This event focused on frequently asked questions about maternal mental health with experts and women with lived experience. Panelists discussed the various signs and symptoms of PPD, the disparities that exist in maternal mental health care for underserved and underrepresented communities, the importance of support from loved ones, and resources to help women and families who may be looking for support. Video available here.

Presenters included:

-Andrea Clark Horton, J.D., M.Div. – Director, Perinatal Mental Health Alliance for People of Color, Postpartum Support International •

-Dr. Emily Miller – Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Division Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital

- Allison Livingston – Mother with Lived Experience; Co-facilitator, Perinatal OCD Group for Parents, Postpartum Support International

- Dr. Laura J. Miller – Medical Director of Reproductive Mental Health in the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention at the Veterans Health Administration; Professor of Psychiatry at the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine

-Dr. Dana Delman Meaney (Moderator) – Medical Officer, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) for 24/7 free access to professional counselors for women and families seeking support.

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The Senate is poised to consider legislation that would expand coverage for pregnancy, postpartum and newborn care provided by doulas and midwives. [Health News Illinois]

The bill from Sen. Lakesia Collins, D-Chicago, would task insurers with covering all pregnancy, postpartum and newborn care provided by perinatal doulas or licensed certified professional midwives. That includes home births and home visits.

Coverage would also expand to home visits by board-certified lactation consultants, as well as recommended products like breast pumps and feeding aids.

The bill would allow policy limits to cover up to $8,000 for home visits by a perinatal doula.

Collins said the plan aims to address barriers to maternal care, especially for Black women who face higher maternal mortality rates.

“Black women face some of the highest mortality rates during and after pregnancy, and with this legislation, we will begin to close gaps in coverage and increase safety and care for all newborns and mothers in Illinois,” she said.

The bill unanimously passed the Senate’s executive committee and awaits consideration in the full chamber.

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Consumers turned to telehealth in droves to access medical care during the coronavirus pandemic. Though current utilization remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, that wave of demand has subsided, leaving some to wonder how digitally delivered care will weave itself into the American healthcare system in the long term. [Healthcare Dive]

Experts say telehealth has carved out niches where it could become the front door to medical services — like in mental health, where utilization remains elevated above other use cases, or low-acuity urgent care, at a time when many Americans don’t have access to a primary care physician. 

Perhaps the biggest question mark hanging over the industry is whether Washington will make COVID-19-era telehealth flexibilities permanent. The move enjoys bipartisan congressional support and is backed by proposed legislation. In addition, federal regulators have moved to continue allowing providers to prescribe certain medications via telemedicine.

Even absent concrete action on the Hill, hospitals, payers and other healthcare companies are continuing to integrate virtual solutions into their operations. This includes tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft, which are angling to see how their consumer reach and artificial intelligence capabilities can augment telehealth access and delivery.

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In a recent tweetopens in a new tab or window that resonated with many, I shared my startling encounter with an unexpected medical bill of nearly $5,000 (originally $10,000). The incident shed light on a widespread issue that countless Americans face when grappling with the labyrinthine and often bewildering U.S. healthcare system. [MedPage Today]

My Run-In With the Emergency Department

While attending a conference in Arizona in January, I embarked on a popular hike up the renowned Camelback Mountain. Unfortunately, mirroring the experiences of many who preceded me, I underestimated the effects of the dry desert air and mid-day temperature. I consequently found myself dizzy and dehydrated, necessitating an emergency department visit. During my visit, I received three bags of IV fluids, two rounds of blood tests, and one X-ray -- and 6 weeks later, an array of medical charges approaching $10,000. Despite my insurance company negotiating it down to $4,800, the onus of the entire amount still fell on me due to my high-deductible health plan (HDHP). 

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The city of Chicago’s “prompt and coordinated response” to the measles outbreak earlier this year at a migrant shelter helped reduce the potential spread of the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week.  [Health News Illinois]

The agency said in its report that the outbreak at the Pilsen neighborhood shelter could have “spread rapidly among approximately 2,100 presumed exposed shelter residents” after the first case was identified on March 7.

The Chicago Department of Public Health, in partnership with the CDC, Cook County Health and other local healthcare providers, launched a response on March 8, which included a mass vaccination campaign.

CDPH said more than 9,300 doses of measles, mumps, rubella vaccine were administered at new arrivals shelters during that effort, with another 17,000 vaccines administered to Chicagoans.

The CDC's model suggested that at least 100 people would have been infected with measles had it not been for the campaign.

“This outbreak underscores the need to ensure high vaccination coverage among communities residing in congregate settings,” the CDC report noted.

Other CDPH efforts included screening shelter residents for measles symptoms and isolating individuals with suspected or confirmed cases. 

The agency said Friday that 57 cases have been confirmed at the shelter, with the most recent case occurring on April 5. The last case in Chicago was on April 16.

“This is a good example of what can be accomplished when federal, state, county and city agencies come together with community partners in a rapid and coordinated fashion to address an active outbreak,” Dr. Stephanie Black, medical director of CDPH’s disease control bureau, said in a statement.

