Newsroom

APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin Honored During LGBT History Month

American Psychiatric Association (APA) CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., will be featured on Sunday, Oct. 21, as an icon in LGBT history. Named CEO and Medical Director of the APA in 2013, he is the first openly gay person to lead a major medical specialty society.

MEDIA ADVISORY: American Psychiatric Association Hosts Wreath-Laying Ceremony Honoring Psychiatrists Who Served in Vietnam

APA Marks 10 Year Anniversary of Federal Mental Health Parity Law; Offers Model Parity Legislation to all 50 States

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, federal legislation designed to ensure that insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders care is no more restrictive than insurance coverage for other medical care.

APA Applauds Passage of Opioid Legislation as Important Step; Calls on Senate to Pass Legislation Reforming 42 CFR Part 2

Today the Senate passed H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which authorizes a broad range of opioid treatment and prevention programs, including many for which the APA has advocated. The bill does not include The Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety (OPPS) Act, H.R. 6082, which recently passed the House of Representatives by a bi-partisan vote of 357-57.

APA Reacts to Media Coverage of Sexual Trauma, Calls for Survivors to Seek Mental Health Assistance

Media coverage of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony has triggered sexual trauma memories for many survivors. According to the CDC, survivors of sexual trauma can experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Sexual trauma may be a factor for many individuals who experience depression, anxiety, addictions, and eating disorders. Only 23 percent of rape and sexual assault incidents were reported to the police according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Anyone affected by sexual assault, whether it happened to you or someone you care about, can find support by calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. You can also visit online.rainn.org to receive support via a confidential online chat.

APA Praises Congress for Passing Bill That Funds Mental Health and Substance Use Services

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) praised Congress for funding several mental health programs through the Defense-Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (Labor-HHS) FY 2019 funding bills (H.R. 6157), which passed this week. The spending package includes:

Joint Statement of America’s Frontline Physicians Opposing Public Charge Proposal

The Trump Administration has issued a proposed regulation that changes long-standing rules governing how and whether immigrants can be determined to be a “public charge;” widens the scope of programs considered by the government in making such a determination; and dramatically lowers the bar for refusing admission or denying individuals green cards or U.S. visas on this basis. In response, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, and American Psychiatric Association, collectively representing more than four hundred thousand of America's frontline physicians, issued this statement

APA Awarded CMS Funding to Develop Quality Measures

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has been awarded funding to develop mental health and substance use quality measures as part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Quality Payment Program (QPP) established under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). APA is working with experienced measurement developer NCQA. The three-year funding was awarded by CMS who awarded funding to a total of seven organizations.

Seven Health Organizations File Lawsuit Against the Short-Term, Limited-Duration Plan Final Rule

Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Mental Health America, American Psychiatric Association (APA), AIDS United, National Partnership for Women & Families, and Little Lobbyists today filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to invalidate the short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plan rule issued last month by three federal agencies. This rule will harm patients and their families as well as others in the health care system by undermining access to quality, affordable coverage, will significantly disrupt insurance markets in states across the country, and threatens to bring back abusive practices that harm consumers specifically prohibited by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

New Research: Ketamine Activates Opioid System to Treat Depression; Experts Caution Against Widespread Use Due to Potential for Tolerance, Abuse and Dependence

A new study appearing online today from the American Journal of Psychiatry finds that ketamine’s acute antidepressant effect requires opioid system activation, the first time that a receptor site has been shown in humans to be necessary for any antidepressant’s mechanism of action. While opioids have been used historically to treat depression, they are known to carry a high risk of dependence. Alan F. Schatzberg, M.D., who led this research at Stanford, cautions against widespread and repeated use of ketamine for depression treatment until more research can be done on both the mechanism of action and the risk of tolerance, abuse and dependence.