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American Psychiatric Association Speaks Out Against Trump Administration's Efforts to Undercut Women's Preventative Care
APA Psychiatric News Fri Nov 9, 2018 (Image: iStock/crankyT) APA joined four other medical specialty organizations on Thursday to urge the Trump administration to reverse actions taken this week that will limit women’s access to contraception. The organizations spoke out just one day after the Trump administration issued a pair of... read more
Why You Shouldn't Wait to Sign Up for Medicare Part B
The New York Times By Paula Span Oct 26, 2018 Twenty years ago, George Zeppenfeldt-Cestero left his job as a hospital administrator in New York to open a one-person health care consulting firm. Since he was losing his employee medical coverage, he shopped around and bought a private health insurance... read more
The New York Times By Christina Caron Nov 5, 2018 Parents should not spank their children, the American Academy of Pediatrics said on Monday in its most strongly worded policy statement warning against the harmful effects of corporal punishment in the home. The group, which represents about 67,000 doctors,... read more
Los Angeles Times By Scott Martelle Nov 1, 2018 About two-thirds of gun deaths in the U.S. each year are suicides, traumatic and desperate acts that often lie at the nexus of mental illness and ready access to a firearm. Yet a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds... read more
The San Diego Union-Tribune By Gary Warth October 4, 2018 It could be a bit easier for judges in San Diego County to order people with mental issues into conservatorship next year under a new pilot program created by a recently signed bill. Whether it will be implemented, however,... read more
Construction of Suicide Net Begins on Golden Gate Bridge
Pyschiatric News By Linda M. Richmond Sept 13, 2018 Construction of a suicide-deterrent net is under way at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It is hoped to end the bridge’s standing as one of the world’s most popular suicide sites. Seventy-nine years after the first call to action to erect a barrier... read more
APA Joins Health Organizations in Lawsuit Against Expansion of Short-Term Health Plans
American Psychiatric Association Sept 14, 2018 Joining a coalition of seven mental health and health advocacy groups, APA filed suit today in federal court to invalidate a Trump administration rule on short-term, limited duration health plans. The coalition argued in its complaint that the final rule, issued last month by three federal agencies, violates the plain-English... read more
California is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars for mental health programs. Let's put it to use.
Los Angeles Times By The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board September 10, 2018 Like much of the rest of the nation, California went only halfway toward keeping its promise to improve mental health care. It closed psychiatric hospitals, some of which were really just costly warehouses for the sick... read more
Los Angeles Times By Jenny Gold Aug. 27, 2018 Marijuana may be losing its image as a dangerous drug, but mounting research suggests women should steer clear of it if they are pregnant or breastfeeding, according to new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The advice comes as more... read more
With an epidemic of mental illness on the streets, counties struggle to spend huge cash reserves
Los Angeles Times By Thomas Curwen Aug 19, 2018 When California voters passed a tax on high-income residents in 2004, backers said it would make good on the state’s “failed promise” to help counties pay for the treatment of the mentally ill. After nearly 15 years, Proposition 63 — the Mental Health Services Act... read more