Under a bill proposed in February to the General Assembly, commercial health insurers in Illinois would be required to assist in paying the state $100 million, an estimated total to assist in covering behavioral health crisis services. The crisis resources…
Government & Regulation
The state of Ohio is directing $20 million to support six children’s wellness campuses across the state. The funds will be used to create four new child wellness campuses and expand two existing campuses. The facilities aim to provide short-term…
The Sonoma County (Calif.) Board of Supervisors has awarded $12.4 million to support mental health and homelessness services across the county. The approved funding includes $10 million from the county’s Measure O, a quarter-cent sales tax voters approved in 2020…
Lewis County, Wash., has repealed an ordinance that prevented Gather Church in Centralia, Wash., from operating a syringe services program, resolving a legal dispute over whether the restriction violated federal disability law. The repeal follows a Dec. 31 order from…
Outdated federal policies continue to limit access to behavioral healthcare, leaving patients to bear the consequences, Stuart Archer, CEO of Oceans Healthcare, wrote in a Feb. 9 LinkedIn post. The Plano, Texas-based behavioral health provider operates psychiatric hospitals and outpatient…
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Georgia is launching an online dashboard allowing residents to report insurance coverage issues related to mental health and substance use claims under the state’s Mental Health Parity Act, The Current reported Feb. 6. The website will be monitored by Georgians…
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has signed an executive order that aims to improve behavioral healthcare and public safety in the state. The order directs several cabinet agencies to strengthen coordination between North Carolina’s behavioral health and criminal justice systems,…
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has selected nine pilot programs to test health IT standards aimed at strengthening behavioral and physical health integration through improved data exchange. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the selections Feb.…
A county-funded, $27.6 million inpatient psychiatric facility in Oceanside, Calif., has begun operations after providing short-term care to 31 patients. The 16-bed unit started admitting patients Dec. 29 following staff training in November, according to a Feb. 5 news release…
Nearly one-third of physicians enrolled in Medicaid don’t treat patients covered by the program, according to a study published Feb. 2 in Health Affairs. A team led by researchers at Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University analyzed physician enrollment files…