More than a decade ago, researchers launched the BabySeq Project, a pilot program to return newborn genomic sequencing results to parents and measure the effects on newborn care. Today, over 30 international initiatives are exploring the expansion of newborn screening using genomic sequencing (NBSeq), but a new study by researchers from Mass General Brigham highlights the substantial variability in gene selection among those programs. In a paper published in Genetics in Medicine, an official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, they offer a data-driven approach to prioritizing genes for public health consideration. It's critical that we be thoughtful about which genes and conditions are included in genomic newborn screening programs. By leveraging machine learning, we can provide a tool that helps policymakers and clinicians make more informed choices, ultimately improving the impact of genomic screening programs." Nina Gold, MD, co-senior author, director of Prenatal Medical Genetics and Metabolism at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) The authors introduce a machine learning model that brings structure and consistency to the selection of genes for NBSeq programs. Researchers analyzed 4,390 genes included across 27 NBSeq programs, identifying key factors influencing gene inclusion. While the number of genes analyzed by each program ranged from 134 to 4,299, only 74 genes (1.7%) were consistently included in over 80% of programs. Recommended Uniform Screening Panel, has robust natural history data, and if there is strong evidence of treatment efficacy. Using these insights, the team developed a machine learning model incorporating 13 predictors, achieving high accuracy in predicting gene selection across programs. The model provides a ranked list of genes that can adapt to new evidence and regional needs, enabling more consistent and informed decision-making in NBSeq initiatives worldwide. "This research represents a significant step toward harmonizing NBSeq programs and ensuring that gene selection reflects the latest scientific evidence and public health priorities," said Green. Data-driven consideration of genetic disorders for global genomic newborn screening programs. Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Background: Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6), predominantly expressed by type II alveolar cells, is linked to the prognosis and severity of interstitial lung disease (ILD). This investigation sought to explore the relationship between KL-6 concentrations and the presence of ILD versus interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA). Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 147 patients who were suspected of ILD and underwent KL-6 testing between October 2022 and March 2023. Epidemiological and clinical details of the patients, including the outcomes of pulmonary function tests and computed tomography findings, were retrospectively extracted from electronic medical records. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that serum KL-6 concentrations are markedly elevated in patients with clinically recognized and treated ILD compared to those identified with ILA. Furthermore, the association between higher KL-6 levels and reduced forced vital capacity percentage underlines the biomarker's potential in differentiating between ILD requiring intervention and less severe abnormalities. • Serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) levels are significantly elevated in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) compared to those with interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA), indicating its potential as a diagnostic biomarker. • KL-6 is predominantly expressed by type II alveolar cells and is linked to the prognosis and severity of ILD. • The study provides evidence that serum KL-6 concentrations are markedly elevated in clinically recognized and treated ILD compared to ILA. It also highlights the relationship between KL-6 levels and pulmonary function, specifically forced vital capacity. • Clinicians could consider incorporating KL-6 assessments into the diagnostic process for patients with suspected ILD to improve early detection and management strategies. Further research may be warranted to establish standardized protocols for KL-6 testing in clinical settings. Krebs von den Lungen-6 as a biomarker for distinguishing between interstitial lung disease and interstitial lung abnormalities based on computed tomography findings. In this interview, industry expert Dr. Lohit Khera discusses the evolving role of microRNA in research, diagnostics, and precision medicine, highlighting the latest innovations in RNA extraction and analysis Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. Please check the box above to proceed. