News

November 17, 2022 The American Cancer Society's (ACS') Great American Smokeout Day is November 17, 2022. Smoking and tobacco use take a great toll on individuals with serious mental illness and substance use disorders. The Great American Smokeout provides an opportunity to raise awa...

November 16, 2022 Schools offering mental health days for students have become increasingly common over the past few years. As reported on washingtonpost.com, since 2018, more than 12 states have passed or proposed bills that would allow school districts to treat days missed for me...

November 10, 2022 As of this writing, 11 of New Jersey's 12 Congressional races have been called, with eight remaining in Democratic incumbent hands (Josh Gottheimer, Andy Kim, Donald Norcross, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell, Donald Payne, Jr., Mikie Sherrill, and Bonnie Watson Coleman)...

November 8, 2022 A report from the New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition released last week has found that hospital charges for injection drug use-related infections totaled more than $1.0 billion dollars in New Jersey in 2019. This cost stems from more than 7,130 New Jersey residents w...

November 7, 2022 Cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a respiratory infection, have continued to rise in New Jersey and across the country, particularly in children. As reported on nj.com, cases are up as much as 35% this fall in New Jersey. RSV has become the primary infectio...

November 3, 2022 A report recently released by New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA), in partnership with Healthcare Valve Hub at Altarum, found that 38% of New Jersey residents have overdue medical bills. Nearly three in 10 respondents reported owing $5,000 or more in medical debt, and ju...

November 1, 2022 Open enrollment for health coverage through the HealthCare.gov marketplace begins on November 1, 2022. Ahead of the open enrollment period, as of October 26, 2022, consumers can preview their healthcare coverage options and see the savings available to them to help pl...

November 1, 2022 Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has become the dominant infection among children with respiratory viruses, for which a spike has been observed having begun in the spring of 2022. As reported in the September 31, 2022 edition of The Star-Ledger, the spike began with ...

October 27, 2022 In October of 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced a temporary expansion of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, expanding eligibility to many who previously didn't qualify under strict income-driven repayment plan requirements. Since then, ...

October 25, 2022 On Friday, October 21, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law A4107, which makes various changes concerning regulation of emergency medical services (EMS); and establishes a mobile integrated health program, and new State Emergency Medical Services Director in the...

October 24, 2022 On October 20, 2022, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released The U.S. Surgeon General's Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being, which offers a foundation that workplaces can build upon to show workers that they matter, that their work matters...

October 20, 2022 Session at 1:00 p.m. on November 3rd to hear from advocates on budget priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2024 (July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024). This is an opportunity to shape DHS' own input for the budget that Governor Phil Murphy will propose next March for FY20...

October 18, 2022 A report from New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) has found that while access to mental health staff for White and Asian Students has increased since 2008, it has actually decreased for Black and Hispanic students in New Jersey over the same time. The report looked...

October 17, 2022 Yesterday, on October 13, 2022, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra, renewed the determination of a Public Health Emergency (PHE) as a result of the continued consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PHE, under this curre...

October 13, 2022 In March of 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III established the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC), intended to review the military's mental health and suicide preventi...

October 11, 2022 According to the Employment Situation Summary published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on October 7, 2022, the number of Americans voluntarily leaving their jobs and immediately seeking new employment has reached its highest level since 1990. According to...

October 10, 2022 On Wednesday, a Federal Appeals Court in New Orleans ruled against Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy enacted under President Obama that protected undocumented people brought to the U.S. at a ...

October 6, 2022 Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.7780, the Mental Health Matters Act. The legislation would require certain federal actions to increase mental and behavioral health care. Among other provisions, the bill would create various grants to increase th...

October 4, 2022 Governor Phil Murphy recently signed a proclamation declaring this week, October 2 through October 8, 2022, as Mental Illness Awareness Week in New Jersey. The proclamation highlighted a number of challenges relating to mental illness that New Jersey is facing, as we...

October 3, 2022 The House pass the Mental Health Matters Act (H.R.7780), which would hold employer-based health plans more accountable for improper denials of mental health and substance use benefits. The legislation also "would give the Department of Labor to enforce plan requirement...