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Behavioral health advocates joined Gov. JB Pritzker in Springfield on Wednesday to discuss ongoing efforts to transform services in the state. [ Health News Illinois]

Those developments include an online portal set to launch this summer to connect families to publicly funded mental health services. Work is also being done on a “Mental Health Bill of Rights” to establish goals so all Illinoisans can access care.

“Our goal has always been to make Illinois the best state in the nation to raise a family,” Pritzker said after the event. “That’s why my administration is working to improve our statewide mental and behavioral health infrastructure for people of all ages."

The Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative, launched in 2022 to improve access to mental health services for kids, convened the roundtable.

Initiative Director Dr. Dana Weiner said they continue to look to remove roadblocks so families have the “tools to find the help they need.”

Officials also noted success with a state program that provides trained peer support to individuals recovering from mental health and substance use disorders. 

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The Chicago Department of Public Health on Wednesday unveiled a strategy to combat opioid overdoses this summer. [Health News Illinois]

Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo "Simbo" Ige told the City Council Committee on Health and Human Relations that efforts will focus on working with local organizations and providers to distribute overdose reversal medication and to connect those suffering from opioid use disorder with same-day access to medication treatment.

The agency will also offer education on overdose prevention and review data and maps of opioid-related overdoses based on responses by emergency medical services providers.

“We have tools to help prevent fatal overdoses,” Ige said. “With greater awareness and understanding of the increase in opioid overdose deaths, as well as ready access to overdose reversal and treatment medications, everybody can play a role."

The effort will focus on neighborhoods at the highest risk of opioid-related overdoses. Ige said that, for the past three years, one third of all EMS responses have occurred in five west side neighborhoods.

Ige said the effort is a step to address a spike in overdoses seen in recent summers and a life-expectancy gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans, which was 11.4 years in 2022.

“CDPH and the city of Chicago are committed to narrowing this gap, and we’re working every day with our healthcare and community partners to do so,” she said.

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Senate leaders are gauging support for three bills promoting children’s online safety, a Senate aide told our Rebecca Kern. [ KFF & Politico]

The Kids Online Safety Act, which Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sponsored, would require social media platforms to prevent the spread of harmful content, such as material related to suicide or eating disorders, on their sites.

Why it matters: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has warned that social media might be contributing to an increase in mental illness among youth. An advisory from Murthy last year said adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes.

Assessing support, and opposition, is known as hotlining. If no one objects, a bill sponsor can call for passage by unanimous consent, avoiding the lengthy debate that accompanies other Senate legislation.

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Gov. JB Pritzker's administration released a pair of reports Friday analyzing how the state responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and outlining how it should prepare for future public health emergencies. [Health News Illinois] “Following a once-in-a-century event like the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that we take the time to thoroughly study how our state responded to the emergency and seek to learn lessons that will put us in a stronger position the next time such an all-of-government response is required,” Pritzker said. The COVID-19 After-Action Report, conducted by the Department of Public Health, found positives in how the state handled health equity in the rollout of vaccines, with Illinois ranking first among all Midwest states in vaccination rates for Hispanic residents and second for Black residents. The report credited a central response from state government and partnerships with nonprofits and other community organizations for encouraging vaccine uptake. However, it found that state agencies had little planning for such an emergency, and that the early response was hamstrung due to public health organizations having limited data infrastructure and “outdated technology platforms.” “Response leaders were hampered in data-driven decision making due to these constraints, and significant manual processes were required to fill the gap,” the report said. Other challenges included the inability to measure health equity needs due to those data limitations, inconsistent messaging from local health departments and “bureaucratic hiring processes and high attrition (that) led to persistent staffing challenges across the state response.” The report called on the state and local organizations to invest in technology and data systems to ease data collection, multi-agency coordination and hiring. Efforts must also be taken to expand public health messaging to better engage communities and partner with local organizations to rebuild public trust. The playbook laid out 14 steps the state should take to establish, activate and deliver a statewide response to future emergencies. Undertaking those efforts, the report said, would allow state agencies to mobilize with other branches of government, health systems and other stakeholders on a coordinated response. “Reimagining public health in Illinois to best prepare for future public health emergencies requires careful evaluation and implementation of lessons learned,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. The reports dropped Friday, the first anniversary of when the COVID-related public health emergency declarations expired.

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The term "Lost Generation" was initially used to describe the generation that came of age during World War I, popularized by Ernest Hemingway. It referenced the disillusionment experienced by many, especially intellectuals and creatives, who lived through the war and its aftermath. [MedPage Today]

Several decades later, the term was applied to another group. The "Woodstock Generation" typically refers to the Baby Boomers, specifically those who were young adults in the 1960s and 1970s during the time of the famous Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. They are sometimes referred to as the "Lost Generation" in a cultural or societal context, as they challenged many conventional norms and values during a time of significant societal upheaval. 

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