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Among newly arrived immigrants studying Swedish, 17 percent reported problems hearing conversations. More than half had some form of established hearing problem, according to a study at the University of Gothenburg. Language acquisition is one of the many challenges in the process of settling in a new country, and hearing is a key factor in language acquisition. The study encompassed 506 adults attending Swedish language classes. The three most common countries of origin were Syria, Somalia, and Iraq. The average age was 38 years and three out of four were female. Problems hearing conversations were reported by 17 percent of participants. Among those aged 45–64, this rose to 26 percent. As a whole, more than half of the group had some form of hearing loss, as determined by audiometric screening, a method for seeing which sound frequencies a person can and cannot hear. These hearing problems could also be linked to generally poorer health, including asthma, allergies, and high blood pressure. Among those with normal hearing, 80 percent reported good or very good general health, as opposed to 46 percent in the group with hearing problems. Perceived hearing problems were 60 percent more common among immigrants – and twice as common among immigrants aged 45 and over – when compared to the general population in Sweden. Some 2 percent of the immigrant study group said that they used hearing aids. The researchers note that the prevalence of hearing loss varies widely around the world and is up to four times more common in low- and middle-income countries compared to high-income countries. The lead author of the study, Nina Pauli, is an associate professor at the University of Gothenburg and a senior physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital specialized in ear, nose, and throat medicine. As a result, immigrants should be offered audiometric screening to detect hearing problems and better facilitate language acquisition and social integration," she says. Hearing Problems Common in Immigrants: Association With Self‐Rated Health. In this interview, industry expert Dr. Lohit Khera discusses the evolving role of microRNA in research, diagnostics, and precision medicine, highlighting the latest innovations in RNA extraction and analysis Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Announcing a new publication for Acta Materia Medica journal. Chronic inflammation is mediated by cytokines, including IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, is a pivotal factor in aging that links mitochondrial dysfunction to activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in aged adipose tissue. Moreover, distinct adipose tissue and adipose tissue depots exhibit complex molecular and cellular functions related to the deterioration of conventional metabolic regulation pathways. Unraveling these mechanisms is crucial for developing therapeutic strategies to enhance metabolic health and promote longevity. This review elucidates the current understanding of lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, cellular senescence, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Finally, a novel therapeutic approach for mitochondrial transplantation is proposed using exosome cargo to sustain healthy metabolism and thermogenesis in aging populations. These findings lay the groundwork for innovative therapies and preventive strategies to mitigate the impact of obesity and aging. Sarcopenic obesity: prospects of mitochondrial transplantation to combat metabolic deterioration in aging. In this interview, industry expert Dr. Lohit Khera discusses the evolving role of microRNA in research, diagnostics, and precision medicine, highlighting the latest innovations in RNA extraction and analysis Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. Please check the box above to proceed. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Researchers at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine have uncovered a key primary step in the hepatic ERK pathway that leads to increased insulin production. Insulin is a hormone produced by β-cells in the pancreas. You can think of insulin like a key that unlocks cells to let glucose enter from the blood, so it can be used as energy. This occurs through an inter-organ neuronal signal relay originating in the hepatic ERK pathway. Due to the close relationship between obesity and the onset of diabetes, understanding this pathway in depth could help develop new ways to treat or prevent this condition. We theorized that it had to do with inflammation in the colon, since pro-inflammatory factors can play an excitatory role in the hepatic ERK pathway." The researchers developed a thorough series of experiments to determine if colonic inflammation due to obesity could impact the hepatic ERK pathway. First, the research group analyzed mice without obesity that had been given a drug to cause inflammation in the colon. Next, by analyzing colons of mice in which obesity was induced by a high-calorie diet, it was found that colonic inflammation, along with both hepatic ERK pathway activation and increased β-cells, had occurred in these obese mice. "An exciting finding was when we tried to treat the obese mice with colon inflammation by lowering their inflammation, it actually stopped the ERK pathway in the liver from activating," explains Imai. These achievements will lead to advancements in understanding the mechanism behind β-cells proliferation in order to maintain normal blood glucose levels. In addition, it is anticipated that this research may help progress the development of treatments and prevention methods for diabetes. These findings were published in JCI Insight on May 8, 2025. This research was supported by the Japan Society of the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (23K24383, 22K19303, 20H05694); the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Moonshot R&D (JPMJMS2023); and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), AMED-PRIME (21gm6210002h0004). Colonic inflammation triggers β cell proliferation during obesity development via a liver-to-pancreas interorgan mechanism. In this interview, industry expert Dr. Lohit Khera discusses the evolving role of microRNA in research, diagnostics, and precision medicine, highlighting the latest innovations in RNA extraction and analysis Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. Please check the box above to proceed. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

