The AP (11/13, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that on Tuesday HHS Secretary Azar in a speech to state Medicaid directors announced that states will be allowed “to provide more inpatient treatment for people with serious mental illness by tapping Medicaid.” He “said states will now be able to seek waivers” from a Federal law that has previously blocked Medicaid payments for “mental health treatment facilities with more than 16 beds, to prevent ‘warehousing’ of the mentally ill at the expense of federal taxpayers.” Azar said, “We have the worst of both worlds: limited access to inpatient treatment and limited access to other options.” He added, “Given the history, it is the responsibility of state and federal governments together, alongside communities and families, to right this wrong. More treatment options are needed, and that includes more inpatient and residential options that can help stabilize Americans with serious mental illness.”

The Hill (11/13, Weixel) reports that in his Tuesday speech, Azar also said, “Different forms of treatment work for different patients, but the decades-old restriction on Medicaid reimbursement for inpatient treatment at institutions for mental diseases, or IMDs, has been a significant barrier.” He highlighted “that inpatient treatment is just one part of ‘a complete continuum of care,’ and participating states will be expected to take action to improve community-based mental health care as well.” He added, “There are so many stories of Americans with serious mental illness, and their families, that end in tragic outcomes because treatment options are not available or not paid for. I urge everyone involved in state Medicaid programs here today to consider applying for the kind of waiver I’ve just outlined.”

Fierce Healthcare (11/13, Meltzer) reports that, commenting more broadly on mental health treatment options, Azar said, “We can support both inpatient and outpatient investments at the same time. Both tools are necessary and both are too hard to access today.”

Modern Healthcare (11/13, Subscription Publication) reports that under current policy, CMS “reimburses IMD stays up to 15 days for Medicaid enrollees in managed care Medicaid,” but the new waivers “will pay for more treatment at IMDs and apply to all Medicaid enrollees, not just those overseen by private plans.” Under the program, states will need “to prove their plans are budget-neutral for the federal government.”

Health Exec (11/13) reports that so far, 17 states have received these Section 1115 waivers, giving them “authority from CMS to pursue similar demonstration projects related to substance use disorders.”

Healthcare Finance News (11/13) and Congressional Quarterly (11/13, Subscription Publication) also cover the story.

Related Links:

— “More leeway for states to expand inpatient mental health, “Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar , AP, November 13, 2018.

CNN (11/12, Thomas) reports new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found the U.S. “has more than double the rate of premature overdose deaths of at least 12 other countries,” with more than 63,000 drug overdoses blamed for deaths in 2016. Yingxi Chen, who was on the research team and is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, said the team also found the U.S. experienced the second largest increase in deaths from drug overdose, at 4.3 percent for men and 5.3 percent for women. Another researcher not involved in the study, Caleb Banta-Green, Principal Research Scientist at the University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, said that France “got rid of the restrictions on prescribers using the medication buprenorphine,” and “their national mortality, opiate overdose mortality rate dropped 79%.”

Related Links:

— “US has highest rate of drug overdoses, study says, “Naomi Thomas, CNN, November 12, 2018.

In a perspective piece in the Washington Post (11/12), columnist Petula Dvorak, writes, “Red flag laws – there are now 13 states that have them – allow a family member, roommate, beau, law enforcement officer or any type of medical professional to file a petition asking that a person’s home be temporarily cleared of firearms.” Now, even though “suicide rates are on the rise in the United States – a 30 percent spike in the past two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – two of the first states to enact red flag laws have seen suicide rates drop, according to” research that “looked at Connecticut and Indiana.” Those findings were published online June 1 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “The connection between suicides and mass shootings — and a way to reduce both, “Petula Dvorak, The Washington Post, November 12, 2018.

HealthDay (11/12, Preidt) reports, “People who’ve suffered major traumatic injuries are at much greater risk for mental health problems and suicide,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from more than 19,000 people in the Canadian province of Ontario who suffered serious injuries.” The study revealed that “the suicide rate among people who’d suffered major injuries was 70 per 100,000 people, compared with 11.5 per 100,000 people in the general population.” In addition, youngsters and adolescents under the age of 18 “who had suffered a major injury had the largest increased risk of mental health-related hospital admission, the findings showed.” The findings were published online Nov. 12 in CMAJ.

Related Links:

— “Major Injuries Take a Toll on Mental Health, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, November 12, 2018.

CBS News (11/9, Smith) reported on its website that “gun-related deaths are on the rise in the U.S., bucking a decade-long decline, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” The report concluded that there were 44,955 suicides and 27,394 homicides involving guns in 2015-2016, “the highest levels recorded since 2006-2007.”

Kaiser Health News (11/9, Rodriguez) reported the report also concluded “that the number of suicides involving a firearm grew 21 percent between 2006 and 2016.

Related Links:

— “Gun death statistics: CDC study says gun deaths are on the rise after years of decline, “Kate Smith, CBS NEWS, November 09, 2018.