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Gun violence has increased in recent years and adversely affects many children and adolescents. This brief explores the disproportionate impacts of gun violence on children of color and male youth and the negative mental health consequences associated with gun violence. It contains current and trend data on firearm death rates among children and adolescents ages 17 and under.
This brief analyzes the latest CDC data on adolescent overdose deaths, finding that from 2022 to 2023, there was a small reduction in overdose fatalities among adolescents (from 721 to 708 deaths). Additionally, the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, has largely driven the increase in adolescent drug fatalities since the pandemic began, accounting for 76% of these fatalities in 2023. This analysis also explores federal and state policy responses to the drug crisis, such as requirements to stock naloxone in schools, accountability for social media companies, and national prevention education efforts.
This brief describes the new executive order, examines the intersection of homelessness and mental illness, reviews the history of the deinstitutionalization movement, and discusses specialized treatment services for people with SMI.
This policy watch discusses a recent policy change by the Department of Health and Human Services that bars several groups of immigrants from accessing an updated list of "federal public benefits".
This volume analyzes findings from the latest KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust, which show that just over half of adults say they use social media to find health information and advice, but less than half trust the health content they see across an array of social media sites and apps. It also examines false claims linking a mercury-based vaccine preservative to autism, following a federal decision to withdraw recommendations for flu vaccines containing the compound. In addition, it explores misleading narratives about antidepressant use during pregnancy and unproven claims about the health benefits of nicotine.
In April 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance encouraging states to apply for a new Section 1115 demonstration opportunity to test transition-related strategies to support community reentry for people who are incarcerated. As of August 19, 2024, CMS has approved Section 1115 reentry waiver requests from 11 states, while 13 additional reentry waivers remain pending.
In light of worsening mental health among youth, strategies have been implemented to improve access to behavioral health services in recent years, including expanding school-based care for students. Leveraging Medicaid to improve and address gaps in school-based behavioral health services has been a key strategy in recent years as youth mental health concerns have grown. Provisions from the Safer Communities Act of 2022 utilize Medicaid to expand both school-based health care and other mechanisms of youth behavioral health care. This issue brief explores the implementation of these provisions from the Safer Communities Act thus far, with a focus on the guidance issued from CMS.
This Health Policy 101 chapter explores LGBTQ+ people’s identities and demographics, their experiences with health and health care, including the significant disparities, and the related health policy landscape.
Some critics of Medicaid expansion have argued that expansion diverts resources away from other groups of Medicaid enrollees, including people with disabilities and children, and that expansion enrollees are “able-bodied” implying they have minimal health care needs. However, data show that expansion states spend more per enrollee overall and on each eligibility group than non-expansion states and that nearly half of expansion enrollees have a chronic condition. This data note analyzes 2021 Medicaid claims data to compare utilization of health care services among Medicaid expansion enrollees with other Medicaid enrollees in expansion states and to compare utilization of health care services among adult Medicaid enrollees living in expansion and non-expansion states.
The side-by-side comparison tool provides a quick overview of former President Trump's and Vice President Harris' records, positions, public statements, and proposed policies on a range of key health care topics.
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