Youth Mental Health
- In 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General declared a youth mental health crisis. Schools are strategic locations for screening, treatment, and referral for mental health services that may enhance access for youth with barriers to care in other settings. In 2016, 13% of school districts reported screening for mental health. Read more here.
Research
- This remarkable study, based on data from its Global Mind Project involving more than 100,000 young people, found that 18-to-24-year-olds who were given their first smartphone at age 12 or younger “were more likely to report suicidal thoughts, aggression, detachment from reality, poorer emotional regulation, and low self-worth.” The findings, published yesterday in the peer-reviewed Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, noted these problems were largely associated with smartphones through early access to social media – as well as higher risks of cyberbullying, fragmented sleep, and “poor family relationships” by adulthood. Read more here.
Mega Bill, Medicaid, and the ACA
- A last-minute scramble to add a $50 billion rural health program to President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending law has left hospital and clinic leaders nationwide hopeful but perplexed. The Rural Health Transformation Program calls for federal regulators to hand states $10 billion a year for five years starting in fiscal year 2026. However, the “devil’s in the details in terms of implementing,” said Sarah Hohman, Director of Government Affairs at the National Association of Rural Health Clinics. Read more here.
- President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law will add $3.4 trillion to federal deficits through 2034, the Congressional Budget Office reported, a slight increase in the projection that takes into account the final tweaks that Republicans made before getting the legislation over the finish line. More than 10 million people will be uninsured in 2034 because of the law, CBO found, an improvement from an earlier projection that found 11.8 million people losing coverage over the decade. Read more here.
- Sara Habein recently learned that she has cysts in her brain. Every six months, doctors want to check that they aren’t growing. If she didn’t have Medicaid, she would either be racking up costs on a payment plan or have to make a difficult decision about the various other medications and treatments she needs for chronic health issues — all of which she relies on Medicaid to cover. Changes to Medicaid requirements recently passed under President Trump’s “one big, beautiful” tax and spending law may start requiring her to work if she wants to keep her health insurance. Read more here.
Federal Policy
- Senate Republicans say they are working on a bipartisan health package to lower drug and health insurance costs, a development that’s news to some Democrats who remain skeptical that their GOP colleagues will work with them. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is leading the talks, with a particular focus on more transparency from pharmacy benefit managers, so-called upcoding practices in Medicare Advantage, and other health items. Read more here.
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