This past week the College Democrats were lucky enough to host Michael Moore in a town hall style meeting. He made some brilliant points and I am happy to say he really made me think about health care in America. Later that day, I watched Sicko which made me think even more, and by the end, I was extremely angry. You’re right Mr. Moore, the way we treat our citizens when it comes to health care is immoral.

One thing that Michael Moore touched on, but doesn’t talk  about specifically, is mental health care in America. It is an issue that I am passionate about and I wholeheartedly believe that we need major reforms for the mental health care system in America.

Fifteen to eighteen percent of Americans are said to suffer from some type of mental illness. According to the NIMH, about 20% of adults will at sometime seek treatment for a mental disorder. Suicide accounts for more deaths than homicide and HIV/AIDS combined. Mental health is real, it’s prevalent and it needs to be addressed.

For years it was ignored; in fact, when the Republicans controlled Congress they refused to even have a hearing regarding the mental health care or mental health insurance. For those living with a mental disorder, healthcare can be very difficult to navigate. Many psychiatrists’ offices do not take health insurance, and many health insurance companies will not reimburse you if the office doesn’t accept it up front. Additionally, health insurance companies will often refuse to pay for long term care or medication management. Also, many mental disorders count as a “pre-existing condition” that disqualify a patient searching for insurance. Living with a mental health disorder is expensive and health insurance companies don’t want to pay, despite the necessity in the treatment.

I believe that the stigmas attached to mental health contribute to the unwillingness of insurance companies to cover these patients who are suffering from a legitimate and very real illness. It wasn’t until last year that mental health received parity with other health related issues. For years it was dismissed and not seen for its real importance. Try telling someone that their schizophrenic spouse isn’t sick and doesn’t deserve to be treated for their condition; I’m sure that would not go over well.

The costs of mental health care are extremely high in this country. A psych evaluation can cost over $400 with follow up appointments costing $150-$200 or more. People are impoverished and people are homeless because they cannot afford to pay for their mental health care. But we don’t care about them; they’re just the crazy homeless man you pass by everyday on your way to work.

HR 3200 actually addresses a lot of mental health concerns. It makes mental health coverage part of basic plans and it also attempts to reconfigure some aspects of Medicare to help those impoverished due to mental illness. Is it a magical fix? No. Too many steps need to be taken before mental health patients receive reasonable and adequate treatment. The American Psychiatric Association, among others, has endorsed it for the strides it makes for mental health care in America. It ensures that all basic care packages includes mental health care and makes it impossible for an insurance company to deny coverage based on a previously diagnosed mental illness. The bill also continues to give parity to mental health and substance abuse issues.

The bill is the best option for those living with mental illnesses. Although it does not fix everything, it is a start. There are many reasons to support HR 3200, but one of the most important reasons is that it reforms the mental health care system.

By making a commitment to reform, we can offer help to those who need it most. Living with a mental illness is difficult, and we must make it possible for those who have mental illness to not only get treatment, but to get adequate treatment. After all, it’s the moral thing to do.

Tags: healthcare, healthcare reform, mental health

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at 10:21 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.