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BY ROBERT P. HOLLOWAY SPECIAL TO THE BEE 04/16/2015 5:00 PM 04/17/2015 12:00 AM When I was a young boy, my parents decided to share their love by fostering children. Two children stayed with us briefly. Then, a 4-year-old girl was sent to us who had experienced numerous forms of abuse. After a year, we...   read more

The New York Times (4/15, A16, Pear, Subscription Publication) reports that the Senate “on Tuesday approved sweeping changes in the way Medicare pays doctors, clearing the bill for President Obama and resolving an issue that has bedeviled Congress and the Medicare program for more than a decade.” Senators voted 92 to 8 to repeal Medicare’s sustainable growth...   read more

By GARRETT THEROLF Los Angeles County officials are preparing to crack down on doctors who inappropriately prescribe powerful psychiatric drugs to foster youth and children in the juvenile delinquency system, according to a copy of the plans obtained by The Times. Social workers and child welfare advocates have long alleged that the widespread use of the...   read more

By ABBY SEWELL APRIL 13, 2015, 3:00 AM Advocates and mental health practitioners say that California's approach to mental health — and particularly to involuntary treatment — is deeply fragmented across its 58 counties. Lawmakers are trying to address the inconsistency of policies and approaches, but activist groups often disagree about the appropriate balance between...   read more

By ABBY SEWELL APRIL 13, 2015, 3:00 AM Cynthia Hernandez was thinking about the missing dog when she awoke early that September morning in her family's two-story tract home, tucked away in a residential enclave north of a busy commercial corridor in Chino. The 10-year-old cocker spaniel, Sandy, hadn't been seen since the day before....   read more

ARLINGTON, Va .– The American Psychiatric Association welcomes a proposed rule released Monday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would  require provisions of the Mental Health Parity Act to apply to the majority of Medicaid plans and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).   “The proposed rule, by expanding mental health parity,...   read more

Mark Thompson @MarkThompson_DC March 26, 2015 Time.com New efforts to understand exactly how posttraumatic stress disorder affects the brain could reshape treatment for military veterans Deep inside a Boston VA hospital, about two miles south of Fenway Park, four gray freezers are set at a constant temperature of –80ºC. The chill protects the precious contents:...   read more

By a sizable majority, the House yesterday approved a bill to repeal Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula. Coverage portrays the vote as a rare bipartisan victory for Congress and a win for both House Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi. However, the AP(3/27) is reporting this morning that the Senate “has delayed giving final congressional approval...   read more