Trending News Today: Trump to Declare Opioid Epidemic a National Emergency

Some psychiatrists have started noticing that patients seeking help for depression are also overweight or obsese, according to Kaiser Health News. Although a link between the 2 conditions has not been thought to exist, it has become increasingly common. Patients with depression and obesity present a challenge to healthcare providers, who must address issues that exist in 2 different parts of healthcare, according to the article. If patients are not treated for both, the patient may be treated inadequately.

Results from a new survey indicate that nearly 8 in 10 Americans believe that President Donald Trump should try to make the Affordable Care Act work, according to Kaiser Health News. Another 6 in 10 respondents indicated that lawmakers should take a bipartisan approach to healthcare reform. Only 17% of respondents said that President Trump should allow the health law to fail, which is an approach that has been considered by the administration, according to the article.

President Trump recently said that he will declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency in an effort to bolster efforts to reduce the damaging effects of drug misuse, according to The New York Times. Trump said that he will be formalizing the declaration soon. A drug commission reported that there are 142 drug overdose-related deaths each day, which is equal to the deaths on September 11 every 3 weeks, according to the article. The declaration will likely increase the amount of federal resources supplied to states fighting the epidemic.