Author: Ella Ruder

Behavioral health has made strides since the 1970s, when institutions were the primary providers of care and community services were limited. Despite progress, challenges in the sector remain, from workforce shortages to reimbursement rates and a lack of prevention care,…

The Trump administration’s policies regarding homelessness have shifted away from prevention strategies, like the Housing First model promoted by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and toward a “treatment-first” approach, calling for increased involuntary commitment nationwide.  The system — which…

Twenty-four recent grants seek to strengthen the behavioral health workforce by bolstering expanded training programs, student support and increased access to care in underserved communities. 

Telehealth accounted for more than one-quarter of all outpatient mental health care among U.S. adults in 2021 to 2022, according to a Nov. 26 JAMA Psychiatry study. Researchers examined national trends by care modality, revealing notable differences by age, income,…

A coalition of 19 state attorneys general and two state governors filed a lawsuit Nov. 13, seeking to block changes to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s $3.9 billion Continuum of Care grant program, according to a Nov.…

The World Health Organization released a comprehensive report detailing its latest strategies to improve behavioral health worldwide. The document identifies urgent, system-level gaps, underscores the need for sustained investment in mental health services and calls on governments to embed behavioral…

Idaho plans to reduce pay rates for Medicaid mental health services by up to 15% beginning Dec. 2, a move providers say will destabilize care and increase pressure on jails and hospitals, according to a Nov. 25 report from KIFI…

Behavioral health faces a range of challenges — and top among them is access. Patients can linger on appointment waitlists for months or be caught in a referral backlog. During the limbo, patient conditions can worsen, driving them to seek…

Regence Blue Shield was fined $550,000 by Washington state regulators for failing to show its behavioral health coverage complies with mental health parity laws.  The Office of the Insurance Commissioner said Regence did not submit required documentation demonstrating that behavioral…

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Corewell Health has opened West Michigan’s first trauma recovery center, which will offer free mental health services to survivors of violent crime.  The center, located in the Corewell Health Community Medicine Clinic in Grand Rapids, provides mental…