The AP (3/15, Seitz, Miller) reports that on Wednesday, President Biden “said his administration was focused ‘intensely’ on lowering health care costs.” Speaking in Las Vegas, Biden discussed how the Administration is rolling out provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act “that cap the price of insulin, make most vaccines free and allow the federal government to negotiate deals on a handful of pharmaceutical drugs for Medicare enrollees.”

Related Links:

— “Biden says he’s focused ‘intensely’ on lowering drug costs “Amanda Seitz and Zeke Miller, AP , March 15, 2023

Psychiatric News (3/15) reports, “Individuals with gender dysphoria who lived in California were significantly more likely to undergo gender-affirming surgery following the 2013 implementation of a state law prohibiting insurance discrimination against gender-affirming care compared with those living in Arizona and Washington, where no such law exists,” according to new research examining 25,252 transgender and gender-diverse patients in California, Washington, and Arizona. The findings were published online March 14 in JAMA.

Related Links:

— “California Insurance Law Linked to Increase in Gender-Affirming Surgery, Psychiatric News, March 15, 2023

Healio (3/14, Burba) reports, “Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 during the first 3 months of the pandemic had a twofold higher risk for developing alcohol use disorder, likely driven by anxiety and fear surrounding the pandemic, according to new research.” The findingswere published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “New-onset alcohol use disorder spiked in first 3 months of COVID-19 pandemic “Kate Burba, Healio, March 14, 2023

Psychiatric News (3/14) provides coverage of new research comprising 318 women highlighting “some of the impact that worries about COVID-19 may have had on the mental health of women and their offspring.” Researchers observed that “COVID-19-related stress was significantly associated with maternal postpartum distress, depression, and GAD [general anxiety disorder] as well as infant negative affectivity, even when controlling for COVID-19 risk reported during the pandemic.” The findings were published online March 14 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “COVID-19 Stress During Pregnancy Associated With Worse Postpartum Outcomes, Psychiatric News, March 14, 2023

mHealth Intelligence (3/14, Vaidya) reports “telehealth-delivered behavioral health services spiked 45-fold since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from market research firm Trilliant Health.” The data show that “by the second quarter of 2022, behavioral health visit volumes were 18 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels.” Furthermore, “demand for these services grew faster than the national average in nine of the 10 largest metropolitan core-based statistical areas.”

Related Links:

— “Virtual Behavioral Health Use Increases 45-Fold During Pandemic “Anuja Vaidya, mHealth Intelligence, March 14, 2023