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State Mental Health Rankings Released: New York and Hawaii Rank Highest, Nevada and Arizona Rank Lowest
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – New York, Hawaii, and New Jersey ranked best in the nation across common measures of mental health in 2022 and 2023, according to the latest State of Mental Health in America report from Mental Health America. Nevada, Arizona, and Alabama ranked lowest, with higher rates of mental illness and lower access to mental health care in 2022 and 2023. This is the second report in a row where Nevada and Arizona ranked the lowest, underscoring a high need for strategic investment in mental health in these states. Using the most recent publicly available federal data, the 2025 State of Mental Health in America report ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 17 measures of mental health – including rates of mental health and substance use conditions, suicidal ideation, and provider availability. The findings provide an annual snapshot of mental health needs, access, and outcomes in the U.S., helping to inform policy, program planning, analysis, and evaluation. Read more here.
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Attorney General James Stops Misleading Marketing of Unauthorized Opioid Overdose Drug
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday announced a settlement with Indivior, Inc. (Indivior), a multinational pharmaceutical company, stopping the company’s misleading promotion of its opioid overdose drug, Opvee (generic name nalmefene). Despite knowing Opvee is not authorized by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) for use without a prescription, Indivior marketed the drug to public officials throughout the state and promoted its availability as if it were interchangeable with Narcan (generic name naloxone), the gold-standard medication for overdose reversals. Health officials and advocates in New York and nationwide have warned against substituting Opvee for Narcan, citing the drugs’ similar effectiveness and Opvee’s significantly more severe side effects. As part of its agreement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Indivior must refund taxpayer dollars it was paid for Opvee, recall improperly sold doses, stop making false statements about Opvee, and implement broad reforms to its marketing and training practices. Read more here.
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Recovery Centers to Share in $13 Million Investment
The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (NYS OASAS) last Friday announced the award of more than $13 million to recovery centers across the state. Recovery centers are non-clinical settings that offer recovery supports such as skill-building, recreation, education, employment readiness and training, and the opportunity to connect to peers who are facing similar challenges. They also provide services to families of those in recovery. This funding, through the New York State Opioid Settlement Fund, enhances an ongoing initiative first started in 2023. All recovery centers in the state are receiving funding through this new investment. Read more here.
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New York Report Shows Higher Suicide Risk for First Responders
New data is shining a spotlight on how critical mental health support is for first responders. The state’s inaugural First Responder Mental Health Needs Assessment found that suicidal thoughts among New York’s first responders are four times higher than in the general population. The group at the highest risk: 911 communications employees. Unlike police officers, firefighters or EMTs, dispatchers rarely see the resolution of the crises they handle. That lack of closure makes healing more difficult. They are often the first point of contact in an emergency but must carry the weight of those calls long after the line goes quiet. Kevin Pooley, vice president of the New York State 911 Coordinators Association, says the demands on dispatchers have grown. Read more here.
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Fall Issue of OMH News Released
The latest edition of OMH News spotlights New York’s expanding suicide prevention efforts, new Youth Safe Spaces, support for people experiencing homelessness through Safe Options Support teams, and major investments in school-based mental health clinics. You’ll also find highlights from recent statewide conferences, emergency preparedness training, and updates on OMH leadership transitions. Click here to read the publication.
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A Look at the Potential Impact of the High Unemployment Hardship Exception to Medicaid Work Requirements
The Republican budget reconciliation package signed into law on July 4th introduces, for the first time, Medicaid work requirements, mandating that by January 2027 (or earlier at a state’s option) certain adults—including expansion enrollees and waiver program participants in Wisconsin and Georgia—must work or engage in work-related activities at least 80 hours a month or attend school half time to remain eligible. Exemptions apply to parents of young children, medically frail individuals, and those already meeting SNAP work rules, with states also permitted to grant short-term hardship exceptions in areas of high unemployment. Using county-level unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Medicaid expansion enrollment data, this analysis finds that only 7% of counties and 7% of enrollees currently meet the high-unemployment criteria, meaning the hardship exception may be limited unless CMS allows states to apply shorter-term unemployment averages, which could expand eligibility. While today’s low national unemployment keeps the scope narrow, future economic downturns could increase the number of counties and enrollees qualifying for exemptions.
