HealthDay (4/23, Preidt) reports that research published April 21 in Circulation: Heart Failure suggests that “depression seems to increase the risk of hospitalization and death in black heart failure patients.” In the large study, investigators found that “even moderate depressive symptoms appeared to boost the risk of hospitalization or death for black patients.”

Related Links:

— “Depression Tied to Worse Outcomes for Black Patients With Heart Failure,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 22, 2015.

In a 2,050-word piece, Kaiser Health News (4/23, Gorman) reports, “Because they may not see depression as a brain disease or fear stigma, many Asian immigrant families don’t reach out for help until there is a crisis, experts say.” Even when families seek help, “they often find both medication and psychotherapy a poor fit.” When it comes to the treatment of depression in teenagers, “parents sometimes stand in the way…intentionally or not, because of the high standards they set.” Ranna Parekh, MD, director of the American Psychiatric Association’s division of diversity and health equity, said, “It takes a few generations before they can finally be free.”

Related Links:

— “When Depression And Cultural Expectations Collide,”Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News , April 22, 2015.

Major domestic and British newspapers, wire sources, and Internet medical outlets cover a study demonstrating no association between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, not even in children at high risk for autism.

The Wall Street Journal (4/22, Whalen, Subscription Publication) reports that a study published April 21 in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals no association between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children.

The Los Angeles Times (4/22, Healy) “Science Now” blog reports that the “study of nearly 100,000 children found that toddlers known to have an elevated risk of autism were no more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder if they” received the MMR vaccine than if they did not. In addition, “the diagnosis rate for high-risk children who were vaccinated was the same as for immunized children with no family history of the disorder.” By failing to find any association “between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorders…in children with an older sibling who had the disease, the study leaves no doubt that the two are not connected, experts said.”

Related Links:

— “Another Study Shows No Link Between MMR Vaccine and Autism,”Jaenne Whalen, The Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2015.

The New York Times (4/21, A14, Pear, Subscription Publication) reports that the Medicare bill signed last week by President Obama will end the imprinting of Social Security numbers on Medicare cards. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX), who pushed for the change, said, “The Social Security number is the key to identity theft, and thieves are having a field day with seniors’ Medicare cards.” Congress provided $320 million over four years to pay for the change. The Times adds that the inspector general of Social Security in 2008 called for immediate action to remove Social Security from Medicare cards, but HHS has “lagged behind other federal agencies” in removing the numbers from identification cards, the Government Accountability Office said.

Related Links:

— “New Cards for Medicare Recipients Will Omit Social Security Numbers,”Robert Pear, The New York Times, April 20, 2015.

The Washington Examiner (4/20, Cunningham) reported that Medicaid plans got an “initial roadmap from the federal government earlier this month, with a rule proposing directions for how they should conform to a 2008 law known as mental health parity.” The law requires insurers to cover mental health services on the same level as physical health services. Notably, the rule does not lift “a longstanding federal ban on using federal Medicaid dollars for stays in private psychiatric hospitals and state mental hospitals.” According to the article, this “has some mental health advocates worried, amid recent concerns that the seriously mentally ill are getting marginalized.” Harsh Trivedi, MD, chairman of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Healthcare Systems and Financing, “said the APA wants the final rule to be clearer on exactly how insurers must ensure parity for long-term care for” people with mental illnesses.

Related Links:

— “Psych wards not covered by Medicaid mental health rule,”Paige Cunningham, The Washington Examiner, April 20, 2015.