Psychiatric News (3/18) reports, “In response to the shooting of eight people, including six women of Asian descent, at spas in Georgia on” March 16, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) “issued a statement condemning the act and expressing support for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.” In a media release, APA President Jeffrey Geller, MD, MPH, stated, “This year has seen a significant increase in racism and xenophobia against Asian Americans, and it is unacceptable and harmful.” APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, said, “The tragedy that occurred in Georgia is becoming far too familiar.” Dr. Levin added, “We must be mindful that the mental health impacts of mass shootings are far reaching, touching families, communities, and the nation as a whole.”

Related Links:

— “APA Condemns Violence Against Asian Americans in Georgia, Psychiatric News, March 18, 2021

Bloomberg Law (3/17, Wille, Subscription Publication) reports, “The parents of a four-year-old autistic child who sued their health plan for categorically excluding an autism treatment called applied behavioral analysis can challenge this practice under the Affordable Care Act’s anti-discrimination rule but not federal benefits or mental health parity law,” according to Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the Southern District of Indiana. Judge Pratt concluded the “plan’s ‘blanket exclusion’ for coverage of autism spectrum disorder treatments is valid under the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, because it doesn’t draw impermissible distinctions between mental health treatments and medical and surgical treatments.”

Related Links:

— “Family’s Challenge to Blanket Autism Coverage Exclusion Trimmed “Jacklyn Wille, Bloomberg Law, March 17, 2021

Healio (3/17, Vecchione) reports, “Stroke survivors may be more likely to attempt or die by suicide than people who have not had a stroke,” investigators concluded after analyzing data from “23 studies that included more than two million stroke survivors (mean age, 64 years; 52% women), of whom 5,563 attempted suicide or died by suicide.” The findings of the systematic review and meta-analysis were presented at the American Stroke Association’s virtual International Stroke Conference and published simultaneously online March 11 in the journal Stroke.

Related Links:

— “Suicide risk elevated among stroke survivors “Anthony Vecchione, Healio, March 17, 2021

Healio (3/16, Gramigna) reports researchers at Sapien Labs have released “a report that outlined global mental health during 2020.” The report, called Mental State of the World 2020, “found societal circumstance and behavior had an ‘enormous impact’ on mental wellbeing.” What’s more, the current pandemic “appeared to play an important role in changes in mental wellbeing between 2019 and 2020,” with “a total of 57% of respondents” experiencing “various negative health, financial or social consequences.”

Related Links:

— “Mental wellbeing declined significantly during 2020, global report finds “Joe Gramigna, Healio, March 16, 2021

Roll Call (3/16, Raman) reports, “House lawmakers are restructuring their bipartisan task forces dedicated to combating the drug epidemic and expect the chamber to consider behavioral health legislation this year, members told CQ Roll Call.” The changes are expected to “broaden the scope of legislative efforts beyond opioids to include all forms of addiction and mental health.”

Related Links:

— “House reshapes approach to mental health and addiction “Sandhya Raman, Roll Call, March 16, 2021