1. Judge dismisses opioid crisis lawsuits against drugmakers (07Jan18) By The Associated Press. A Connecticut judge has dismissed lawsuits against Purdue Pharma and two dozen other drug companies brought by 37 cities and towns in the state, which blame them for the opioid crisis and seek to recoup millions of dollars spent on emergency response and other services.

2. Should Fatal Opioid-Related Drug Overdoses Be Classified as Suicides? (November 30, 2018)  (Scientific American.) — New research suggests it is time for a categorization change.

3. The Myth of What’s Driving the Opioid Crisis. (26Oct18) "Doctor-prescribed painkillers are not the biggest threat." As an addiction psychiatrist, I have watched with serious concern as the opioid crisis has escalated in the United States over the past several years, and overdose deaths have skyrocketed. … I have also watched a false narrative about this crisis blossom into conventional wisdom: The myth that the epidemic is driven by patients becoming addicted to doctor-prescribed opioids, or painkillers like hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin) and oxycodone (e.g., Percocet). 
   
4. THE SO-CALLED 'OPIOID OVERDOSE CRISIS' EXPLAINED (26Oct18) "In the U.S. and in countries politically influenced by it, authorities are proclaiming the existence of an 'opioid overdose crisis' or simply an 'opioid crisis'. However, as with all things related to policy concerning drugs other than alcohol, tobacco and caffeine, it is pure fabrication designed to justify and help perpetuate a human-rights abuse, the 'War on Drugs'."
5. The truth about the US ‘opioid crisis’ (26Oct18)–  "Prescriptions aren’t the problem The overdose epidemic is unmistakable. But it’s driven by illicit use of drugs. If moral panic results in more patients in pain, that would be a disaster."
6.  Children, families in need get nods in opioid bill: (12Oct18) An agreement between the House and Senate regarding a sweeping opioid response bill last week contains a number of provisions, mostly modest, promoting the welfare of children and foster youth, according to The Chronicle of Social Change. Small boosts to family reunification and family-focused residential substance abuse treatment also emerged. 
7. Biopsychosocial Approach to Pain Management (12Oct18) “Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, cancer, and heart disease combined and has been cited as the number one reason to seek medical care in the United States. Medications including opioids remain important resources for pain management, but therapeutic techniques utilized by clinical social workers as part of interdisciplinary approaches to pain management are also effective. Learn about therapeutic techniques clinical social workers can use to help patients manage pain. 
8. Up and Coming: Congressional Appropriators Propose Increase in HHS Budget to $90B . “Congressional appropriators have proposed to raise HHS' budget by $2.3 billion to $90.5 billion this year, which includes $3.8 billion in funding to fight the opioid abuse crisis. The spending package would allocate $1.5 billion of the opioid funding to state response grants, while community health centers will receive $200 million to fund their behavioral, mental health and addiction treatment services.”  Number of Opioid Abusers Fell Slightly Last Year . “Figures from the HHS' National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed the number of people who misused or were addicted to opioid painkillers dropped to 11.4 million last year from 11.8 million in 2016 and 12.7 million in 2015. Hydrocodone and oxycodone were the most commonly abused opioid drugs, and most opioid users got their drugs free from friends or relatives, but 34.6% got them from a physician, the survey found.” 
9. Up and Coming: Congress Finalizes Opioid Legislative Package . “House and Senate lawmakers finalized a major opioid legislative package late Monday, and it won't include a technical change to Medicare Part D's "doughnut hole" language pushed by pharmaceutical firms. The final package includes a measure by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, that would temporarily lift restrictions on use of Medicaid funds for inpatient addiction treatment.” 
10. Current Trends: Standard Drugs to Address Opioid Crisis. “At a time when the U.S. government is trying to deal with a nationwide opioid epidemic, many jails across the country are only now rolling out medicines to help inmates overcome addiction. And most of those jails dispense only one of the drugs currently available.” “Medication, when paired with counseling and social support, is considered the standard treatment for opioid addiction. Three medications treat addiction to opioids. Methadone and buprenorphine diminish opioid withdrawal symptoms and can reduce cravings. Naltrexone blocks the effect of opioids and also treats alcoholism.”

