Reuters: White House Warns of Hunger Risk for Millions of US Women and Children Without Additional Aid Funding
The U.S. Congress must raise spending on a food assistance program for low-income women and children or 2 million could be turned away this year, Biden administration officials said on Thursday. A bitterly divided Congress has for months failed to reach agreement on 2024 government spending levels and is racing to avert a partial shutdown on Jan. 19. An eventual deal should include $1 billion more for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden on a call with reporters. (Douglas, 1/11)
The New York Times: Funding Shortage Threatens WIC Food Assistance Program for Mothers and Children
For the first time in decades, many states could begin turning away eligible applicants from an assistance program that provides low-income women and their children critical access to food. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, a federally funded program known as WIC, has traditionally received bipartisan support from lawmakers. But the broader push for spending cuts among some House Republicans has threatened the program’s ability to provide benefits to every eligible person who applies. (Ngo, 1/10)
CBS News: Biden Administration to Supply Summer Grocery Funds for 21 Million Children. Eligibility Criteria Explained.
A new federal program will provide summer grocery money to 21 million children across 35 states, part of the Biden administration's goal of making sure students get enough food when they're not in school and can't access free or reduced breakfast and lunch. The program will be rolled out in 35 states and all five U.S. territories, while four tribes have also opted into the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, or Summer EBT, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday. (Picchi, 1/10)
Chalkbeat: Nearly 10 Million Eligible Students to Miss Out on the New Summer EBT Benefit
Summer EBT will work a little differently depending on the state, but generally states will identify which families qualify for the $120 or more in benefits and either mail out EBT cards for the summer, or load the value onto existing benefit cards. Then families can use that money to buy food at their local grocery store. (Belsha, 1/10)
The Wall Street Journal: Increasing Cases of Psychosis Among Teen Marijuana Users
Thousands of teenagers and young adults have developed delusions and paranoia after using cannabis. Legalization efforts have made cannabis more readily available in much of the country. More frequent use of marijuana that is many times as potent as strains common three decades ago is leading to more psychotic episodes, according to doctors and recent research. “This isn’t the cannabis of 20, 30 years ago,” said Dr. Deepali Gershan, an addiction psychiatrist at Compass Health Center in Northbrook, Ill. Up to 20% of her caseload is patients for whom she suspects cannabis use triggered a psychotic episode. (Wernau, 1/10)
NBC News: Study Discovers Connection Between Online Racism and PTSD Symptoms in Black Youth
Mounting evidence shows the devastating toll online racism takes on Black youth. According to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, Black children and teens who experience racial discrimination online may develop symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder. Those PTSD symptoms, the researchers found, were also potentially linked to suicidal thoughts. (Bellamy 1/5)
Stat: Industry Contributes $14M to Doctors Involved in the Creation of the Psychiatric Manual, DSM-5
Amid ongoing concerns over conflicts of interest, a new study found that 60% of the physicians who served as panel and task force members for the American Psychiatric Association’s official manual of psychiatric disorders received payments from industry totaling more than $14 million. And the authors argue the findings raise questions about the editorial independence of the reference book. (Silverman, 1/10)
AP: Increased Adult ADHD Help-Seeking During Pandemic Contributes to Shortages in Medications
Prescriptions for ADHD treatments surged among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to fuel lingering shortages that frustrate parents and doctors. New prescriptions for stimulants used to treat the condition jumped for young adults and women during a two-year window after the pandemic hit in March 2020, according to a study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. (Murphy and Hollingsworth, 1/10)
The Baltimore Sun: Absence of U.S. Clinical Guidelines for Adult ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment, Possible Change on the Horizon.
