A state Senate bill would extend workers’ compensation coverage of post-traumatic stress injuries for firefighters and police officers. But a separate bill to cover paramedics and EMTs is unlikely to be heard.
The recently ended legislative session was marked by Medicaid reimbursement hikes, abortion restrictions, anti-LGBTQ+ statutes, behavioral health spending, and workforce and insurance measures.
One of Montana’s largest mental health providers has ratcheted back services amid financial troubles, leaving a vacuum. State policymakers have promised more money to aid behavioral health care, but lasting change could be years out.
Doctors have no national standards on when to order urine tests to check whether adult ADHD patients are properly taking their prescription stimulants. Some patients are subjected to much more frequent testing than others.
A recent report detailing problems with Florida’s patchwork mental health system had reached conclusions nearly identical to those of a similar report from more than 20 years ago. The echoes between the findings are unmistakable. And Florida isn’t the only state struggling with the criminalization of mental illness, a lack of coordination between providers, and insufficient access to treatment.
More than 200 inmates killed themselves during eight years in which state prison officials failed to complete court-ordered suicide prevention safeguards. Inmates, the judge writes, have “waited far too long” for adequate mental health care.
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte announced a $2.1 million grant using federal aid after state lawmakers rejected a bill that would have essentially addressed the same needs of young people at risk of suicide.
States, tribes, and local governments are figuring out how best to spend billions of dollars from an opioid lawsuit settlement. One option they’re considering is funding peer support specialists, who guide people recovering from addiction as they do it themselves.
Colorado, Florida, and Idaho are the latest states to opt out of a survey that tracks concerning behaviors in high school students. Officials cite low participation and state laws that require parental permission. But some advocates say dwindling state participation is an “enormous loss” that will make it harder to track signs of poor mental health — like drug and alcohol misuse and suicidal ideation — among teens.
En las grandes ciudades y en los pueblos pequeños, muchas ofrecen ahora servicios para acceder a vivienda, a cupones de alimentos, a la atención médica y, a veces, incluso a duchas o cortes de pelo.