1. Practice Ethics: How Many Years Does a Therapist Keep Records? “The NASW Insurance Trust strongly recommends retaining clinical records indefinitely. Remember: statutes of limitations for professional liability are based on when the injured party first realizes or should have realized that the practitioner caused harmed. As this could mean decades after the alleged malpractice, disposing of files—ever—is potentially risky."  

1. Big Brother? Facebook Increasingly Reliant on A.I. To Predict Suicide Risk(November 17, 2018) — (NPR) A year ago, Facebook started using artificial intelligence to scan people's accounts for danger signs of imminent self-harm. Facebook Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis is pleased with the results so far.

1. Employers Say 'Mental Illness, Substance Abuse at 2 -year Peak.' (12Oct18) Mental illness and substance abuse issues are at the highest level they've been in two years, according to 60 percent of U.S. employers in a new study released by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Nearly 40 percent of organizations said that their employees are very or extremely stressed, and 39 percent said stress levels are more elevated now than two years ago. 
2. Arising Needs: School Districts Struggle to Fill Mental Health Positions. “The school psychologist shortage rages on, with one federal study predicting deficits of more than 10,000 full-time psychologists by 2025. But districts have been exploring nontraditional options to provide comprehensive care to all students. The shortages are significant and severe, to the point where we’re in somewhat of a potential crisis,” says Eric Rossen, director of professional development and standards at the National Association of School Psychologists.” 
3. Arising Needs: Texas Needs Thousands More Special-ed Teachers. “Now that Texas has removed the cap on special-education enrollments, the state will need an estimated $3 billion in additional funding and almost 9,000 new teachers to serve an estimated 30% increase in the number of students who need support and services. Already facing a teacher shortage, the state is offering grants to schools that need special-ed teachers for additional student evaluations.” 
4. Arising Needs: Teens are Anxious and Depressed, and Turn to School nurses for help. But Most Illinois Schools Don't have One. “To meet the new demands, school nurses are offered extra training in mental health as well as resources from the National Association of School Nurses. They are adding relaxation rooms to the typical beds in the nurse’s office, and they have had to develop detailed cooperation plans with school guidance counselors and social workers, who are trained to handle such issues but, for better or worse, are not always the first stop for students seeking a nurturing response in a school building.” 
5. Bills & Counseling: Merkley proposes mental health counselors in all public schools. “Marking National Suicide Prevention Week, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., announced the introduction of the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Act, new bicameral legislation they said would help fill the critical unmet need for school-based mental health services providers in elementary and secondary schools in America.” Co-sponsors bill to 'fill critical unmet need'. 

1. NAMI Excited With New Opportunities To Improve Medicaid Mental Health Care (11/30/2018) —Secretary Alex Azar, U.S. Health & Human Services, announced that the Administration will allow states to apply for Medicaid waivers to pay for mental health treatment in inpatient settings known as IMDs, or institutions of mental disease.

2. The New Medicaid/Medicare Card. “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is issuing new Medicare cards to beneficiaries. Whereas each Medicare card formerly included the beneficiary’s Social Security number, each new card will use a unique Medicare number, also known as a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). The MBI is randomly assigned and does not replace an individual’s Social Security number.” 
   
3.  S.D. Seeks to Impose Medicaid Work Requirements on Parents, Caretakers. “South Dakota has submitted a request to the Trump administration seeking approval for a program that would require some parents or caretakers who are covered by Medicaid to devote at least 80 hours per month to work, courses or other activities. If the program moves forward, South Dakota would become the first state to require the traditional Medicaid population to meet work requirements.” 
4. Up and Coming: CMS: Medicaid Spending to Reach $1T by 2026 . “The CMS Office of the Actuary forecasts Medicaid spending to increase an average of 5.7% annually from $580.9 billion in 2016 to $1 trillion by 2026, with total enrollment expected to reach about 82.3 million. Expenditures for premiums and payments to health insurers are expected to rise by an average of 7.8% per year to $578 billion from 2017 to 2026, according to the report.” 

