General Mental Health Articles
- In his parting prescription, Surgeon General Murthy said from community comes “a powerful source of life satisfaction and life expectancy,” later adding that community’s “core pillars—relationships, service, and purpose—are powerful drivers of fulfillment.” “They can also significantly influence health outcomes, including premature mortality, heart disease, depression, and anxiety,” he added. Read more here.
The Opioid Crisis and Addiction Issues
- Overdose is a significant cause of maternal death in North Carolina, according to the state’s latest maternal mortality review. Among the 76 pregnancy-related deaths that occurred in North Carolina in 2018 and 2019, a little over one quarter — 20 deaths — were from overdoses. Nearly all of the deaths were related to opioids, with fentanyl involved in 14. Read more here.
- The United States has the highest rate of drug overdose deaths out of 30 countries, according to a new report from the health nonprofit the Commonwealth Fund. Overdose deaths in the U.S. dipped slightly around 2018 after a years-long rise. However, those deaths began to rise again in 2019 and shot up during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more here.
- Kentucky will receive $110 million to settle its lawsuit accusing one of the nation’s largest grocery chains of helping fuel the opioid epidemic, the state’s attorney general said. The state will use the money it is getting in its settlement with The Kroger Co. to combat an addiction that has ravaged communities and given the state some of the nation’s highest overdose death rates. Read more here.
- Public health professionals and providers have a role to play in increasing awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk, the U.S. surgeon general said. In an advisory, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., highlighted the link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk. The risk may rise around one or fewer drinks per day and is well established for at least seven types of cancer. Read more here.
Climate and Mental Health
- As devastating wildfires continue to spread across southern California, thousands of structures have been destroyed or damaged, and at least five people have been killed. Residents and firefighters have suffered physical injuries, but doctors say the wildfires can also take a heavy mental health toll on civilians and first responders. Read more here.
Health Insurance
- The Biden administration has achieved a fourth consecutive record year in HealthCare.gov Marketplace enrollment, one week before the final sign-up deadline and its imminent exit from office. Nearly 24 million people signed up for Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans for 2025, according to White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden, exceeding the 21.3 million people who signed up last year. Read more here.
- Since the adoption of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the drop in the uninsured rate has been important, yet the disparities between Black and white Americans remain substantial, according to a new paper by Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Professor Marcella Alsan. Alsan, the first serving faculty member to be awarded the MacArthur Fellowship while at HKS, is the Angelopoulos Professor of Public Policy and an applied microeconomist studying health inequality. Read more here.
Gender-Affirming Care and LGBTQ Issues
- For two years, as states pushed anti-trans laws, Republicans in Congress filed dozens upon dozens of bills that would restrict transgender rights on a national scale — but most of those bills never advanced. Now, as a new GOP-controlled Congress signals that anti-trans legislation is a top priority and President-elect Donald Trump takes office, a wave of federal anti-trans laws and executive orders is on the horizon. Read more here.
- California Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 59, also known as the “Transgender Privacy Act.” SB 59 would protect the privacy of transgender and nonbinary people by automatically making all court records related to their gender transition sealed and confidential to reduce risks that they will be “outed,” the senator’s office said. Read more here.
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