A few years before the covid-19 pandemic, Dale Rice lost a toe to infection. [KFF Health News] 

- This story also ran on States Newsroom. It can be republished for free.

But because he was uninsured at the time, the surgery at a Reno, Nevada, hospital led to years of anguish. He said he owes the hospital more than $20,000 for the procedure and still gets calls from collection agencies.

“It can cause a lot of anxiety,” Rice said. “I can’t give you what I don’t have.”

Rice, 62, was born and has spent his life in Nevada. He said he fell through a gap in the tribal health care system because he lives 1,500 miles from the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation home area in eastern Kansas, where he’s an enrolled member.

He receives primary care at the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony tribal health clinic in Nevada, but structural barriers in the federal Indian Health Service left him without coverage for specialty care outside of the clinic. Rice might have been eligible for specialty services referred by his tribe’s health system in Kansas, but he lives too far from the tribe’s delivery area to utilize the tribal health program that helps pay for services outside of the IHS.

“I shouldn’t need to move to Kansas City to be fully covered,” Rice said.

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National Maternal Health Day offers us an opportunity to reflect back on past wins and measure how far we've come in delivering better maternal healthcare to women. It also provides a moment to look ahead, to confront the challenges that have yet to be overcome and consider of all the women in the U.S. who, despite our nation's wealth and advancements, still struggle to access quality maternal health care. 

For this maternal health day, here is a patient story that highlights both the success and the challenges in maternal healthcare -- two stories, in fact, with radically different trajectories. These stories emphasize the need to listen to women, and drive home the importance of a standard approach to care that empowers mothers with objective, data-driven tools.

Read more »

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Hospitalized adolescents have "unique and essential needs" that differ from those of younger pediatric inpatients, and it is critical that care teams have "knowledge, experience, and compassion" when it comes to addressing these specific needs, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said in a new policy statement.

This statement marks the first of its kind published in the U.S., noted Cora Breuner, MD, MPH, of the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital, and colleagues in Pediatricsopens in a new tab or window. Overall, knowledge and understanding of adolescent growth and development, as well as the legal and ethical issues that affect this population, are essential to delivering comprehensive care to hospitalized teens.

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The percentages of Chicagoans vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 this winter have been lower than in recent years, according to a report released last week by the city’s Department of Public Health. [Health News Illinois]

Just 23.3 percent of Chicagoans have received a flu shot this season, the lowest rate in the past four years. About 11.8 percent have received COVID-19 vaccines, down 1.4 percent from last year. 

The data, recorded Dec. 28, show vaccine uptake is lower across almost all age groups and is lower or similar across most community areas, compared to last year. 

Influenza vaccination rates are higher in northside communities, while rates on the city’s south and west sides are lower. The department says vaccine uptake has improved in some neighborhoods on the south and west side.

The geographic disparities also exist for COVID-19 vaccination uptake, though the report found less than 10 percent of residents in most neighborhoods across the city have received their shot.

The department said respiratory viral activity is high, causing “high volumes of (emergency department) visits, hospitalizations and (intensive care unit) admissions.”

COVID-19 levels are lower than at this point last year, but emergency department visits and hospitalizations related to the virus have risen in recent weeks.

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   National Day of Service  & Martin Luther King Jr. Day 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration published updated crisis care guidance for 2025, designed to reflect the transition to the 988 Lifeline. {SAMHSA & Becker's]

In a Jan. 15 news release, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said the guidance is designed to help communities "continue to develop and enhance their behavioral health crisis services." 

"Everyone in this country, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to crisis care for mental health and substance use issues," Mr. Becerra said. 

Here are five changes to note: 

1. The agency updated three components of the behavioral health crisis system for 2025. The essential components include 988 and other behavioral health lines, mobile crisis and outreach services and emergency and crisis stabilization services. 
   
   
2. The 2025 guidelines outline a general approach rather than providing a universal toolkit for every organization. 
   
   
3. The new guidelines place more emphasis on follow-up services, care coordination and critical service interventions. 
   
4. The updated guidance also emphasizes support for whole-person and family system care.
   
   
5. SAMHSA also published an implementation toolkit for mobile crisis team services. Public comments on the guidance are being accepted through March 21. 

Read the full guidance here. 

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Rule would ease access to gold-standard opioid use disorder treatments by allowing those treatments to be prescribed via telehealth

The Biden administration Wednesday finalized a long-awaited rule laying out how some health care providers can prescribe gold-standard opioid use disorder treatments through telehealth. [CQ Roll Call]

The final rule from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services allows providers who have not had an in-person visit with a patient to prescribe six months’ worth of buprenorphine through telehealth, including through audio-only visits.

Afterward, to continue prescribing buprenorphine through telehealth, providers can conduct an in-person medical evaluation or continue treating the patient “via another form of telemedicine.”

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The percentage of US youths experiencing mental health and substance use problems has risen rapidly in recent years.^1-3 Schools are important settings for prevention, but whether preventive programming meets student needs is unknown.⁴ This study examined trends in school programming related to mental health and substance use and teacher professional development across US middle and high schools from 2008-2020. [JAMA]

...In total, 76 826 schools participated. From 2008-2018, 9865 to 12 387 schools participated, with 70% to 94% responding in each state. 

More> 

You may be interested in a past webinar on School Mental Health, click here for the webinar video.

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The Illinois House of Representatives has named leaders of its committees for the coming legislative session. [Health News Illinois]

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said in a statement that committee chairs provide “invaluable legislative knowledge, firsthand experience at the critical junctures where policy is implemented on the community level, an abiding sense of compassion and a deep appreciation for the importance of the work we’re doing on behalf of Illinois families.”

For notable healthcare committee appointments: 

• Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, will chair the Appropriations-Health and Human Services Committee.
• Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, will chair the Healthcare Licenses Committee.
• Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, will chair the Healthcare Availability and Access Committee.
• Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Glen Ellyn, will chair the Human Services Committee.
• Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, will chair the Insurance Committee.
• Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, will chair the Mental Health and Addiction Committee.
• Rep. Jawaharial Williams, D-Chicago, will chair the Prescription Drug Affordability Committee.
• Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, will chair the Public Health Committee.

Welch recently announced several changes to the House’s leadership team. While Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, remains majority leader, Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, will become speaker pro-tempore and co-budgeteer. Other co-budgeteers will be Reps. Eva-Dina Delgado, D-Chicago, and Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago.

Former speaker pro-tempore and budgeteer Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, will serve as an assistant majority leader.

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