Here are eight data points from research released by the National Association of Counties' commission on mental health and well-being May 11:

Montana state legislators passed a flurry of major healthcare reform bills in the session that ended on May 2, including several behavioral health investments.

Texas Children's Hospital in Houston has been cited by the Labor Department's Occupational Health and Safety Administration for failing to protect employees from physical assaults by aggressive patients.

HHS has published a fact sheet on changes to telehealth policies following the expiration of the national public health emergency May 11.

Recent years have seen a flurry of legislation aimed at blocking transgender people from receiving gender-affirming care.

Recent years have seen a flurry of legislation aimed at blocking transgender people from receiving gender-affirming care.

The Drug Enforcement Agency and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration extended the allowances for physicians to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine without an in-person evaluation until November.

Boston-based Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, a state-run hospital, is investigating inpatient deaths in response to allegations of neglect and suboptimal care for patients with mental health disabilities.

An Arkansas psychiatrist under investigation for Medicaid fraud is also accused of false imprisonment in a lawsuit, Fox affiliate KNWA reported May 4.

More than half of the $1 billion in Medicare psychotherapy provided from March 2020 to February 2021 "did not comply with Medicare requirements," according to an HHS inspector general's report released May 4.

New legislation in Illinois would offer people with most commercial insurance to have one free mental health diagnosis each year, WAND reported May 4. 

A Pennsylvania appeals court reversed a lower court's ruling that blocked Crozer Health-owned Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill, Pa., from moving forward with a plan to turn the hospital into a behavioral health center, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported May 3.

The Indiana General Assembly has significantly cut funds for the state's 988 crisis hotline and behavioral health clinics, the Herald Bulletin reported May 1. 

New legislation in New Jersey would lower the age for youth to access mental healthcare without parental consent to 13, New Jersey Monitor reported April 28. 

An Illinois bill that aims to transform children's behavioral health in the state has been approved by the House Mental Health and Addiction Committee, according to an April 27 report from NBC affiliate WAND.

Alabama lawmakers have introduced a bill that would apply a phone surcharge to all residents to fund its 988 crisis care system hotline. 

Nearly one-third of the U.S. population lives in an area that reserves taxes for mental health services, according to a study published April 18 in The Milbank Quarterly.

Morgan Medlock, MD, Colorado's inaugural chief of the state's behavioral health administration, has left the position after serving just 15 months, according to an April 17 report from the Colorado Sun.

CMS released its 2024 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters Final Rule, which includes measures aimed at boosting behavioral healthcare access, increasing coverage accessibility and simplifying the health plan selection process, according to an April 17 news release shared with Becker's.

New legislation in Oregon would apply a 50-cent tax on all phone lines in order to fund the state's behavioral health and suicide crisis hotline, The Corvallis Advocate reported April 6.