The strike by Kaiser Permanente mental health workers has entered its fifth week, with the union filing a complaint with the California Department of Public Health regarding alleged patient care violations caused by understaffing, KPBS reported Nov. 19. 

Behavioral health urgent care clinics are growing in popularity in the last five years as a way to provide mental health care outside of EDs. 

Health systems are closing small behavioral health units, and a major telehealth provider is shifting back to brick-and-mortar clinics. 

Health systems and behavioral health organizations are opening new outpatient mental health clinics, crisis centers and inpatient units. 

Neuropsychiatric symptoms are a pervasive and challenging aspect of Alzheimer's disease (AD), affecting up to 90% of individuals over the course of the illness.

UnitedHealth Group uses an algorithm that has been subject to legal scrutiny to manage behavioral health costs, ProPublica reported Nov. 19. 

A new study has found that loneliness significantly increases the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment. 

Elevance Health has named Corbin Petro as president of Carelon Behavioral Health. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration will extend rules allowing providers to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth through the end of 2025. 

Wellpath, one of the largest providers of mental and physical healthcare in US prisons, has filed for bankruptcy, the Miami Herald reported Nov. 14. 

Prospective HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been outspoken about providing more resources to substance use treatment, but is critical of medication treatments for mental health conditions. 

Publicly-traded behavioral health companies improved their earnings in the third quarter of 2024, but are bracing for challenges ahead. 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has released new findings from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, showing the behavioral health challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth. 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration launched a new tool, the Behavioral Health Workforce Career Navigator, to assist both current and aspiring behavioral health professionals in navigating state-specific requirements for various careers in the field. 

Hightop Health has named Raymond Kotwicki, MD, as chief medical officer. 

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the College of St. Mary in Omaha have formed a partnership to provide nursing students with clinical experience at the Lincoln Regional Center, a psychiatric hospital in Lincoln. 

Mehadin Arafeh, MD, an internationally known mental health psychiatrist and 14-year superintendent of Middletown-based Connecticut Valley Hospital, died Nov. 6 at 93.

Avon, Ind.-based Cummins Behavioral Health Systems agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a class-action lawsuit, Top Class Actions reported Nov. 11.

LifeStance Health CEO Ken Burdick is expecting 2025 to be a "particularly challenging" year for reimbursement. 

California will provide $33.4 million to support outpatient mental health treatment for veterans and their families.