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State highlights: Home care workers' pay and Medicaid budgets; Calif. mental health grants; NYU ER reopens

A new rule from the Obama administration designed to provide better pay and working conditions to 2 million home care workers is forcing many states to rethink how they look at Medicaid payments and may result in higher Medicaid costs. Starting Jan. 1, home care workers in 29 states will, for the first time, be eligible for the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and overtime pay, under a new regulation from the U.S. Department of Labor. These workers go to homes of the elderly and the disabled to help with cooking, bathing and other daily tasks, and are paid by the clients or through Medicaid (Prah, 4/25).

26 Apr 2014

Most men suffered TBI before becoming homeless

Almost half of all homeless men who took part in a study by St. Michael's Hospital had suffered at least one traumatic brain injury in their life and 87 per cent of those injuries occurred before the men lost their homes.

26 Apr 2014

Methadone safety: New clinical practice guideline from American Pain Society

Improved physician education and patient counseling about methadone safety and ECG monitoring to identify patients at high risk for cardiac problems will lead to safer use of the medication, according to the American Pain Society's Clinical Practice Guideline on Methadone Safety, published this week in The Journal of Pain.

26 Apr 2014

Depressive traits linked to greater suicide risk in bipolar disorder

Previous suicide attempts, recent affective episodes and recent psychiatric inpatient care are the strongest indicators that a patient with bipolar disorder may attempt suicide, show results of a large Swedish study.

16 Apr 2014

Study analyzes data to assess health disparities of transgender individuals

Transgender individuals are medically underserved and their healthcare needs incompletely understood in part because they represent a subpopulation whose health is rarely monitored by U.S. national surveillance systems.

16 Apr 2014

Community efforts boost people for HIV testing and reduce new infections

Communities in Africa and Thailand that worked together on HIV-prevention efforts saw not only a rise in HIV screening but a drop in new infections, according to a new study in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet Global Health.

16 Apr 2014

Older adults in treatment programs experience same challenges as younger participants

Statistics show that the amount of older adults in the criminal justice system has quadrupled in the past 15 years. Many of the adults have histories of mental health problems and are being placed in court-based treatment programs, where government officials and social workers tend to think that they are more likely to experience success compared to their younger counterparts. However, new research by Kelli Canada, assistant professor in the University of Missouri School of Social Work, shows that although mental health court participants older than 50 adhere to treatment programs better than younger adults, they are just as likely to be reincarcerated or relapse into criminal behavior.

11 Apr 2014

White House admits 'worrying about the wrong thing'

Top officials say they focused too much on whether enough insurance companies would participate and not enough on the smooth rollout of the exchange website, The New York Times reports.

11 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 10, 2014

Today's headlines include a range of stories taking additional looks at the Medicare physician payment data released yesterday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

10 Apr 2014

Majority of Medicaid sign-ups centered in 10 states

An analysis from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found that 80 percent of the 3 million people who enrolled in Medicaid since Oct. 1 were located in 10 states. Also in the news, specific enrollment tallies from Michigan and the latest on Virginia's legislative stalemate over the expansion.

9 Apr 2014

Study shows high-risk drinking may improve post weight loss surgery

Much has been reported about the potential for increased risk of alcohol misuse after weight loss surgery (WLS), with most theories pointing to lower alcohol tolerance and a longer time to return to a sober state after surgery, but a new study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center suggests that upwards of half of high-risk drinkers are actually less likely to report high-risk drinking behavior after weight loss surgery.

4 Apr 2014

Neurovance closes $6.3M extension to its series A1 financing round to advance development of EB-1020 SR

Neurovance, Inc. today announced that it has closed a $6.3 million extension to its series A1 financing round to further advance development of EB-1020 SR, a non-stimulant, for the treatment of all subtypes of adult ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

3 Apr 2014

New evidence indicates another risk factor for young adults consuming energy drinks

Newfound evidence indicates another risk factor for young adults consuming energy drinks. A research team representing six American universities found that the frequency of energy drink use is associated with increased odds of illicit prescription stimulant medication use.

3 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: 'Thrice-buried' Obamacare 'looks very much alive;' Ted Cruz 'gets an earful'

Back when rate shock, website problems and lagging enrollment were threatening to unravel the new health care law before it fully took effect, I concluded a column on Obamacare's repeated near-death experiences with the following warning to conservatives: ... What isn't killed outright grows stronger the longer it's embedded in the federal apparatus, gaining constituents and interest-group support just by virtue of its existence even if it doesn't work out the way it was designed. ... the serious right-of-center alternatives to Obamacare have always included policies to expand coverage, and with a coverage expansion accomplished, Republicans may find themselves effectively forced in a more serious direction. ... wherever they go and whatever they do, they will have to deal with the reality that Obamacare, thrice-buried, looks very much alive (Ross Douthat, 3/31).

2 Apr 2014

Cognitive deficits in bipolar patients ‘not homogenous’

Patients with bipolar disorder can be separated into three groups based on their cognitive performance, a study suggests.

31 Mar 2014

Advocates urge Senate to reject forced treatment provision in Rep. Murphy's bill

The bill rushed through the House of Representatives by voice vote yesterday to patch Medicare regulations includes a highly controversial provision that has nothing to do with Medicare, and that would subject people in crisis to forced treatment.

31 Mar 2014

TCSPP to launch online B.A. Completion Program in Psychology in fall 2014

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP), the leading nonprofit national graduate school devoted exclusively to psychology and related behavioral and health sciences, will offer an online Bachelor's of Arts Completion Program in Psychology for the first time starting fall 2014.

27 Mar 2014

Substance Abuse News and Research

State highlights: Home care workers' pay and Medicaid budgets; Calif. mental health grants; NYU ER reopens

Most men suffered TBI before becoming homeless

Methadone safety: New clinical practice guideline from American Pain Society

Depressive traits linked to greater suicide risk in bipolar disorder

Study analyzes data to assess health disparities of transgender individuals

Community efforts boost people for HIV testing and reduce new infections

Older adults in treatment programs experience same challenges as younger participants

White House admits 'worrying about the wrong thing'

First Edition: April 10, 2014

Majority of Medicaid sign-ups centered in 10 states

Study shows high-risk drinking may improve post weight loss surgery

Neurovance closes $6.3M extension to its series A1 financing round to advance development of EB-1020 SR

New evidence indicates another risk factor for young adults consuming energy drinks

Viewpoints: 'Thrice-buried' Obamacare 'looks very much alive;' Ted Cruz 'gets an earful'

Cognitive deficits in bipolar patients ‘not homogenous’

Advocates urge Senate to reject forced treatment provision in Rep. Murphy's bill

TCSPP to launch online B.A. Completion Program in Psychology in fall 2014

Study compares brand-specific consumption of alcohol between underage youth and adults

Children in military families who relocate have increased odds of suffering mental health problems

Study: Three-fold spike in heart attacks continued six years after Hurricane Katrina

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