Transformational Opportunities Exist With The United States Mental Health System

An interesting finding by Huskamp and Iglehart (2016) is that between the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there should be a rise in people with mental illness seeking services, however, services are underutilized more than ever (Huskamp & Iglehart, 2016). According to Bendant (2014), in 2013 a total of 47 million people uninsured and 25% of those suffer mental illness (Bendant, 2014). These numbers are staggering for a service that is more inclusive now more than ever. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) site indicates that the MHPA is regulated differently depending on the state (CMS, n. d.). The Department of Labor (DOL) has identified a few problems with the MHPA and addressed these issues to Congress via a 2017 report (DOL, n.

“A mental disorder (mental illness) is a psychological pattern that is generally associated with a defect or disease of the individual’s mind. It causes a disability that may affect an individual’s behavior patterns in ways that are not part of one’s normal development or culture. Mental disorders are common in the United States. Within any given year, nearly 25 percent of adults and slightly over 20 percent of children are diagnosable for one or more mental disorders. While mental disorder appears to be widespread among the population, the main burden (or threat) emanates from about 6 percent of those who suffer from a debilitating mental illness.” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011)

What is left is that we have many citizens who are mentally ill and are not receiving treatment. However the patients who are able to receive treatment are only able to have some treatment covered. Health insurers are responsible for covering the immensely large cost of substantial treatment, a mixture of medication and therapy; since therapy is highly priced, less reliable, and time consuming; patients typically do not receive treatment for therapy. Health insurers would much rather cover medication because it is cheaper, it heals patients faster, and it is more reliable than therapy. However, medication is not made to heal, but to only coax symptoms of a mental illness (Sandberg).

Through environmental and technological innovations, health care in the industrialized world has been transformed over the past two centuries. This transformation also applies to mental health care. With the discovery and acceptance of psychology as a legitimate health science in the past one and a half centuries, mental health has been gradually integrated into the broad health care schema as primary and preventative medicine. However, even with this gradual integration, mental health care in the United States leaves much to be desired. Even after the passage of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), this type of care falls short of

This article presents a policy analysis of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007. It focuses mainly on the impact of the new legislation on the existing state parity laws. 54 million Americans are impacted by mental health issues each year costing the United States nearly $100 billion dollars annually (Marth, 2009). In relation to Mental Health coverage prior to the new legislations; individuals did not receive coverage similar to other physical and surgical medical treatments. As a result of inadequate treatment, this particular population can sometimes lead to unhealthy lifestyles and habits. The cost of Mental Health services and treatment can be extremely expensive including coy-payments, treatment visits, and other resources. However, this

In today’s society there is a greater awareness of mental illnesses. With this greater awareness one might assume that there would be a substantial increase in government involvement or funding in the area of mental illness treatment. Unfortunately this isn’t the case in the U.S. today. There are hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness that go untreated. These potential patients go untreated for many reasons. These reasons are discussed in the Time article “Mental Health Reform: What Would it Really Take.

Every year, as many as 8 million Americans who have serious mental illnesses do not receive adequate treatment. Kelly, a mother of three, has battled depression for 15 years. Her psychiatrist tried to have her admitted, but there was not a single available bed. Not in the city, not in the entire state. Kelly is one of the millions of people who were turned away from services. “States looking to save money have pared away both the community health services designed to keep people healthy, as well as the hospital care needed to help them heal after a crisis” (Szabo). Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, states that mental illnesses cost the country at least $444 billion a year, with only one-third of it going towards medical care. States should better fund mental health care because it has been neglected, it is a vital part to a person’s overall health, and it should be listed as a priority.

Before 1996, health insurance companies were able to set their own arbitrary restrictions on how much mental health coverage an insured individual receives. Often coverage for mental healthcare and substance abuse treatment such as therapy sessions and hospital visits was severely restricted. As a result, many people did not seek treatment for their mental health or substance abuse issues, even if they were in desperate need of professional help (Foundations Recovery Network, 2016).

Mental illness is a disease found worldwide, affecting a big chunk of the population. Some mental illnesses can be small such as ADHD and anxiety disorders whereas others are more severe like Borderline Personality Disorder and Schizophrenia. Treatment and understanding of these conditions used to be very poor, but the 1980’s started to change that. Although much treatment of mentally ill patients has gotten better, there is still room for improvement. With proper medication and therapy, people with mental illnesses can become fully functioning contributors to society. Most Westernized civilizations have a patient disclosure agreement that affects the patient 's ability to fully get better. Mental illnesses do not affect only old people, but they also have a huge impact on younger generations, and it is not as expensive to treat these patients as traditionally thought, especially if they are not let out before they should be. The treatment of mentally ill patients should be altered in a way that leads to patient happiness, while being cost efficient and helping future generations.

The chapter 1 reading this week mentioned how insurance coverage impacts the treatment process of different mental illnesses. Currently, the health insurance industry holds a lot of power over the type and duration of treatment provided/covered for patients. The chapter also mentioned that there is currently a 2011 federal parity law that requires equal coverage for mental and medical health issues. While these systems do have challenges and difficulties that need to be addressed in terms of how mental health issues are treated, there is current legislation (the American Health Care Act) being sent to the US Senate that could affect these issues even more negatively. According to the American Psychological Association (2017), “Medicaid currently provides roughly a quarter of all financing for mental health services.

An aspect of healthcare that gets woefully underserved in our current times is mental health. Recent economic struggles all over the country has resulted in mental health budgets getting slashed. Mental health programs have been curtailed and many facilities permanently shut down. This has resulted in devastating effects on people that greatly rely on mental health services to remain healthy and productive citizens.

Just as disorders and illnesses affecting the heart are generally classified as heart diseases, in the same context, mental illness is a general phrase used for a group of illnesses affecting cognition (Department of Health, 2015). People faced with mental illness are been stigmatized and assumed by the society to be dangerous, dirty, worthless, and unpredictable. This amongst other reasons is why most people refuse the introduction of a mental health clinic in the community (Meadows et al., 2012). Even though Patient with severe mental illness treated in the community have shown stability and at the same time reduced repeated hospital admission (Kisely & Campbell, 2014). Yet, some are against it because of its method of treatment which allows mental health professionals to treat the mentally ill without their consent, which in turn, deprives them of their basic human rights (Kisely & Campbell, 2014).

In order to make others understand the gravity of mental illness we must answer, what is mental illness? Mental illness is a medical condition or disorder that disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning (NAMI). Mental health concerns can become a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause stress and affect a persons ability to function (Definition). Next, facts about mental illness in America alone. One in four adults, which is about 61.5 million Americans, experience mental illness in a given year. One in seventeen, about 13.6 million, live with a serious mental illness. Serious mental illness cost America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year. Mood disorders, like depression, are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youth and adults ages 18 to 44. Last, but not least, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. (more common than homicide) and the third leading cause of death of ages 15 to 24 years. More than 90 percent of those who

Effects of mental illness for many patients can come from a range of social and economic challenges including poverty, homelessness, lack of access to education and employment, and a lack of personal and social supports (Goodyear, Hill, Allchin, McCormick, Hine, Cuff, & O’Hanlon, 2015). Mental illness in families can also create further needs for individuals that are involved. For example, children that have parents

Mental Health is defined as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community,” but only 17% of US adults fall into this category (WHO, 2001). Mentally ill individuals fall into the vulnerable population category due to the impact these illnesses can have on productivity, overall