The AP (2/14, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that on Thursday, HHS officials said “Medicare wants to change how it pays for emergency ambulance services to give seniors more options besides going to a hospital emergency department.” Alternatives “could include going to an urgent care center, a doctor’s office, or even treatment at home under supervision of a doctor via telehealth links.” The article says this is only “a pilot project for now, but if adopted nationwide, the idea could save Medicare more than $500 million a year.”

Modern Healthcare (2/14, King, Subscription Publication) reports that the pilot would only “apply to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.” The piece adds that HHS expects to request “applications to participate in the model by summer 2019.”

Related Links:

— “Medicare ambulance rides may no longer end up at ER, “Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, AP, February 14, 2019

The New York Times (2/13, Reynolds) reports, “Jogging for 15 minutes a day, or walking or gardening for somewhat longer, could help protect people against developing depression,” researchers concluded in a study published online Jan. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry. For the study, investigators turned “to the UK Biobank, an enormous database of genetic and health information for almost 400,000 men and women.” Next, the study team “identified people who carried at least one of several gene variants believed to increase the likelihood someone will be active. Most of those people were active, and few of them had experienced depression.” Using “Mendelian randomization,” the study authors found that, “statistically, the ideal amount of exercise to prevent depression started at about 15 minutes a day of running or other strenuous exercise,” while “less-taxing activities like fast walking, housework and so on also afforded protection against depression, but it took about an hour a day to have an effect.”

Related Links:

— “Exercise May Help to Fend Off Depression, ” Gretchen Reynolds, The New York Times, February 13, 2019

Reuters (2/13, Kate, Kelland) reports researchers found in a medical literature review that “teenagers who use cannabis have a higher risk of developing depression and suicidal thoughts as young adults and should be made aware of those risks by parents and” physicians. The findings were published online Feb. 13 in JAMA Psychiatry.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (2/13, Pattani) reports researchers “reviewed data from nearly a dozen studies that included more than 23,000 people,” and “found that marijuana use in adolescence is linked with an increased risk of depression, as well as suicidal thoughts and attempts, before age 32.” The article adds that “the researchers concluded that about 400,000 cases of adolescent depression in the U.S. are potentially attributable to marijuana.”

Healio (2/13, Demko) reports Gabriella Gobbi, MD, PhD, of McGill University’s department of psychiatry, one of the study’s authors, said, “Little attention has been specifically paid in the public health discourse as to the impact of adolescent cannabis use on the risk of developing depressive symptoms and mood disorders, even though researchers have published on this topic since the 1970s. The adolescent brain is indeed still under development and psychotropic drugs used at this time may thus alter the physiological neurodevelopment, especially of the frontal cortex and limbic system.”

Also covering the study are HealthDay (2/13, Gordon), Newsweek (2/13, Gander), U.S. News & World Report (2/13, Lardieri), BBC News Online (UK) (2/13), The Guardian (UK) (2/13, Davis), and the Telegraph (UK) (2/13, Donnelly).

Related Links:

— “Teen cannabis use linked to higher risk of adolescent depression, “Kate, Kelland, Reuters, February 13, 2019

The Wall Street Journal (2/12, Subscription Publication) reports that if veterans do not have honorable discharges, they have to wait around four years before even signing up for benefits or healthcare because they have to wait for the VA to determine whether or not they are still considered veterans. Such veterans often exhibited characteristic behaviors attributed to PTSD, and due to these actions, their ability to receive VA healthcare and other benefits is put into peril.

Related Links:

— “He Has a Purple Heart, but the VA Wouldn’t Call Him a Veteran, “Rose Carmen Goldberg, The Wall Street Journal, February 12, 2019

The New York Times (2/12, Belluck) reports the United States Preventive Services Task Force issued a recommendation for cognitive behavioral and interpersonal therapy as preventive measures against perinatal depression. More serious than postpartum depression, perinatal depression impacts between 180,000 and 800,000 US women annually during pregnancy or after, and has health implications for both mother and child. The USPSTF “recommended counseling for women with one or more of a broad range of risk factors, including a personal or family history of depression; recent stresses like divorce or economic strain; traumatic experiences like domestic violence; or depressive symptoms that don’t constitute a full-blown diagnosis.” The recommendation was published in JAMA.

The Wall Street Journal (2/12, Abbott, Subscription Publication) reports most insurance plans must follow guidelines issued by the USPSTF, and therefore per the recommendation, preventive therapy for at-risk pregnant women or new mothers should be covered without a copay. Moreover, previous recommendations have focused attention on women already experiencing signs of depression, while the new recommendation targets at-risk women for preventive interventions.

The AP (2/12) reports perinatal depression impacts as many as one in seven women. Meanwhile, “an accompanying editorial cautions that most women won’t have easy access to specialists and may need options such as counseling via smartphone.”

The New York Times (2/12, Belluck) separately posts a guide to using the recommendations and how and where to get help for potential perinatal depression.

Related Links:

— “Depression During and After Pregnancy Can Be Prevented, National Panel Says. Here’s How, “Pam Belluck, The New York Times, February 12, 2019