Essay On Ensuring Access To Mental Health Services For Children Under CHIP

Mental Health coverage prior to the Affordable Care Act was far to none. With about nearly one-third of currently covered individuals having no coverage for substance abuse disorder services and approximately 20% having no coverage for mental health services. Services such as outpatient therapy visits, impatient crisis intervention and stabilization were among many that were not offered. Since the Affordable Health Care Act has been passed more individuals are able to afford health insurance that were once uninsured. It has helped many individuals in being able to obtain medical services that were once inaccessible.

For those adults with children that are not eligible for Medicaid but their income is not enough for private insurance, KidsCare was an option until it froze in January 2010 due to a cost-cutting effort. KidsCare is a state sponsored insurance program for low-income families that is part of the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Arizona is currently the only state that does not have a CHIP program which forces families that were on the program to partake in the health care exchange and pay for private insurance or forgo health coverage and be uninsured (Whiteman, M., 2014). The number of children covered at the time of the program freeze went from 45,000 to about 2,000, which was a ninety-five percent drop (Whiteman, M., 2014). Governor Jan Brewer proposed to restore coverage to thousand of children through KidsCare II, where Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the University of Arizona Health Network would pull money together and receive extra federal funds. The federal funds that the

Signed into law in 1997, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides health coverage to approximately eight million children. This law encompasses families whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid, but cannot afford the expense of private health insurance. CHIP is like Medicaid, it’s managed by the states, but different because it’s jointly funded by the federal government and by the states. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 retains the CHIP eligibility standards and extended CHIP funding until October 1, 2015. The Affordable Care Act also provides an additional $40 million in federal funding to continue efforts to encourage enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP.

The CHIP program provides low-income families, whom make too much to qualify for Medicaid, access to low-cost or free health insurance (CHIP,

Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP’s healthcare coverage is usually used in the typical American household. Though they serve different people they all have the same goal: To provide health coverage for lower costs and better care. They all have many ways they are funded. Medicare is funded through taxes, trust funds, premiums from members of Part A,B, and D, and funds from Congress. Medicaid and CHIP is funded by the government. The federal government pays states for a specific percentage of program expenditures or costs for a specific group. The percentage for Medicaid is 15% higher than CHIP’s. If you want to be a member of medicaid, you have to have a limited income, be 65 or older, a child under 19, be pregnant, be living with a disability,

Vulnerable populations are defined as “groups of people who are at a greater risk of developing health problems due to factors such as limited resources, poverty, socio-economic status, limited education, mental illnesses, prison time, age, gender, and homelessness” (Garcel 2015). There are three main financers of healthcare for vulnerable populations which include, the federal government, state governments, and private sources. Federal healthcare payment programs include Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP). These programs are managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS). Each of these programs have their own set of eligibility requirements.

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) varies from state to state. [CHIP is a collaboration between federal and state governments. The programs are run by the individual states according to requirements set-up by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. States may organize CHIP programs as an independent program separate from Medicaid, such as separate child health programs, use CHIP funds to expand their Medicaid programs like SCHIP Medicaid expansion programs, or can combine these] put in quotes with the source advancements into a CHIP combination program (NAHSP,2017). States receive federal funds for CHIP programs at a rate above the typical Medicaid match. States with separate child health programs follow the

Mental illnesses are very common in the United States, with one in five of adolescents having a diagnosed mental illness and in the last year less than half of these adolescents have received proper treatment. The most common mental disorders, anxiety and depression, can disrupt daily life and result in suicide, which is the third most frequent cause of death in teenagers (“The Office of Adolescent Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services”). Ten percent of adolescents did not have health insurance in 2013 and those who did, had a very limited amount of mental health care services provided to them (“The Office of Adolescent Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services”). It has been proved that it is even less likely that adolescents who are poor, homeless, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender will receive the care that is necessary for their health and even life (“The Office of Adolescent Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services”). Mental disorders are not only an

Lack of access to mental health care and treatment is one of the top ten reasons that many mental health conditions go untreated. Many private and group health insurance plans only include minimal mental health care coverage or do not incorporate mental health care coverage at all. Over half of adult citizens of the United States of America, who possess a mental illness, do not obtain mental health care treatment. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one out of every five adults in America have endured their own mental health difficulty, and one out of every twenty-five American adults suffer from a severe mental illness, such as major depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. (Top 5 Barriers to Mental Healthcare Access, Social Solutions.com, 2017)

Policies have an important role in regulating and shaping the values in a society. The issues related to mental health are not only considered as personal but also affecting the relationships with significant others. The stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health can be traced to the lack of legislation and protection of rights (Rodriguez del Barrio et al., 2014). The policy makers in mental health have a challenging task to protect the rights of individuals as well as the public (Swigger & Heinmiller, 2014). Therefore, it is essential to analyse the current mental health policies. In Canada, provinces adopt their own Mental Health Acts (MHA) to implement mental health services. As of January 15, 2016, there are 13 mental health acts in Canada (Gray, Hastings, Love, & O’Reilly, 2016). The key elements, despite the differences in laws, are “(1) involuntary admission criteria, (2) the right to refuse treatment, and (3) who has the authority to authorize treatment” (Browne, 2010). The current act in Ontario is Mental Health Act, 1990.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed by United States President Barack Obama in 2010 seeks to provide affordable health care options for 32 more million people who are uninsured and underinsured (Rich, 2013). This has indeed benefited a lot of individuals, especially one of the most vulnerable populations- the children. Because of this healthcare reform, every single child in America under the age of 19 who’s families meet income requirements is now eligible to obtain full scope Medi-Cal, regardless of their immigration status. Full scope Medi-Cal or Medi-Cal for all Children includes primary care, vision, dental, substance abuse treatment, and mental health services. The expected implementation date for this reform is May 2016 to June 2016 (California

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides low-income families with health coverage because they are not eligible for Medicaid. Funds for this program derive from state tax collections, and are matched by the federal government. Individuals under the age of 19 may receive coverage for immunizations, routine examinations, office visits, hospitalization, diagnostics, prescriptions, emergency room services, vision, and dental care. CHIP coverage varies in each state therefore, the aforementioned services may not be available

The uninsured children’s population has decreased because of expansion of eligibility and easy enrollment process. CHIP’s focus was to provide health care to low-income families with uninsured children, in which they became successful. This government program provided roughly 42 million children with access to health care providers. Being enrolled with CHIP created a healthier lifestyle for children, and helped them receive the proper care in order to stay healthy. Preventative care also has a substantial growth with children keeping them away from possible diseases and illnesses that can affect their health. CHIP will continue to provide care for the uninsured children and amplify their efforts to improve access to health care.

The Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was started in 1997 to provide health insurance for uninsured children in families with low incomes and above the cut-off for Medicaid eligibility. The law gave states the flexibility to design and build the criteria and the role of the enrollment to the CHIP program. The children’ s health insurance Program (CHIP) funded by states and the federal government. CHIP runs through a mechanism similar to Medicaid. States operate and pay for insurance for children in low-income families and the federal government pays the state for a percentage of the money that state spends. The Medicaid pays a low percentage of CHIP cost and the federal government pays the rest of that cost (Lewandowski, 2013).

Each state has a health agency that is headed by a health commissioner or secretary of health and a state health officer. Organizational units within the state agencies vary, but most states have programs for vital statistics and epidemiology. However, these programs can vary in importance and in content between states. One common theme between all states is Medicaid, the nation's largest health insurance program in terms of covered people (Maurer & Smith, 2005). As purchasers of healthcare services, states realize the financial relief from state Medicaid programs because these costs are shared with the federal government. In addition, CHIP was created by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which helps states ensure low-income children who are