentagon tries Walmart therapy to combat PTSD, “Gopal Ratnam, The Bulletin, March 11, 2012.