Modern Healthcare (3/21, Tepper, Subscription Publication) reports, “Health insurers Anthem and Aetna began denying [healthcare professionals’] claims that include consultation codes this year, joining the growing ranks of payers cutting reimbursement amid an industrywide coding change.” In 2010, “Medicare stopped paying claims that include consult codes,” and “now, more insurers are following the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ lead and requiring [healthcare professionals] to use different codes to bill for consultations.” In 2019, “UnitedHealthcare stopped recognizing these codes…in an effort to align with federal practices,” implementing “the policy after facing pushback from groups such as the… American Psychiatric Association, which complained the change undervalued their members’ services.”

Related Links:

— “More insurers cut payment for patient consultations “Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare, March 21, 2022

The Hill (3/21, Barnes) reports, “More than a quarter of U.S. parents said their child has seen a mental health specialist over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 60 percent of visits taking place in the past year,” researchers concluded.

According to HealthDay (3/21, Munez), “nearly 95% of the parents surveyed said they were somewhat or very confident that they would notice the signs of” mental health problems in their children. Nevertheless, “only about 25% think their adolescent would definitely talk to them, while 55% say their teens would possibly talk to them if they were experiencing mental health issues.” The poll data included responses from some 1,200 US parents. Anish Dube, MD, “a member of the American Psychiatric Association Council on Children, Adolescents and Their Families,” and who “was not involved with the poll,” was “encouraged by parents’ responses that they’re actively looking out for their children’s mental health.” The poll’s findings were published March 21 in the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

Related Links:

— “A quarter of parents say their child has seen a mental health specialist during pandemic: poll “Adam Barnes, The Hill, March 21, 2022

CNN (3/18, Ahmed) reported that “the number of deaths in the U.S. involving alcohol jumped 25.5% between 2019 and 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to” a study that “analyzed death certificates provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics for people 16 and over between 2019 and 2020.” The study published in JAMA revealed that “there were 78,927 alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. in 2019 and 99,017 in 2020.” CNN added, “Alcohol-related deaths made up 2.8% of all deaths in 2019 and 3% in 2020.”

Related Links:

— “Alcohol-related deaths in the US spiked more than 25% in the first year of the pandemic, study shows “Tasnim Ahmed, CNN, March 18, 2022

Healio (3/18, Herpen) reported, “Mental health of young adults showed little change at the outset of COVID-19, but appeared to worsen as the pandemic continued,” researchers concluded in a “multisite, longitudinal study” that “included 794 participants…from five institutions from the United States and Canada.” The findings were presented at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America annual conference.

Related Links:

— “Mental health of college students altered as COVID-19 pandemic continued “Robert Herpen, Healio, March 18, 2022

Healio (3/18, Ellis) reported, “Compared with other first-line osteoporosis treatments, alendronate therapy yielded an increased risk for depression and anxiety,” researchers concluded in a study that “analyzed more than 100,000 adverse events reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System…and the WHO’s VigiAccess adverse drug reactions global database.” The findings were published online in the journal Scientific Reports.

Related Links:

— “Alendronate therapy associated with depression, anxiety “Brian Ellis, Healio, March 18, 2022