Healio (6/7, Demko) reported, “After initiation of treatment with long-acting injectable antipsychotics, the incidence of arrest decreased among patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and a previous history of arrest during a two-year follow-up period at a community mental health center,” research indicated. Included in the study were “132 and 196 adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder,” respectively. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Long-acting antipsychotics help cut risk for arrest in patients with schizophrenia, “Savannah Demko, Healio, June 7, 2019

HealthDay (6/7) reported on “three factors” that are “tied to a fourfold rise in the likelihood that a U.S. soldier will take his or her own life.” After reviewing “the circumstances surrounding the suicides of 135 active-duty soldiers between 2011 and 2013,” investigators concluded those factors were “owning their own firearm, carrying it in public and keeping it loaded in the home.” The findings were published online June 7 in JAMA Network Open. The author of an accompanying editorial wrote that “in his opinion, ‘the safest recommendation is still that adults consider temporarily storing their firearms elsewhere while they’re at elevated risk of suicide.’”

Related Links:

— “Soldiers’ Odds for Suicide Quadruple When Loaded Gun at Home, “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, June 7, 2019

The Los Angeles Times (6/6, Peltz) reports that some “4,000 mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente will go on strike next week at facilities throughout California if they and the healthcare giant fail to reach a new contract before then.” The main issue, the National Union of Healthcare Workers “says, is that Kaiser is being too slow to enable its patients to access mental health care.” The union “is seeking increased staffing, smaller patient-to-therapist ratios and fewer patient referrals to therapists outside the Kaiser network, among other changes.”

Related Links:

— “Kaiser Permanente mental health workers threaten to strike, “James F. Peltz, Los Angeles Times, June 6, 2019

Medscape (6/6, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found that the percentage of psychiatrists who accept Medicaid is declining while the percentage of primary care physicians and other specialists that accept Medicaid is not. The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry. Sandra Decker, PhD, a senior fellow at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, said, “It is fairly well known that not too many psychiatrists accept Medicaid (or other insurance for that matter). Not sure I completely understand why ACA might be expected to affect that, but I guess it never hurts to draw attention to the fact that acceptance of Medicaid among psychiatrists is low.”

Related Links:

— “Psychiatrists’ Acceptance of Medicaid Patients Remains Low, “Megan Brooks, Medscape, June 6, 2019

Kaiser Health News (6/7, Dangor) reports many mental health patients “struggle to get insurance coverage” for treatments “even though two federal laws were designed to bring parity between mental and physical health care coverage.” The Affordable Care Act, for example, “required small-group and individual health plans sold on the insurance marketplaces to cover mental health services, and do so at levels comparable with medical services.” However, recent research “and a legal case suggest serious disparities remain.” The piece adds that according to the National Institute Of Mental Health, fewer “than 1 in 5 people with substance use disorder are treated, a national survey suggests, and, overall, nearly 6 in 10 people with mental illness get no treatment or medication.”

Related Links:

— “‘Mental Health Parity’ Is Still An Elusive Goal In U.S. Insurance Coverage, “Graison Dangor, Kaiser Health News, June 7, 2019