1. Proposed Immigration Rule Change: Public Charge (November 30, 2018) On October 10, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule related to public charge in the Federal Register. The proposed rule is not current law. We are many steps away from a final rule and its implementation. We are currently in a comment period for the proposed rule that ends December 10, 2018. All interested individuals and organizations have until that date to submit comments. DHS must then review and consider all submitted comments before the rule becomes final. The final rule will then be published in the Federal Register. We expect it to be many months before publication of a final rule. Even after publication, legal challenges could delay implementation.
   

1. Legal Attempts to Define Gender. (November 30, 2018) WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth, the most drastic move yet in a governmentwide effort to roll back recognition and protections of transgender people under federal civil rights law.1

1. North Ogden VA facility helping with mental health counseling for veterans (November 30, 2018) NORTH OGDEN, Utah — (KUTV) — Layton Police said a man involved in a situation that led to a S.W.A.T. situation Tuesday morning had a history with the military. The man, 43-year-old Jarrett Lichenstein, took his own life, police said. Those who work at the Veterans Affairs facilities want veterans to know help is available. Walk-up counseling is available at the Salt Lake facility and at a new satellite center in North Ogden closer to where the S.W.A.T situation unfolded.
   

2. Childhood anxiety: How Utah schools are addressing rising mental health challenges (November 6, 2018) —AMERICAN FORK — The first day of school brought some challenges for Valerie Norton’s daughter. The third grader, who had never before demonstrated signs of anxiety, began having daily meltdowns.

3. Utah teen mental health issues are on the rise November 1, 2018 —SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Teen mental health issues are on the rise, according to a new report released by the Utah Department of Health.
   

1. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act: 10 Years Later. (26Oct18) This October marks the tenth anniversary of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), one of the signal achievements in the effort to expand access to mental health treatment.  While both counselors and patients have benefited from expanded insurance coverage, there is still work to be done to successfully implement this legislation.
   
2. Mental Health Parity: CMHCs Can Be Hired By VA. “It is still a common thought that CHMCs cannot work at the VA. This thought may even be perpetrated by hiring managers at the VA. However, this is not the case. As long as you are a CMHC from a CACREP accredited program, you are eligible to work as a mental health specialist at the VA. Below, see how you can combat misinformation:”
3. Mental Health Needs: Increased Need for Greater Parity for Mental Health Counselors . “Using Virginia as an example, as access to Medicaid increases, a need for additional mental health professionals becomes apparent. Many states, are in need of more mental health professionals that are able to see Medicaid patients. Join UMCHA and see how you can help the fight for CMHCs to be allowed on Medicaid/Medicare panels.” 

1. NEW ICD-10-CM CODE CHANGES to Avoid Reimbursement Denials(26Oct18). "Effective October 1, 2018, several code changes to the International Classification of Diseases-10-Edition-Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM), will be implemented by the National Center for Health Statistics, a federal agency who created the files under the authorization of the World Health Organization." 
   
2. Billing for couples Counseling? (26Oct18). "In practice, insurance companies require that a client be identified as primary and be assigned a diagnostic label even though you are seeing a couple or family. I us ually bill the first session as a diagnostic (cpt 90791).  After that, it depends whether the insurance company allows the code for family therapy (cpt 90847)."
3. Some Insurers Don't Pay for Hour Long Sessions. (12Oct18). “There are insurers who will not pay for and/or limit 90837 sessions. They will only reimburse for 90834 or lower. If you are paneled with these insurers you would have to get special advance authorization for hour long sessions.” 
4. Social Workers Informed to Used “New Codes” for Insurance Billing Purposes.(12Oct18) “New ICD-10-CM Code Changes for Clinical Social Workers -- (below Link)  informs clinical social workers of new diagnostic codes that became effective October 1, 2018 
5. How to Use 90837 Codes (hour session) without Insurance Backfire. “90837 in Private Practice -- This document discusses the use of 90837 and how one may avoid an overpayment request when using this code.