“Fewer” physicians “would have to wait for permission to prescribe addiction treatment” medications “under new, bipartisan legislation being unveiled this week by two lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee,” STAT (11/18, Facher) reports. The new bill, as written by Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and David McKinley (R-WV), would ban “the practice of ‘prior authorization,’ in which insurers require doctors to seek approval before they can proceed with a prescription or procedure,” in state “Medicaid programs for addiction treatment medicines like buprenorphine.” The measure “comes amid part of a broader movement to expand addiction treatment as the overdose crisis continues to claim roughly 70,000 American lives each year.” STAT adds, “In a 2017 survey conducted by the American Medical Association, 64% of physicians reported waiting at least a day for authorization to prescribe addiction” medications.

Related Links:

— “A new bill would let more doctors prescribe addiction treatments without waiting for insurers’ permission, ” Lev Facher, STAT, November 18, 2019

The Dallas Morning News (11/19, Smith) reports that “more needs to be done to provide mental and behavioral health services for children – especially those living in poverty,” according to Children’s Health annual report examining “the quality of life for kids in six North Texas counties.” In Collin and Dallas counties, the report found “the number of children receiving mental health diagnoses through Medicaid managed care has more than doubled in recent years.” The report noted that “funding for child-specific mental health services has decreased from 2016-17 to 2018-19,” while “child mortality and adolescent suicides are on the rise, with Dallas County experiencing a 27% increase in adolescent suicides in 2016.” This is the first year in the report’s “16-year history” where a specific recommendation was made to target mental health specifically.

Related Links:

— “With suicide rates and child mortality on rise in Dallas, experts urge for more help for kids’ mental health, “Corbett Smith, The Dallas Morning News, November 18, 2019

The AP (11/15, Tanner) reported, “Many older American adults may inaccurately estimate their chances for developing dementia and do useless things to prevent it,” research indicated.

HealthDay (11/15, Norton) reported that “almost half of Americans in their 50s and 60s believed they were at least ‘somewhat likely’ to develop dementia,” the study found. Only five percent, however, “said they had talked to their doctor about ways to lower their risk,” the study indicated. The survey found that one-third instead reported to take “fish oil, vitamin E or other supplements to help ward off memory decline,” despite the fact that “none have been proven to have such benefits.” The findings of the 1,019-adult study published online in a research letter in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Will you get dementia? Many may not understand their risk, “Lindsey Tanner, AP, November 15, 2019

Dr. Bruce Schwartz, the president of the American Psychiatric Association, writes in a letter to the editor of the Washington Post (11/17) in response to an article from November 12 with the headline “ERs could help curb suicides.” Dr. Schwartz says, “Screening can be an effective way to identify patients with mental-health problems, but it is unlikely to halt the suicide epidemic in this country.” Additionally, “emergency rooms have become the de facto and only mental-health resource for many Americans, even those who have insurance.” Schwartz argues “the article correctly pointed out that once in the emergency room, mental-health patients can wait 24 hours or longer to see a health-care professional and days or weeks for a psychiatric bed,” however, in order to “truly stem the suicide epidemic,” Schwartz says, “we need to devote resources to mental-health care” and “mandate that insurers provide true parity in their plans.”

Related Links:

— “Can ERs help fight the suicide epidemic?, The Washington Post, November 17, 2019

Reuters (11/14, Carroll) reports, “Slight declines in hearing, smaller than the usual cutoff for diagnosing hearing loss, are associated with measurable mental decline in seniors,” research indicated, and when investigators “used a stricter threshold to include mild hearing loss, they found evidence that the well-established link between age-related hearing loss and cognitive decline might begin sooner than is recognized.” The findings of the 6,451-participant study were published online Nov. 14 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. MedPage Today (11/14, George) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Hearing loss, even when mild, linked to mental decline in seniors, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, November 14, 2019