MedStar Health celebrated the completion of its new behavioral health unit at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. 

Nonprofit Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee Premera Blue Cross is donating $2.3 million to organizations across Washington and Alaska to bolster access to housing and behavioral health services.

The Justice Department is investigating behavioral health startup Cerebral over its controlled substances prescriptions, The Verge reported May 9.

Child- and family-focused behavioral health startup Handspring closed a $6.2 million seed funding round, ROI-NJ reported May 9.

Nue Life Health has raised $23 million to expand its telehealth platform devoted to developing the use of ketamine therapy, The Dales Report reported April 20.

BrightView has debuted a new treatment center in Danville, Va., which will be accessible to patients in Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Delaware and North Carolina, according to Virginia local news source WDBJ7.

The industry of digital mental health services is booming, with funding for services reaching $852 million in the first quarter of 2021, nearly twice the amount raised in the first quarter of 2020, according to market intelligence platform CB Insights.

A survey conducted by VeryWell Mind found that affording treatment is a significant concern to 49 percent of those surveyed. Almost all of that 49 percent said they would have to discontinue treatment if their out-of-pocket costs were to increase. Over one-third of patients surveyed who used to be in therapy stopped because of cost-related reasons.

Mobile therapy company Talkspace had a strong first quarter, according to a transcription of its earnings call recorded by SeekingAlpha.

South Carolina Health and Human Services Director Robert Kerr is looking to raise insurance reimbursement rates for in-school therapists, in the hopes that it enables districts to hire more counselors, The State reported May 9.

Pensacola, Fla.-based Baptist Hospital is planning a $30 million behavioral health unit, Pensacola News Journal reported May 9.

Health insurance companies have invested millions of dollars in behavioral health programs and technologies recently.

Schenectady, N.Y.-based Ellis Hospital temporarily closed its inpatient adolescent mental health unit due to workforce shortages, ABC affiliate News10 reported April 30.

Kirkland, Wash.-based Fairfax Behavioral Health Hospital is blocked from admitting new patients younger than 18 until unsafe conditions are addressed, the state health department said April 27.

According to a new study from researchers at Mozilla, mental health apps have worse privacy protections than most other types of apps, The Verge reported May 2.

Multnomah County (Ore.) Health Department landed $2.6 million in federal funding for a new behavioral health center in Portland, NBC affiliate KGW8 reported April 17.

Rhode Island is the state with the highest percentage of private practice therapists who are in-network with at least one insurance panel, according to a study by behavioral health site Zencare.

Kansas is the state with the lowest percentage of private practice therapists who are in-network with at least one insurance panel, according to a study by behavioral health site Zencare.

The Department of Health and Human Services is launching a confidential, toll-free hotline for new and expecting mothers, the department said May 6 in an email shared with Becker's.

Behavioral health startup Heard gained $10 million in series A funding, GeekWire reported May 6.