The report, Understanding the intergenerational transmission of educational (under)achievement, which was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, evaluated how parental genetics can influence child development through the environment provided by their parents (for example, reading habits or access to better resources), also known as "genetic nurture" or "indirect genetic effects". They found that parental polygenic scores for education had a strong effect on children's educational outcomes, such as years of education completed or school grades, even after accounting for genetic transmission. This is because parents with a higher genetic predisposition toward education may be more likely to read to their children or invest in learning resources. The strongest effects were found around the age of three and involved parental genetic predispositions for traits such as motivation, perseverance, emotional regulation, and self-control (e.g. non-cognitive skills). This finding suggests that parents with better non-cognitive skills may be especially able to support their children early in life. For both educational and mental health related outcomes, indirect genetic influences were stronger in early childhood. Co-investigator Dr José J. Morosoli (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) said: "Through this project, we show how genetics and environment are deeply intertwined, challenging the idea that inherited genetics alone determine outcomes. "We found that both direct inheritance of genes and the environment shaped by parents' genetics influence children's education and mental health. Ignoring these indirect genetic effects can lead to misleading conclusions. "Additionally, the impact of genetics and environment changes as children grow, suggesting that early interventions focusing on parents might prove fruitful, while later efforts could benefit from targeting the children themselves." When the team accounted for family socioeconomic status and parental education, indirect genetic effects dropped by approximately 75%. This suggests that the effect of non-inherited genes was largely explained by family socioeconomic position and parental education. For example, parents with higher socioeconomic status and education levels may have access to the necessary resources to provide their children with opportunities linked to better outcomes - regardless of genetic factors. As a result, the researchers are calling for future studies to explore the specific resource-based disparities that drive educational underachievement. This research supports the UK Government's calls for life-course approaches to mental health and development, highlighting the importance of early intervention and sustained support throughout childhood." Professor Jean-Baptiste Pingault, Principal Investigator, UCL Psychology & Language Sciences They cannot be used to make individual predictions or guide education policy. The value of this work lies in improving our understanding of human development and informing better research into the causes of traits and behaviours, especially research aiming to understand the interplay between social and biological factors. Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Collaborative research, led from the University of Oxford and published today in Nature Medicine, has developed a new tool called QR4 that more accurately predicts an individual's 10-year risk of cardiovascular diseases, like heart disease and stroke, particularly identifying high-risk patients that current prediction tools miss. QR4 can be thought of as a type of calculator that lets doctors use an individual's health data, such as blood pressure, age and medical history, to estimate their likelihood of developing a cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years, allowing them to intervene early to prevent illness. We believe that these findings are important to both patients and policy makers. They indicate that more groups of people are at increased risk for heart and circulatory diseases than previously recognised. The researchers identified several unique risk factors common to all genders that were not part of current cardiovascular risk calculators, as well as new factors specific to women's health such as pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterised by high blood pressure, and postnatal depression, that were predictive of future heart disease risk. "While traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and high cholesterol are well-recognised, our latest research identifies less obvious, yet crucial risk indicators," said Professor Hippisley-Cox. "For instance, conditions like postnatal depression and Down's syndrome significantly contribute to cardiovascular risk, underscoring the complex interplay between mental health, genetic factors, and heart health. "Our findings also reveal that women with COPD are at a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases than previously understood," said Professor Mona Bafadhel, co-author, Chair of Respiratory Medicine, King's College, London and Asthma + Lung UK Professor. "This underscores the critical need for targeted cardiovascular monitoring and interventions in these patients, which begins with an early diagnosis." By integrating these new predictors