A study from Thomson Reuters and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration showed that psychiatric drug spending has dropped significantly.

The study, which was published in the latest issue of "Psychiatric Services" showed that the annual growth rate of expenditures for each patient dropped from 18.5 percent from the period of 1997 to 2001, to 6.3 percent from 2001-2008. In addition, there was a lack of growth in new users through the period, as the first time frame witnessed a drop of 7 percent while the second experienced a 2 percent decline.

"Employers and insurers have been concerned with the rate of increase in psychiatric drug costs," said Dr. Tami Mark, the paper's lead author and senior director of Thomson Reuters. "As a result, they have implemented measures to control the cost of psychiatric medication prescriptions, such as step therapy, tiered payment, and other proactive cost-control measures."

Consumers who are having trouble affording their psychiatric medication may benefit from comparing affordable health insurance rates. By examining difference health insurance quotes online, a person may find exactly what they are looking for.

While the American public is still very divided on the many aspects of the Obama administration's healthcare reform law, some parts of the legislation appear to be increasingly more attractive to consumers, according to a recent poll from Harris Interactive.

The poll found that more than one-third of Americans want the health insurance law repealed, while only one-fifth want it to remain intact, the source said. Another 25 percent of Americans would like to see certain aspects of the law changed.

"The public is still divided, mainly on partisan lines, as to whether to implement or repeal all, parts, or none of the health care reform bill," said Humphrey Taylor, chairman of the Harris Poll.

Nearly 60 percent of Americans are in favor of children staying on their parents' plans until they are 26, which is an increase from only 55 percent in November 2010, according to the poll. Another 53 percent were in favor of research requirements to improve treatments, which was gained from the previous figure of 44 percent.

However, the poll added that requiring adults to have health insurance coverage was only supported by 19 percent of Americans.

The C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health recently showed that there may be a connection between prevention of childhood obesity in schools and eating disorders among young people.

More than 80 percent of parents with children under the age of 15 were aware of obesity prevention programs in school, according to the poll. However, nearly 10 percent noted their children were conditioned to feel bad about their food consumption.

"The issue of childhood obesity is a serious problem." said David Rosen, clinical professor of Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, and Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School. "In order to intervene in what seems like an epidemic of childhood obesity, everyone needs to be involved. When obesity interventions are put in place without understanding how they work and what the risks are, there can be unintended consequences."

Parents who are concerned about their children's weight may want to visit a pediatrician to get professional advice. However, if their health insurance coverage doesn't give them the options necessary to take care of the issue, it may be a good plan to compare affordable health insurance rates.

The Obama administration recently informed the Supreme Court that the Affordable Care Act would be able to survive, even if the court announces that the healthcare coverage requirement is unconstitutional, according to Reuters.

The law is contested by more than half of the states, as well as other independent groups, but the administration claims that these people have not been able to prove that Congress would need to drop the whole law for just one aspect. There will be arguments heard in March before the future of the law is determined in June, the source noted.

"Many provisions of the act, focused on controlling costs, improving public health and other objectives, have no connection to insurance coverage at all," Donald Verrilli, solicitor general, wrote in the brief, according to the news source.

However, a representative of the National Federation of Independent Business noted to the administrators that the whole law would need to be canceled if that aspect is removed, the source added.

With the uncertainty of the healthcare law on the horizon, many consumers may not be comfortable with what the future holds. Comparing health insurance quotes now may lock in a plan that works for them.

The state of Kansas does not have any plans to halt its changes of the Medicaid program, even though many lawmakers are not happy with the speed of the process, according to The Associated Press.

Sam Brownback, governor of The Sunflower State, plans to get the project in motion this year by giving three contracts to companies in preparation of the switch. The program is worth $2.9 billion, and the contract would take place in 2013.

"We don't want to hurt Kansas patients," Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer told the news source. "We want to make sure that they start getting the benefits now, and we're talking about tens of millions of dollars."

The state has approximately 380,000 people using one of the programs in a given month, the source added.

Consumers may be uneasy about the impending healthcare reform, especially if they use a government-sponsored plan. In the meantime, it may not be a bad idea to compare affordable health insurance rates, as there could be a plan that is inexpensive but has what a person needs.