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Primary Care and Community-Based Interventions for Older Adults with Depression
Nearly 3% of adults over 65 experience major depression, while roughly 13% experience minor depression. Depression is particularly common among older adults with lower incomes, functional limitations, those living alone, and individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Beyond its direct impact on quality of life, depression can also reduce older adults’ ability to manage other chronic conditions and contribute to higher health care and nursing home utilization. While depression is prevalent at all stages of life, physical, cognitive, and social changes that are associated with aging can uniquely impact mental health. For example, older adults are more likely to be socially isolated than other age groups, which can increase risk for depression. Barriers to treatment may also differ by age due to a range of factors, such as varying insurance systems, differences in how mental health symptoms present in older adults, and shortages in providers with geriatric expertise. Read more here.
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Patients with Opioid Use Disorder Diagnoses Increased 40 Percent from 2021 to 2024
Nationally, among the commercially insured population, patients with opioid use disorder diagnoses showed an overall increase from 2021 to 2024, according to FAIR Health's Opioid Tracker. In 2021, there were 386 patients with opioid use disorder diagnoses per 100,000 patients, while in 2024 there were 539, an increase of 39.8 percent. This and other findings were reported today when FAIR Health released its annual update of the Opioid Tracker, a free, interactive tool tracking opioid use disorder among commercially insured patients nationally and state by state. A brief released simultaneously offers a user's guide to the Opioid Tracker. The Opioid Tracker includes a heat map representing patients with opioid use disorder diagnoses per 100,000 patients receiving medical services in 2024 for each state. Clicking on a state displays an infographic for that state with opioid use disorder data from 2024. The infographic includes the top five procedure code categories by utilization, the top five procedure codes by aggregate allowed amounts,1 the change in the number of patients with opioid use disorder diagnoses per 100,000 patients from 2021 to 2024, and the distribution of patients by age and gender. Read more here.
Related: Overdose prediction tool for cocaine, other stimulants developed
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UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
Public Education Strategies to Tackle County Challenges: Mental Health, Workforce, and Gun Violence
October 2, 2 - 3 pm, NACo
Securing the Future: What Behavioral Health Providers Need to Know About AI and Data Security
October 7, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
The Next Phase of AI in Behavioral Health: Putting Clinical Judgment Back in Charge
October 7, 1 - 2 pm, Clinically AI
Innovative Medicaid Strategies to Enhance the Behavioral Health Care Workforce
October 7, 2 - 3:15 pm, CHCS
Sexual Misconduct: Where's the Line? Boundaries and Ethics in Addiction Counseling
October 8 - 9, 9 am - 4 pm, CCSI - IN-PERSON in Rochester, NY
NAMI Ask the Expert: New Perspectives on Lithium
October 9, 4 - 5:30 pm, NAMI
Scaling Behavioral Health: Strategies for Sustainable Growth
October 15, 2 - 3 pm, Behavioral Health Business
Competitive, Compliant and Client-focused SUD Care
October 16, 2:30 - 3:30 pm, Elias
State Strategies to Lower Funding Barriers for Community-Based Organizations
October 16, 3 - 4 pm, NASHP
2025 On the Shoulders of Giants Scientific Symposium
October 16, 5 - 7:30 pm, Child Mind Institute
Putting Communities First: How Counties Leverage Tech to Improve Behavioral Health
October 21, 2 - 3 pm, NACo
Engaging Medicaid Members and Community-Based Organizations Through Beneficiary Advisory Councils
October 22, 1 - 2:15 pm, CHCS
AI in Action: Community Behavioral Health Providers Share Lessons Learned
October 23, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Transforming SUD Treatment: The Science, Policy, and Practice of Recovery Incentive Programs
October 30, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Ethical Considerations in Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment
November 5, 12 - 1:30 pm, NAADAC
Supporting Families, Supporting Recovery: Overcoming Stigma in LGBTQIA2S+ SUD Treatment
November 6, 12 - 1:30 pm, NAADAC
From Insight to Action: Affirming Clinical Strategies for LGBTQ+ Clients with Co-Occurring Disorders
November 7, 12 - 1:30 pm, NAADAC
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CLMHD CALENDAR
OCTOBER
Addiction Services & Supports (ASR) Committee Meeting
October 9: 11 am - 12 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
October 9: 3 - 4 pm
CLMHD Office Closed - Columbus Day
LGU Clinic Operators Call
October 14: 10 - 11:00 am
Membership Call
October 15: 9 - 10:30 am
Developmental Disabilities Committee Meeting
October 16: 1 - 2 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
October 21, 11:30 am - 1 pm
CLMHD Fall 2025 Full Membership Meeting
October 22 - 24, Penn Yan, NY (Yates County)
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