U.S. News & World Report (4/24, Galvin) reports, “Outpatient treatment for depression in the U.S. has risen steadily in recent decades but to a level lower than expected,” research indicated. After using “national survey data for more than 86,000 patients from 1998, 2007 and 2015, researchers found that rates of outpatient treatment for depression rose from 2.36% to 3.47% during that period, with a rising share of treatment costs covered by insurance, particularly Medicaid.” The piece adds, “From 2013 to 2016, 8.1% of Americans 20 or older had depression in a given two-week period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Healio (4/24, Demko) reports, “Recent policy changes enacted between 1998 and 2015 to expand insurance coverage for mental health services was associated with increased prevalence of depression treatment without increasing prices or total spending,” researchers concluded after examining “the national trends in outpatient depression treatment from 1998 to 2015 – with particular focus on 2007 to 2015 – using data from the 1998, 2007 and 2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys.” Policies included in the study were “the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.” The findings were published online April 24 in JAMA Psychiatry. MedPage Today (4/24, Hlavinka) also covers the study. (SOURCE: APA Headlines)