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

HealthDay (6/4, Gordon) reports researchers found that “almost one-third of teens and young adults who reported seeing self-harm posts on Instagram said they had performed the same or similar self-harming behavior afterwards.” The findings were published in New Media and Society.

Related Links:

— “Instagram ‘Self-Harm’ Posts Give Rise to Copycat Behavior, ” Serena Gordon, HealthDay, June 4, 2019

Healio (6/4, Demko) reports researchers found that “parental prescription opioid use appeared associated with greater risk for suicide attempt among offspring.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Parental opioid use increases risk for child suicide attempt, “Savannah Demko, Healio, June 4, 2019