Category: mental health

Why Even Public Health Experts Have Limited Insight Into Stopping Gun Violence in America

After the 1996 Dickey Amendment halted federal spending on research into firearms risks, a small group of academics pressed on, with little money or political support, to document the nation’s growing gun violence problem and start to understand what can be done to curb the public health crisis.

Statistical Models vs. Front-Line Workers: Who Knows Best How to Spend Opioid Settlement Cash?

A mathematical model designed to direct spending of opioid settlement funds is at the center of a debate over whether to invest in technology to guide long-term decisions or focus on the immediate needs of people in addiction.

California Hospitals, Advocates Seek Stable Funding to Retain Behavioral Health Navigators

California has supported expanded use of medications in the fight against opioid use disorder and overdose deaths. But hospitals and addiction treatment advocates say the state needs to secure ongoing funding if it wants more behavioral health workers to guide patients into long-term treatment.

Readers Call on Congress to Bolster Medicare and Fix Loopholes in Health Policy

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

California Gov. Newsom Wants Voters to Approve Billions More to Help the Homeless. Will It Help?

A March 5 ballot initiative seeks $6.4 billion to build thousands of new housing units and provide mental health treatment for homeless people — on top of the billions already being spent to address the public health crisis. Despite significant support from health and law enforcement officials, many front-line workers are skeptical that more money is the answer.

Health Care Workers Push for Their Own Confidential Mental Health Treatment

Montana may join about a dozen other states in creating “safe havens” that keep health care professionals from facing scrutiny from licensure boards for seeking mental health or addiction treatment.

Cities Know the Way Police Respond to Mental Crisis Calls Needs to Change. But How?

Cities are experimenting with new ways to meet the rapidly increasing demand for behavioral health crisis intervention, at a time when incidents of police shooting and killing people in mental health crisis have become painfully familiar.

Colorado Legal Settlement Would Up Care and Housing Standards for Trans Women Inmates

A soon-to-be-finalized legal settlement would offer transgender women in Colorado prisons new housing options, including a pipeline to the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. The change comes amid a growing number of lawsuits across the country aimed at improving health care access and safety for incarcerated trans people.

Colorado Legal Settlement Would Up Care and Housing Standards for Trans Women Inmates

A soon-to-be-finalized legal settlement would offer transgender women in Colorado prisons new housing options, including a pipeline to the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. The change comes amid a growing number of lawsuits across the country aimed at improving health care access and safety for incarcerated trans people.

Ketamine Therapy for Mental Health a ‘Wild West’ for Doctors and Patients

Ketamine, approved by the FDA as an anesthetic in 1970, is emerging as a major alternative mental health treatment, and there are now more than 500 ketamine clinics around the country. But with little regulation and widely varying treatment protocols, it’s a medical “wild West.”