Fiona Edwards is 50 years old, but to this day, some of her most traumatic memories are from her elementary school classroom in the Caribbean. As a child with an overactive imagination who struggled to stay organized and to wait her turn, Edwards had a hard time learning as her classmates did. And her principal didn’t waste any opportunity to remind her — and everyone else – that she was “an unteachable dunce,” said Edwards, who now lives in Baltimore. (Roberts, 1/10)
Bloomberg: Students Turn to Technology Instead of School Counselors for Online Mental Health Support
An overwhelming majority of teens and tweens — 87% — have sought mental health information online, and 64% have used mobile health apps, according to a report by the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit focused on emotional health and suicide prevention among US teens and young adults. But it’s not just a desire for relatability and privacy that is pushing high school and college students to seek mental health services virtually. Schools are straining to meet demand. (Li, 1/9)
Stateline: New Medication for Postpartum Depression Faces Challenges for At-Risk Women
The first pill for postpartum depression approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now available, but experts worry that minority and low-income women, who are disproportionately affected by the condition, won’t have easy access to the new medication. About 1 in 8 women experience symptoms of postpartum depression, federal data shows. Suicide and drug overdoses are among the leading causes of pregnancy-related death, defined as death during pregnancy, labor or within the first year of childbirth. (Hassanein, 1/11)
Newsom Proposes Postponing Salary Increases for Healthcare Workers: Because of the state’s $38 billion projected deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said he is seeking changes to a law he signed just three months ago. The first pay increases were expected to take effect in June. It’s unclear how long the proposed changes could push back that schedule. Read more coverage from CalMatters.
KFF Health News: Newsom Revisits $25 Minimum Health Wage, Putting Delicate Labor-Industry Deal in Flux
Gov. Gavin Newsom is revisiting California’s phase-in of a nation-leading $25 minimum wage for health workers in the face of a projected $38 billion deficit, less than three months after he approved the measure. But renegotiating wages could threaten a delicate compromise between unions and the health industry. Newsom, whose administration initially opposed the wage deal as too costly, signed the bill, SB 525, into law without knowing the final price tag. His Democratic administration now projects the first-year cost to be $4 billion, though that number has been questioned by labor leaders. (Thompson, 1/11)
Legislation Progresses to Prohibit Tackle Football for Kids: California lawmakers who want to ban tackle football for kids under 12 to reduce brain injuries gained ground Wednesday in the Legislature but still face a very long field and a clock that is ticking. Read more from AP and the Los Angeles Times.
NPR: Study Discovers Decline in Sales of Sugary Drinks in Cities with Soda Taxes
Sales of sugary drinks fell dramatically across five U.S. cities, including San Francisco and Oakland, after they implemented taxes targeting those drinks – and those changes were sustained over time. That's according to a study published Friday in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers say the findings provide more evidence that these controversial taxes really do work. Taxes ranged from 1 to 2 cents per ounce. For a 2-liter bottle of soda, that comes out to between 67 cents to $1.30 extra in taxes. (Godoy, 1/6)
The Hill: Record-Breaking Obamacare Enrollment for the Third Consecutive Year
Health insurance enrollment through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) insurance marketplace has reached a record for the third consecutive year, according to the latest update from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The CMS said in a statement Wednesday that enrollment for 2024 ACA plans had broken 20 million so far, with just less than a week left for people to sign up for plans. This exceeds 2023’s enrollment — 16.3 million — by roughly 4 million people. (Choi, 1/10)
Eliminating Turnover for Children in Medicaid and CHIP
Despite remaining eligible, many children enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cycle in and out of coverage for administrative reasons. This coverage churn is a bigger problem for children than adults, and it most affects children of color. Manatt Health’s Cindy Mann and Emma Daugherty review what states are doing to keep eligible children covered. As of January 1, 12-month continuous enrollment is in place for all children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. According to the authors, ending churn could be a game-changer for children’s health and well-being.
Axios: Nationwide Increase in Diagnoses of Gender Dysphoria
Gender dysphoria diagnoses rose in nearly every U.S. state between 2018 and 2022, per a new Definitive Healthcare report. They fell only in South Dakota, which last year became the sixth state to restrict gender-affirming care for minors. The nearly nationwide increases suggest growing demand for gender-affirming care, even amid efforts in many states to restrict access. (Fitzpatrick and Beheraj, 1/11)
The Washington Post: Congress Approaches Agreement to Partially Reinstate Biden's Expanded Child Tax Credit
Congressional lawmakers are closing in on a deal that would partially revive President Biden’s expanded tax credit for lower-income families in exchange for extending tax incentives favored by business interests, according to two people familiar with the matter. The higher child tax credit for lower-income families took effect in 2021 but expired that same year amid GOP opposition. Since then, Democrats have sought to bring back the higher credit, which they say pulled millions of lower-income families out of poverty. (Bogage and Stein, 1/10)