‘I Can Go Anywhere’: How Service Dogs Help Veterans With PTSD
Posted onThe PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act means more veterans with symptoms of traumatic stress can get specially trained service dogs.
Month: November 2021
California Joins States Trying to Shorten Wait Times for Mental Health Care
Posted onIn California, health insurers blame long waits for therapy appointments on workforce shortages, but state lawmakers say that’s an excuse. A new law requires insurers to reduce wait times for mental health appointments to no more than 10 business days.
Etching the Pain of Covid Into the Flesh of Survivors
Posted onMemorial tattoos have grown more popular in recent years. Since parlors reopened after the lockdown, inkers have found that many people are eager to memorialize relatives and friends lost to covid.
What Happens After a Campus Suicide Is a Form of Prevention, Too
Posted onThe scientific term is “postvention,” and it informs how to navigate the emotional challenges that follow such a tragedy.
Empleadores amplían beneficios de salud mental, mientras trabajadores luchan con el impacto de la pandemia
Posted onMuchos empleadores informaron que desde que comenzó la pandemia han realizado cambios en sus beneficios de salud mental y adicciones. La principal forma fue extender el uso de la telemedicina.
Texas Abortion Law Harms Survivors of Rape and Incest, Activists Say
Posted onWhile anti-abortion activists say abortion exceptions are a “punishment” to “innocent human life,” social workers say Texas’ new abortion law rigidly curtails options for rape and incest survivors at a moment when they need the “power and control” of choice to begin healing.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Why Health Care Is So Expensive, Chapter $22K
Posted onCongress is making slow progress toward completing its ambitious social spending bill, although its Thanksgiving deadline looks optimistic. Meanwhile, a new survey finds the average cost of an employer-provided family plan has risen to more than $22,000. That’s about the cost of a new Toyota Corolla. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Rebecca Love, a nurse academic and entrepreneur, about the impending crisis in nursing.
As Workers Struggle With Pandemic’s Impact, Employers Expand Mental Health Benefits
Posted onMany job-based health plans broadened their mental health and substance use coverage to make sure workers had the support they needed this year as pandemic stress lingered, the annual KFF survey finds. Also, the proportion of employers offering health insurance to their workers remained steady, and increases for premiums and out-of-pocket health expenses were moderate.
A Judge Takes His Mental Health Struggles Public
Posted onTim Fall, a sitting judge in California’s Yolo County, decided to break the silence on his mental health issues with a book published during a campaign year. Depression and anxiety, he says, shouldn’t disqualify candidates from any profession.
Journalists Follow Leads on Curbing Violence, Improving Psych Care and Crowdsourcing Covid Safety
Posted onKHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.