The Los Angeles Times (8/4, A1, Zarembo) reports that “disability awards for PTSD have grown nearly fivefold over the last 13 years,” and with them, “concerns that many veterans might be exaggerating or lying to win benefits” have grown as well. Veterans with PTSD “can receive up to $3,000 a month tax-free, making the disorder the biggest contributor to the growth of a disability system in which payments have more than doubled to $49 billion since 2002.” The Times notes that since “the diagnosis relies mainly on what patients report, it is easy to exaggerate,” adding that on online forums, veterans even trade advice “on how to behave in their disability evaluations.”

Related Links:

— “As disability awards grow, so do concerns with veracity of PTSD claims,” Alan Zerembo, Los Angeles Times, August 3, 2014.

The Gadsden (AL) Times (8/2) editorialized, “The American Psychiatric Association predicted a shortage of about 22,000 child psychiatrists and 2,900 geriatric psychiatrists by” 2015. Meanwhile, “the US Department of Health and Human Services designated 4,000 Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas in the nation,” including all 67 counties in the state of Alabama.

The Times concluded that “when a shortage of trained professionals numbering in the tens of thousands is expected within a year, and when every county in a state is facing a shortage of services, ‘crisis’ is not a strong enough word.”

Related Links:

— “OUR VIEW: Alabama faces crisis in mental health care,” The Gadsen Times, August 1, 2014.

The New York Times (8/2, Graham) reported that a study presented to the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry found “older adults contemplating suicide do not cite depression as the primary reason.” Rather, more often reasons for suicidal ideation included “struggles with illness, disability, financial concerns, family difficulties and bereavement.” The conclusions suggest “treatment of depression alone may not be sufficient to reduce suicide rates among the elderly.”

Related Links:

— “Many Problems Lead to Thoughts of Suicide, Study Finds,” Judith Graham, New York Times, August 1, 2014.

The AP (8/4, Rubinkam) reports on “the hazards mental health professionals face on the job.” Mental health professionals “are at far greater risk of assault than workers as a whole, an occupational hazard at the best of times and one that’s been made worse by a persistent lack of funding for mental health services, the loss of thousands of inpatient psychiatric beds and the increasing use of hospitals to temporarily house criminals with mental illness.”

Safety guidelines published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for healthcare workers, including mental health professionals, recommend “metal detectors, enclosed nurses’ stations, multiple exits, furniture bolted to the floor in crisis treatment rooms, curved mirrors at hallway intersections and a variety of other steps.”

Related Links:

— “Hospital Killing Shows Safety Gap in Mental Health,” Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press, August 3, 2014.

The Hill (8/1, Cox) “Floor Action” blog reports that last night, the Senate approved HR 4631, the Autism CARES Act, a measure reauthorizing “federal support for autism programs.” The bill “requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate an official to oversee national autism spectrum disorder…research.” In addition, it “extends autism education programs through 2019.” The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.

Related Links:

— “Senate passes autism bill,” Ramsey Cox, The Hill, July 31, 2014.