Mental Health Parity

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.

The SMVTA Center works with states to bolster and support the behavioral health systems for active duty military service member, reservists, veterans and their families. They act as a liaison between agencies and the service members, specifically federal, state, territorial, tribe, local community, public, and private agencies. This organization monitors trends in behavioral health issues in relation to prevention, treatment and recovery support, and provides consultation, training and technical assistance to these agencies to provide the latest and best treatment

I found a number of services that are currently available to Veterans that suffer from PTSD and their families such as counseling for individuals, groups, and families at all Va hospitals.

For many years, the VA has offered health care to the men and women who have surrendered a large part of their lives to protect our nation. The VA has made great stride in providing specialized services to veterans such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), and Mental Health treatment. In fact, the VA is leading the field on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) research, but now that many of our men and women are returning home from war, the commitment that the VA made to provide accessible health services and a smooth transition from military life back to civilian life to these heroes and their dependents are not being granted in a timely manner. Studies show that suicide among veterans is the number one leading cause of death in the United States and

Mental health coverage has become a particularly notable topic in Indiana, made salient in the wake of the Scott County HIV outbreak related to needle sharing and the underlying issue of the unaddressed opioid crisis. (source, Source) An important response to the outbreak was Medicaid enrollment and treatment for both HIV and addiction (Source). Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many low-income adults could not afford health insurance that covered

Veterans are everywhere throughout the United States, but just because they are everywhere, doesn’t meant they are getting the proper care. According to the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans of America, “One in three veterans return home and suffer from some sort of mental health issue.” Their mental health issues vary from post traumatic stress disorder to anxiety and depression. The switch from fighting everyday to being home is tough for the veterans and they need to receive the proper treatment so they can possibly live a life as normal as possible. The state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, started a $810,000 program to support these veterans with their issues returning home. The transition is hard, not

Regardless of where one stands, one must admit that the American economy is not thriving. Not only is it not thriving, but also the American economy has either been in depression or on the verge of depression for the last decade. Because of this, parity seems to be a dream. It is not the prime time to push for the ACA, perhaps during the 80’s or 90’s, but there were other political dilemmas that needed to be dealt with. Another factor to take into account is the reaction of the healthcare system once it truly has to cover for mental illness treatment. Because there is an immense amount of cost, around $131,000(Abelson), to

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) is an act that requires parity or equality between mental health treatment and medical/surgical treatment covered by private and public insurers with over 50 employees. That means that if an insurance covers mental health issues they can’t impose more stringent limits and financial requirements than medical/surgical coverage. The act was signed into law in 2008 by President George W. Bush. Before the act was signed into law, mental health care was not as affordable or accessible for individuals. (United States Department of Labor, 2016)

The general ability to receive the proper after care for the trauma is a significant portion of the recovery from injury. A person needs to have the essential physical and psychological care to be successful in their recovery from the life altering experience. Unfortunately, these are not easily available and nor are the easy to afford. The state run mental health clinics are underpaid and substandard. They also operate under a large umbrella of medical areas that are unrelated. Neurological, chemical, and Serious mental illness and are treated under the generic term, Behavioral health. This does include combat affected veterans. The use nurse practitioners are are given 15-20 minutes of treatment time every 90 days. They also have an emergency hot line that

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was enacted on October 3, 2008 as sections 511 and 512 of the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008. MHPAEA amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Federal Register, 2013). The MHPAEA is an extension of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which prohibited annual or aggregate lifetime financial limits on mental health coverage by addressing other restrictions, such as limits on outpatient visits or inpatient days (DOL, 2010). MHPAEA expands parity requirements to treatment limitations, financial requirements, and in- and out-of-network covered benefits (Smaldone, 2010). It also expands the opportunity of mental health parity requirements at the federal level and includes substance use disorders within its scope. Prior to 1996, health insurance coverage for mental illness had historically been less generous than that of other physical illness (Sarata, 2011). Mental health parity is a response to this disparity in insurance coverage, and generally refers to the concept that health insurance coverage for mental health services should be offered equally with covered medical and surgical benefits (Smaldone, 2010).

The United States has the most inclusive program with roots that can be traced back to 1636, that assist all veterans of all nations throughout the world. This program is known as the Department of Veterans Affair and is a federal cabinet-level agency that delivers healthcare services to qualified military veterans at VA medical centers and outpatient clinics throughout the country (Rose, Bisson, Churchill, & Wessely, 2002). This type of service and assistance can be crucial to veterans suffering not only from physical disorders, but also from mental disorders brought on by the traumatic events experienced through active duty. Mental health disorders in veterans can be more difficult to diagnose and treat than physical disorders, because their

In 1965, there was a histrionic change in the method that mental health care was delivered in the United States. The focus went from State Mental Hospitals to outpatient settings for the treatment of mental health issues. With the passing of Medicaid, States were encouraged to move patients out of the hospital setting (Pan, 2013). This process failed miserably due to under funding and understaffing for the amout of patients that were released from the State Mental Hospitals. This resulted in patients, as well as their families, who were in dire need of mental health services. This population turned to either incarceration (jails and/or prisons) or emergency departments as a primary source of care for their loved ones.

Preceding the enactment of the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, approximately forty-nine million individuals in the United States were uninsured. The Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity Act (MHPAEA) does not command or require coverage for mental

T. Stecker, J. Fortney, F. Hamilton, and I. Ajzen, 2007, address that mental health symptoms have the likelihood to increase within post deployment for military veterans, especially for the ones who have seen combat. An estimated quarter of recent war veterans who are currently receiving care in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Health Care System have reported mental health problems. Soldiers who have served in Iraq come home suffering from depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Statistics of Iraq soldiers meeting the criteria for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is greater than the soldiers who served in Afghanistan. The mental health symptom rates for soldiers who served in Iraq were as high as 20% for PTSD, 18% for anxiety, and 15% for depression.

This should help lower all over cost. This introduces mental health parity. What is Mental Health Parity? The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website explains that Mental health parity “describes the equal treatment of mental health conditions and substance use disorders in insurance plans…it means that if you are provided unlimited doctor visits for a chronic condition like diabetes then they must offer unlimited visits for a