into the QR4 model, the researchers have developed a more nuanced and comprehensive tool for predicting cardiovascular disease, ensuring preventative strategies are more personalised, inclusive, and cater to the needs of a broader and more diverse population. "Cardiovascular risk has been under-recognised in some populations, which through QR4 we can now better address," said Professor Keith Channon, BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford. "The new findings will help identify more diverse groups of people who have high cardiovascular risk, enabling them to access interventions and treatments to reduce their risk." "Our head-to-head comparisons with established models show that QR4 provides a more detailed risk profile for each individual, allowing for earlier and more precise intervention strategies. This is crucial in a field where early detection can save lives and could significantly impact how we approach prevention on a global scale." This new algorithm builds on almost two decades of work and global leadership in the field of risk algorithms, and cardiovascular risk algorithms in particular. The researchers hope that clinicians, advisory bodies, regulators, and health and care policymakers consider the implications of QR4's advanced predictive capabilities on national health guidelines and support its adoption in clinical settings to improve cardiovascular health outcomes. Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

A landmark study by scientists at the University of Oxford, has unveiled crucial insights into the way that COVID-19 vaccines mitigate severe illness in those who have been vaccinated. Despite the global success of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, concerns remain around the continued spread of this disease including in vaccinated individuals. For this reason, researchers at the Oxford Vaccine Group conducted an extensive investigation into the human immune response to COVID-19, in both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Results of this study categorically show a reduction in indicators of disease severity in those who had received the vaccine, demonstrating that the harmful inflammatory reaction to COVID-19 is less severe in those who have been vaccinated, when compared with those who haven't. He said: "These results confirm the efficacy of vaccination and its pivotal role in reducing the harmful consequences associated with COVID-19. The implications of these findings are far-reaching, offering evidence that is fundamental to future vaccine development and pandemic mitigation strategies. It also provides valuable guidance for policymakers and public health experts." Ongoing research is critical as we know the next one is coming but we don't know which virus or when it will be." The study employed state-of-the-art technologies, including RNA-sequencing (to capture the level of genes produced by blood cells), to achieve these results. While the findings are promising, the study acknowledges limitations such as a focus on mild cases and sample size constraints, highlighting the need for further research utilising advanced techniques to enhance resolution. Funding for the study was provided by various organisations, including the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Notably, the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 randomised controlled trials received support from UK Research and Innovation, NIHR, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson anticipates that California's sprawling Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, may need to be dialed back after Gov. Gavin Newsom releases his latest budget, which could reflect a multibillion-dollar deficit. Even so, the physician-turned-lawmaker, who was elected to the state Senate in November, says her priorities as chair of a budget health subcommittee include preserving coverage for the state's most vulnerable, particularly children and people with chronic health conditions. "We will be spending many, many hours and long nights figuring this out," Weber Pierson said of the lead-up to the state's June 15 deadline for lawmakers to pass a balanced budget. With Medicaid cuts on the table in Washington and Medi-Cal running billions of dollars over budget due to rising drug prices and higher-than-anticipated costs to cover immigrants without legal status, Weber Pierson's dual responsibilities — maintaining a balanced budget and delivering compassionate care to the state's poorest residents — could make her instrumental in leading Democrats through this period of uncertainty. President Donald Trump has said GOP efforts to cut federal spending will not touch Medicaid beyond "waste, fraud, and abuse." Congressional Republicans are considering going after states such as California that extend coverage to immigrants without legal status and imposing restrictions on provider taxes. California voters in November made permanent the state's tax on managed-care health plans to continue funding Medi-Cal. The federal budget megabill is winding its way through Congress, where Republicans have set a target of $880 billion in spending cuts over 10 years from the House committee that oversees the Medicaid program. Health care policy researchers say that would inevitably force the program to restrict eligibility, narrow the scope of benefits, or both. Medi-Cal covers 1 in 3 Californians, and more than half of its nearly $175 billion budget comes from the federal government. One of a handful of practicing physicians in the state legislature, Weber Pierson is leaning heavily on her experience as a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist who treats children with reproductive birth defects — one of only two in Southern California. Weber Pierson spoke to KFF Health News correspondent Christine Mai-Duc in Sacramento this spring. She has introduced bills to improve timely access to care for pregnant Medi-Cal patients, require developers to mitigate bias in artificial intelligence algorithms used in health care, and compel health plans to cover screenings for housing, food insecurity, and other social determinants of health. