The NBC News (7/17, Merod) website reported that last week, by a vote of 422-2, the House of Representatives passed HR 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, considered to be “one of the most significant bills targeting mental health reform since 1963.” Even though “Congress just began its seven-week recess Thursday, advocates say they’re optimistic a similar bill could pass in the Senate by the end of the year.”

The Hill (7/17, Sullivan) reported, however, that “hopes are dimming for passage of a mental health bill in the Senate this year.” Proposed “legislation offered by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) may have to wait until 2017.” This is because “a tougher battle has emerged in the Senate over the politics of guns.” Should the mental health measure become embroiled in “a fight over the divisive issue of gun control, many fear the legislation would be sunk.” Even if guns do not become an issue, should mental health legislation not pass the Senate before the election in November, “there would be little time to get it through this Congress.”

Related Links:

— “House Passes Most Significant Mental Health Reform Bill in Decades,” ANNA MEROD, NBC News, July 17, 2016.

US News & World Report (7/14, Schroeder) reports, “Obesity is associated with higher rates of certain mental disorders, like depression, and experts say those can hamstring the most adamant efforts to” lose weight and keep it from coming back. Even “though still only a minority of people who are obese suffer from psychological issues like depression,” Philip R. Muskin, MD, “chair of the Scientific Program Committee of the American Psychiatric Association, agrees that checking for mental conditions makes sense.” Dr. Muskin said, “When you’re depressed it may be very difficult to make healthy choices,” including diet and exercise. But “he thinks this could be accomplished, to start, through screening in a primary care setting.”

Related Links:

— “Should You Undergo a Mental Health Evaluation for Obesity?,” Michael O. Schroeder, US News & World Report, July 14, 2016.

The Washington Post (7/13) “Wonkblog” reports that the “growing suicide rate” in the US “reveals the much bigger effect of widespread firearm availability.” Two years ago, “42,773 Americans killed themselves according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” and half of those people “did so with guns.” The number of people who took their own lives with firearms is “not only more than the number of Americans who were killed in mass shootings, it’s more than the number of people who were killed with guns in homicides and accidents combined.”

Related Links:

— “To reduce suicides, look at guns,” Kim Soffen, Washington Post, July 13, 2016.

Politico (7/13, Ehley) reports that despite all that the Affordable Care Act did to help address issues in the mental health system, “the bottom line is that most [with mental health issues] still aren’t getting treatment.” This is partly due to the “serious shortage of behavioral health specialists, and a dwindling number of clinics and hospitals…designed to treat and house people with serious mental illnesses.” Additionally, “care can be costly,” even for those with an in-network healthcare professional, and many therapists don’t take insurance. Finally, “enforcement of other” ACA “mental health requirements…has ranged from weak to nonexistent.”

Related Links:

— “Obamacare and mental health: An unfinished story,” BRIANNA EHLEY, Politico, July 13, 2016.

HealthDay (7/13, Pallarito) reports, “People with serious mental illness who are victims of violence or exposed to stressful events are more likely to engage in a violent crime in the week following the trauma,” research indicates. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “a nationwide sample of more than 2.8 million people born in Sweden between 1958 and 1988 to study potential triggers for violent crime.” The findings were published online July 13 in JAMA Psychiatry. An accompanying editorial suggested “the need for further research into the role of stress in triggering violence.”

Related Links:

— “Can Trauma Trigger Violent Crime in Mentally Ill?,” Karen Pallarito, HealthDay, July 13, 2016.