USA Today (4/9, Ollove) reports that 24 states have chosen “not to expand their Medicaid programs, offered under the Affordable Care Act,” thus leaving approximately “3.7 million Americans with serious mental illness, psychological distress or a substance abuse disorder without health insurance, according to a recent report from the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), a group that represents mental health professionals.” In those states that have expanded “Medicaid, about three million people who have those conditions and were uninsured are now eligible for coverage, according to the report.”

Related Links:

— “Nearly 4M mentally ill still lack insurance,”Michael Ollove, USA Today , April 8, 2014.

In a special piece and embedded video for Medscape (4/7), American Psychiatric Association president Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, of Columbia University, wrote about the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” legislation proposed by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), which “is a very important piece of legislation and would no doubt advance our field and serve our patients very well.”

According to Dr. Lieberman, the proposed measure “calls for the creation of an interagency coordinating committee on serious mental illness, which would comprise representation at the highest levels of government,” including the “Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Department of Justice, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Dr. Lieberman voiced his hope that it will gain Congressional and stakeholder group support.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The Washington Times (4/7, Wolfgang) reports that former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said Sunday that “the nation must prepare for growth in the number of veterans dealing with mental health issues and other challenges as they return from Iraq and Afghanistan.” On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mullen said that “it will be critical in the coming years for the US to do all it can to help the nation’s fighting men and women transition back into society,” adding, “I think our force, because it has been away so much, has not had to deal with those [mental health and other issues] as directly as they may have in the past and now that we’re going to be home more, I think we’re going to actually see an increased number of challenges associated with that.”

Related Links:

— “Military hitting the breaking point on mental health problems,” Ben Wolfgang, Washington Times, April 6, 2014.

Politico (4/4, Bade) reported that “mental health does not make gun control easier to talk about.” Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), author of mental health legislation and who chairs the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, “says the two topics – guns and mental health – should be addressed separately.” The congressman, who is a trained psychologist, “said linking gun control to mental health does a ‘disservice’ to the bigger problem at hand: trying to get people treatment.”

Related Links:

— “D.C. shift: Gun control to threat detection,” Rachael Bade, Politico, April 3, 2014.

Medscape (4/4, Brauser) reports that in order “to improve and reinvigorate the development of treatments for psychiatric disorders, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has made several changes to its funding policies for future clinical trials, according to a recent article (4/4) and a series of announcements published on the organization’s Web site.” Changes to the funding policies “include requiring that all new trials meet new efficiency, transparency, and reporting standards and that they must now examine possible mechanisms of action.”

American Psychiatric Association president Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, told Medscape Medical News that “he is particularly pleased with the NIMH’s commitment to having all new trials examine mechanisms.” Dr. Lieberman stated, “I think that model is a powerful and important one to emphasize.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)