The AP (1/11, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that that Obama Administration proposed removing from Medicare “special protections that guarantee seniors access to a wide selection of three types of drugs.” The medications, “antidepressants, antipsychotics and drugs that suppress the immune system to prevent the rejection of a transplanted organs,” have enjoyed “protected” status, but removing that status could save millions of dollars per year and help prevent the overprescribing of antipsychotics in senior care facilities. Critics are concerned that the rule, published in Friday’s Federal Register, could negatively affect patient care. Medscape (1/13) also reports.

The Time (1/11, Sifferlin) “Healthland” blog reported that a study published online Jan. 11 in the Journal of Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics “found that among parents of 600 children between ages two and five with autism (453) and developmental delays (125), 40% reported using homeopathic remedies, mind-body medicine, melatonin and probiotics in an attempt to relieve some of their children’s symptoms and even prevent some of the condition’s behavioral problems from progressing.”

Medscape (1/12, Roach) reported that the study authors noted that “8.6% of the children with an autism spectrum disorder received complementary treatments that are invasive, disproven, or potentially unsafe (e.g., chelation, intravenous immunoglobulin, antifungal drugs, and vitamin B12 injections).” The study received funding from the National Institutes of Health, among others.

Related Links:

— “Autism and Alternative Medicine: Getting Real About the Benefits and Risks, “Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, January 11, 2014.

The MedPage Today (1/10, Gever) “Striking a Nerve” blog reports that certain anti-seizure medications are safer for the developing fetus during pregnancy than others, “with valproate probably the biggest no-no,” as evidenced by a studypublished online in the journal Neurology that compared language and cognitive development of youngsters born to mothers with epilepsy who took valproate, levetiracetam, or no anti-seizure medication at all during pregnancy. Kids whose moms took valproate during pregnancy had an increased risk for such problems, compared to kids whose moms took levetiracetam or no medication at all. Currently, because there is no set “algorithm for deciding which [medication] is best for a given patient,” the “decision still comes down to the individual clinician’s judgment and the patient’s tolerance for risk to herself and her unborn child.”

Related Links:

— “Striking a Nerve: Epilepsy Drugs in Pregnancy, “John Gever, MedPage Today, January 9, 2014.

The New York Times (1/10, Carrns, Subscription Publication) “Your Money” column reports that the Affordable Care Act and rules to fully implement the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 are expected to provide improvements and greater availability of “insurance coverage for mental conditions and addictions.” The ACA “includes mental health care and substance abuse treatment among its 10 ‘essential’ benefits, which means plans sold on the public health care exchanges must include coverage.” What’s more, “the parity law says that when health insurance plans provide coverage for mental ailments, it must be comparable to coverage for physical ailments.”

Related Links:

— “Understanding New Rules That Widen Mental Health Coverage, “Ann Carrns , The New York Times, January 9, 2014.

In a front-page story, USA Today (1/10, A1, Zoroya) reports that according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, “young veterans just out of the service and receiving health care from the government committed suicide at nearly three times the rate of active-duty troops in recent years.” According to USA Today, “Veterans ages 18-24 enrolled in the VA’s health program killed themselves at a rate of 46 per 100,000 in 2009 and nearly 80 per 100,000 in 2011,” while “non-veterans of the same age had a suicide rate during 2009 and 2010…of about 20 per 100,000.”

Related Links:

— “Young vets’ suicide rate alarming, ” Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, January 9, 2014.