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. I saw this with my mom [former state Assembly member Shirley Weber, who is now secretary of state]. Those in the health care profession understand how much time, energy, effort, and money we put into becoming a health care provider, and I'm still fairly early in my career. With my particular specialty, it would also be a huge void in the San Diego region for me to step back. Q: What are the biggest threats or challenges in health care right now? A lot of people do not understand the overwhelming amount of dollars that go into our health care system from the federal government. Almost everybody in California is covered by insurance. The problem is that we have not expanded access to providers. If you have insurance but your nearest labor and delivery unit is still two hours away, what exactly have we really done for those patients? The fact that your life expectancy is based on the ZIP code in which you were born is absolutely criminal. Q: On the federal level, there's a lot of conversation happening around Medicaid cuts, reining in the MCO tax, and potentially dropping Affordable Care Act premium subsidies. A: To be quite honest with you, all of those. The MCO tax was a recognition that we needed more providers, and in order to get more providers, we need to increase the Medi-Cal reimbursement rates. That is how we are able to care for those who are our most vulnerable in our state. Our Medi-Cal budget, outside of what the federal government may do, is exploding. We definitely have to ensure that those who are our most vulnerable — our kids, those with chronic conditions — continue to have some sort of coverage. To be quite honest with you, at this point, I don't know. What were some of the more recent things that we've added, and we've added a lot of stuff lately. How can we trim down — maybe not completely eliminate, but trim down on — some of these services to try to make them more affordable? A: I don't want to get ahead of this conversation, because it is a very large conversation between not only me but also the [Senate president] pro tem, the Assembly speaker, and the governor's office. But those conversations are being had, keeping in mind that we want to provide the best care for as many people as possible. Q: You're carrying a bill related to AI in health care this year. We are trying to play catch-up, because we weren't really at the table when all of this stuff was being rolled out. Q: How does Sacramento policy impact your patients and what experience as a physician do you bring to policymaking? My patients and my fellow providers will often come to me and say, "You guys are getting ready to do this, and this is why it's going to be a problem." And I'm like, "OK, that's really good to know." I work at a children's facility, and right after the election, specialty hospitals were very concerned around funding and their ability to continue to practice. With the executive order [on gender-affirming care for transgender youth], I have seen people that I work with concerned, because these are patients that they take care of. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to be in both worlds. This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

The Trump administration must soon make a decision that will affect millions of Americans' ability to access and afford mental health and addiction care. The administration is facing a May 12 deadline to declare if it will defend Biden-era regulations that aim to enforce mental health parity — the idea that insurers must cover mental illness and addiction treatment comparably to physical treatments for ailments such as cancer or high blood pressure. They represent the latest development in a nearly two-decade push by advocates, regulators, and lawmakers to ensure insurance plans cover mental health care equitably to physical health care. Within the dense 166-page final rule, two provisions have garnered particular attention: first, that insurers provide "meaningful benefits" — as defined by independent medical standards — for covered mental health conditions if they do so for physical conditions. For example, if insurers cover screening and insulin treatment for diabetes, then they can't cover screening alone for opioid addiction; they must also cover medications to treat opioid use disorder. Second, insurers must go beyond the written words of their policies to measure how they work in practice. The ERISA Industry Committee represents several Fortune 500 companies, such as PepsiCo and Comcast, which sponsor health insurance plans for their employees and would be directly affected by the new regulations. If it chooses not to, the rules could be scrapped. Mental health clinicians, patients, and advocates are urging the administration to fight back. A 2023 national survey found that more than 6 million adults with mental illness who wanted treatment in the past year were unable to receive