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The Connection

A roundup of recent Fund publications, charts, multimedia, and other timely content.

May 19, 2023

States Can Help the Youth Behavioral Health Crisis

In 2021, one of five teens reported they had seriously considered suicide in the previous year. States have an important role to play in addressing this critical situation, says youth behavioral health expert Laura Conrad on To the Point. When designing crisis stabilization programs, Conrad urges states to seek out the voices of young people and their families and pay special attention to the needs of rural youth and young people with autism spectrum disorder.

Understanding the Behavioral Health Workforce Shortage

Whether because of provider availability, cost, or stigma associated with seeking treatment, accessing behavioral health services is unnecessarily complex for Americans — especially for people in rural or underserved areas. A new Commonwealth Fund explainer helps us understand what’s going on. It discusses the many different types of behavioral health providers in the U.S., the barriers people face in getting services, and ways in which the nation can bolster the workforce to meet the growing demand for care.

FEATURED CHART

Reducing Suicide Through Community-Based Mental Health Care

Italy has one of the lowest national suicide rates, while the United States has one of the highest. In International Insights, the Commonwealth Fund’s Munira Z. Gunja explores Italy’s Trieste model, which utilizes community-based care to meet a range of mental health needs. The system has led to dramatic improvement in people’s outcomes. Gunja explains how it might be applied in the U.S.

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Improving Behavioral Health Care Through Medicaid

The sharp rise in mental health issues and substance use among U.S. adults and youth over the past several years has been exacerbated by a shortage of trained behavioral health care providers. Some experts believe a solution might lie in what’s known as integrated care, in which behavioral health specialists work in teams with other providers to maximize their expertise and expand access for patients. On To the Point, the Commonwealth Fund’s Nathaniel Counts and Akeiisa Coleman examine the integrated care model and discuss Medicaid’s new reimbursement guidelines for interprofessional consultation.

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Pediatricians Address the Impacts of Racism on Children

For Black families living in poverty, taking a child to a hospital can be a frightening experience. Too often hospital staff conflate being poor with neglect, resulting in reports to child welfare authorities that can lead to an investigation and, sometimes, foster care placement. Transforming Care takes a look at how children’s hospitals and pediatric providers are responding to concerns about racism in care. We describe how hospital staff are being trained to recognize and respond to discriminatory conduct and how security practices are being reformed.

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Expanding Affordable Health Care Access for Dreamers

The Biden administration plans to acknowledge the legal status of “Dreamers,” young people brought to the U.S. as children and protected against deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. A proposed rule would allow Dreamers to enroll in marketplace health insurance coverage and, in some cases, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. George Washington University researchers note that with Affordable Care Act insurance coverage policies aligned with DACA, tens of thousands of children and young adults stand to gain coverage.

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Effect of Asthma Inhalers on Climate Change

More than 34 million Americans live with a chronic lung disease and more than 25 million have asthma, with most using a pressurized metered-dose inhaler to treat symptoms. This type of inhaler, however, can have an outsized impact on the carbon emissions that lead to climate change. On To the Point, Paige Huffman and Emily Hough examine how other countries have reduced emissions from inhalers by switching to an environmentally friendly alternative: a dry-powder inhaler.

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How Regional Partnerships Bolster Rural Hospitals

Hospitals across rural America have been closing in record numbers over the past two decades, and more are in danger of ceasing operations. A feature article produced in partnership with the Bassett Research Institute examines how some rural hospitals are teaming up to overcome their challenges. While the regional health care partnerships aren’t a panacea for the many problems these providers face, rural hospitals, by joining forces, can create efficiencies, pilot solutions to shared problems, and participate in value-based payment arrangements.

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Strategies to Address Opioid Use Disorder

A rural county in Tennessee is using national and regional opioid settlement dollars to pay off debt and finance capital projects rather than fund mental health or addiction treatment that some local residents say is sorely needed. Transforming Care recently described comprehensive strategies local and state governments can use to address opioid use disorder, including investing in peer-led recovery supports.

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