An analysis piece published in the Journal of the American Medical Association contradicts the perception that an aging population is responsible for raising US healthcare costs. Rather, the analysis points to the burden of chronic diseases, not just in seniors but also in people under the age of 65. The analysis also reveals that despite the huge amounts of money it spends on healthcare, the US system lags behind healthcare systems in other countries in producing better outcomes.

Bloomberg News (11/13, Pettypiece) reports that, according to an analysis piecepublished in the Nov. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, “the $2.7 trillion US health-care system lags behind other nations in improving its citizens’ health even as spending has doubled, increasing faster than any other industry over the past decade.”

Related Links:

— “Health Gains in U.S. Slow Even as Costs Rise, Study Finds, “Shannon Pettypiece, Bloomberg News, November 12, 2013.

The AP (11/12, Baldor) reports that, according to officials from the Department of Defense, US military suicides across all branches of the service “have dropped by more than 22 percent this year.” The drop has occurred “amid an array of new programs targeting what the Defense Department calls an epidemic that took more service members’ lives last year than the war in Afghanistan did during that same period.” Nevertheless, officials with the military expressed reluctance “to pin the decline on the broad swath of detection and prevention efforts, acknowledging that they still don’t fully understand why troops take their own lives,” particularly since some suicides occur in service members who have never been deployed to battle.

Modern Healthcare (11/12, Robeznieks, Subscription Publication) reports that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) “says moves by UnitedHealthcare and other insurance companies to drop physicians from Medicare Advantage networks may impede the Obama administration’s goals for healthcare reform.” In aletter (pdf) to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the APA, along with 80 other physician groups, wrote, “The timing of the network modifications, the lack of accurate and reliable information, and lack of network transparency has significant negative ramifications for the administration’s goal of reducing fragmentation of patient care.” The letter cites evidence that the “proposed modification will disrupt long-established patient-physician relationships, interfere with existing physician referral networks, and undermine emergency department coverage in many hospitals.”

Related Links:

— “Apnewsbreak: Military Suicides Drop; Unclear Why, “Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press, November 11, 2013.

NBC News (11/11, Dahl) reports on a study published in the journal Pediatrics finding that PG-13 movies of recent release “contain more violence than the R-rated films of the 1980s,” with gun violence having “tripled since 1985.” The study was based on a review of “945 popular films released from 1950 to 2012.”

The Washington Post (11/11, Dennis) reports that gun violence in PG-13 movies “more than tripled since the rating was introduced in the mid-1980s.” The reviewers “excluded violence not intended to harm anyone, such as accidents and run-of-the-mill sports aggression.” They concluded that “violence in films had more than doubled since 1950.”

The New York Times (11/11, Cieply, Subscription Publication) reports that gun violence appears “more than twice an hour in the best sellers” in both PG-13- and R-rated movies. The review’s “authors called for changes to the ratings system, which, according to some of its critics, is tougher on sex than on violence.”

Related Links:

— “PG-13 movies are now more violent than R-rated ’80s flicks -study, “Melissa Dahl, NBC News, November 11, 2013.

In a move that garnered extensive media coverage over the weekend, the Washington Post (11/9, Somashekhar) reported that the Obama Administration fulfilled a promise Friday when it issued a final rule on parity in mental health and substance-abuse treatment, a rule long in the making that also is part of the Administration’s response to mass shootings and mental illness. HHS Secretary Sebelius said in announcing the rule Friday, “For way too long, the healthcare system has openly discriminated against Americans with behavioral health problems. In the past, it was legal for insurance companies to treat these disorders differently than medical and surgical needs,” but “we are finally closing those gaps in coverage.” The rule will give patients information on insurance treatment standards and will provide coverage typical of any physical condition for some “gray-area treatments.” The rules will apply to almost all forms of insurance.

APA Applauds Final Rule. Modern Healthcare (11/8, Subscription Publication) reported that advocates for people with mental illnesses praised Friday’s “long-awaited” final rule on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 “requiring insurers to cover mental healthcare on the same basis as physical healthcare services.” Modern Healthcare quoted American Psychiatric Association president Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, who said, “The final rule provides a crucial step forward to ensure that patients receive the benefits they deserve and are entitled to under the law.”

Related Links:

— “Insurers directed to treat mental health issues the same as physical ailments, “Sandhya Somashekhar, The Washington Post, November 8, 2013.

Medscape (11/8, Brauser) reports that, according to a 30-study review published in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, “even low levels of physical activity may reduce the risk of developing depression.” In fact, 25 of the “30 large studies examined in the systematic review, which included participants between the ages of 11 and 100 years” found “a ‘negative risk’…between baseline physical activity (PA) and the future development of depression.”