After the Sandy Hook Shooting I wrote this in my personal blog: "This latest mass shooting should be taken as a wake up call, to remind us that we are in this world together. Today, a woman was killed by her one of her sons who then went on to kill the kids she taught. As the nation focus on gun control and people hug their kids tighter, we must not forget the kids or adults that are struggling and lost . We must get to them before they hurt others and themselves."- http://inyinasworld.blogspot.com/2012/12/another-mass-shooting.html
Through out this year I have noticed that most of the suspects in the shootings covered by the national media have been reported to have mental health issues. As I wrote last year, these incidents must be viewed as a wake up call to us to exam the entire behavioral health system from diagnosis to treatment and after treatment support.
Today, I was happy to see in this article from CMS summarizing a study they did that found that there is an increased need for behavioral health in the Medicaid population in the six States involved in the study. I hope this issue will be investigated by the other States and something can be done to improve the system.
