Impact of mental health wait times on mortality

Using data on patients with a Veterans Affairs (VA) emergency department visit for a mental health condition, Costantini et al. (2025) finds that: …longer waiting times make it more likely that patients miss their follow-up mental health visit, consequently increasing the probability that they permanently disengage from care. A 1 standard deviation increase in wait…

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How Bright A Light Do We Shine This Memorial Day?

By MIKE MAGEE  According to Veterans Administration historians, the origin of Memorial Day dates back to 1864 when three women from Boalsburg, Pennsylvania joined in grief to decorate the graves of family members who had died in the Civil War. A year later, other townspeople joined in and one year later, in 1866, women in…

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Trump’s DOJ Accuses Medicare Advantage Insurers of Paying ‘Kickbacks’ to Brokers

A blockbuster lawsuit from the federal Department of Justice alleges that insurers Aetna, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem), and Humana paid “hundreds of millions of dollars in kickbacks” to large insurance brokerages eHealth, GoHealth, and SelectQuote. The payments, made from 2016 to at least 2021, were incentives to steer patients into the insurer’s Medicare Advantage plans,…

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KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House

The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner @julierovner.bsky.social Read Julie’s stories. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A…

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Republicanos buscan castigar a estados que ofrecen seguro de salud a inmigrantes sin papeles

La emblemática legislación del presupuesto del presidente Donald Trump castigaría a 14 estados que ofrecen cobertura de salud a personas que viven en el país sin papeles. Estos estados, la mayoría liderados por demócratas, dan seguro médico a algunos inmigrantes de bajos ingresos —a menudo niños—, independientemente de su estatus migratorio. Defensores argumentan que la…

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Republicans Aim To Punish States That Insure Unauthorized Immigrants

President Donald Trump’s signature budget legislation would punish 14 states that offer health coverage to people in the U.S. without authorization. The states, most of them Democratic-led, provide insurance to some low-income immigrants — often children — regardless of their legal status. Advocates argue the policy is both humane and ultimately cost-saving. But the federal…

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