it. This lack of treatment harms people's physical health too, with research suggesting that undertreating depression can complicate chronic conditions, such as diabetes. Kennedy hopes that connection will prompt support from the Trump administration, which has made chronic disease a central focus of its "Make America Healthy Again" agenda. "You're never going to get MAHA if you don't integrate mental health," Kennedy said, mentioning the broad health movement embraced by his cousin HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But James Gelfand, president and CEO of ERIC, said the regulations are a misguided attempt to solve the nation's mental health care crisis. People's difficulty accessing therapy or medication has less to do with insurance policy and more to do with a severe shortage of mental health care providers, he said, adding, "No amount of penalties on employers" or new parity regulations "is going to change that dynamic until we get more of these providers." This point is at the heart of debate about parity issues. Is mental health care difficult to access because there are few providers, or are providers not accepting insurance because of low reimbursement rates? A recent study by the research institute RTI International suggests it has more to do with payment. Psychiatric nurse practitioner Gabrielle Abelard employs about 40 clinicians in her therapy practice, which serves about 2,500 clients across Massachusetts each year. One of the programs she's most proud to offer is intensive in-home therapy for children with serious behavioral challenges, such as intergenerational trauma, aggressive outbursts, and self-harm. Abelard's staff has to obtain prior authorization from insurers before they can provide care. Then they have to reapply for authorization every two, three, or six months, depending on the insurer. When that reauthorization is delayed, Abelard faces a dilemma: continue seeing clients knowing insurers may not pay for those services or leave clients without care until the reauthorization comes through. "They bank on you just giving up," she said. A goal of the landmark 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was to decrease dilemmas such as Abelard's. But the bipartisan law primarily emphasized easy-to-measure treatment limits, saying insurers could not impose higher deductibles or copays for mental health care than they did for physical health care. What received less attention was how insurers should handle other limitations, such as prior authorization or fail-first requirements for patients to try certain therapies before they would be eligible for others. As a result, true parity remained elusive, said Deborah Steinberg, a senior health policy attorney at the nonprofit Legal Action Center. As the federal government reviewed some of those analyses, it discovered numerous parity violations. Another plan required precertification for all outpatient mental health and addiction services but only for a select few outpatient medical and surgical services. The regulations issued in September aimed to provide insurers more guidance on the 2020 law and close loopholes that allowed such disparities, Steinberg said. Many factors outside employers' and insurers' control affect how often a patient goes out of network, he said, including the availability of providers in the area, regional variations in clinical practices, and the patient's personal preference. Mental health clinicians know there's high demand for their services, so they have a lot of market power. That "is creating the bad behavior from these providers," Gelfand said, such as refusing to accept insurance and not submitting out-of-network bills on clients' behalf. However, the RTI International study challenged that premise, with the authors noting that primary care physicians are in shorter supply than behavioral health providers yet have much lower out-of-network use. The study found that insurance reimbursements for behavioral health visits are, on average, 22% lower than for medical or surgical office visits. The low pay creates a disincentive for psychologists and psychiatrists to join insurance networks. ERIC has championed other strategies, such as reforming medical education and residency programs to produce more mental health care providers, increasing telehealth services, and training primary care doctors to address basic mental health concerns. The organization often lobbies state and federal lawmakers, writes letters to regulatory agencies, and testifies before Congress on these issues. Narrowly focusing on insurance regulations could have unintended consequences, Gelfand said. Increased costs for health plans may get passed on to consumers. Or, in an attempt to keep costs down, insurers may narrow the size of their physical health care networks to match the mental health ones. In a worst-case scenario, employers could stop providing mental health benefits altogether. Advocates say that's unlikely, since many employees have come to expect this type of coverage, and employers recognize that providing mental health benefits can increase worker productivity and retention. Patrick Kennedy also pointed to the bigger picture around these issues: If people do not have insurance coverage for mental health care, they're more likely to end up in crisis at the hospital or in the criminal justice system, he said. But what calculation the Trump administration makes — and whether it defends or drops the new regulations — remains to be seen. 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