New psychiatric manual won't include Asperger's diagnosis, could affect treatment payments

News outlets covered the Saturday meeting of the American Psychiatric Association as changes were approved to its manual of mental disorders.

USA Today: Psychiatrists Approve Vast Changes To Diagnosis Manual
Asperger's is out, but binge eating and hoarding are in as official mental disorders in the latest version of the diagnostic bible published by the American Psychiatric Association, following a vote Saturday by that group's board. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, is often called the "bible" because it's used to identify and classify mental disorders (Jayson, 12/2).

The Associated Press: Asperger's Dropped From Revised Diagnosis Manual
Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the American Psychiatric Association's new diagnostic manual is published, but the impact will be huge ...The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education. ... The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer. He chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual (Tanner, 12/1).

Bloomberg Businessweek: Psychiatrists Redefine Disorders Including Autism After 7-Year Fight 
The move comes after a seven-year debate that has split the mental health community over whether the changes will spur over- diagnosis of some disorders, and limit treatment for others. The guide collapses several conditions into a broadened definition for autism. It also adds new maladies, including one called disruptive mood dysregulation disorder for children who have temper tantrums at least three times a week (Lopatto, 12/2).

The Wall Street Journal: Psychiatric Association's Diagnosis Revisions Seen Upending Evaluations
The changes-;the first major revisions since 1994-;could affect millions of adults and children and billions of health-care dollars, determining who qualifies for subsidized services, treatment programs and insurance reimbursements. An estimated 30% of Americans are diagnosed with at least one mental illness in their lifetimes, and several conditions face major revisions in the DMS-5 (Beck, 12/1).

CNN: Psychiatric Association Approves Changes To Diagnostic Manual 
[T]hese incremental revisions raised concerns among some researchers and advocacy groups who feared the new criteria would result in many children losing their autism diagnosis and much-needed services. For example, in March, a study presented by Yale autism expert Dr. Fred Volkmar suggested only 60% of those meeting current criteria for autism would still be diagnosed with the disorder under the proposed criteria. ... Kupfer agrees that some children might fall off the autism spectrum, but he believes maybe 5% to 10% of patients will no longer meet the criteria for autism (Falco, 12/2).