In this section of the paper, we will be observing a specific issue regarding companies that deal with mental health. Before we diving into this topic, lets provide some information about mental health companies and cost containment. These behavioral health care companies (or mental health care companies) are here to help by promoting the well-being and preventing or intervening in mental illness while also aiding in preventing or intervening in substance abuse or other addictions (Sandler, 2009).” Now, what cost containment does is aids those companies to maintain different expenses that may lead to unnecessary cost or spending. This leads to the issue of should managed behavioral health care companies be permitted to achieve cost containment through the management of access to care? …show more content…
First, it's believed that those healthcare companies should be permitted to achieve cost containment. Nevertheless, permitted this comes with burdens, as well as, benefits. One of the burdens that this causes is the utilization of revenue to be able to expand theses companies since mental health is growing rapidly. Company benefit managers noted an increase in mental health care costs that were climbing even more rapidly than general health care costs. For example, mental health care costs for IBM's roughly 600,000 covered lives rose from $80.8 million to $105.7 million which is an increase of more than 30 percent in just two years (Essock & Goldman, 1995). This has an impact on our society because it raises the rates of companies who in turn pass the expense down to their employees. Conversely, these companies must spend more to insure their technology is effective and efficient. The effect limits the patient's ability to afford mental health services. These burdens allow the benefits easily overlooked but the benefits assist in creating a
The fight for improved health care for those with mental illness has been an ongoing and important struggle for advocates in the United States who are aware of the difficulties faced by the mentally ill and those who take care of them. People unfortunate enough to be inflicted with the burden of having a severe mental illness experience dramatic changes in their behavior and go through psychotic episodes severe enough to the point where they are a burden to not only themselves but also to people in their society. Mental institutions are equipped to provide specialized treatment and rehabilitative services to severely mentally ill patients, with the help of these institutions the mentally ill are able to get the care needed for them to control their illness and be rehabilitated to the point where they can become a functional part of our society. Deinstitutionalization has led to the closing down and reduction of mental institutions, which means the thousands of patients who relied on these mental institutions have now been thrown out into society on their own without any support system to help them treat their mental illness. Years after the beginning of deinstitutionalization and after observing the numerous effects of deinstitutionalization it has become very obvious as to why our nation needs to be re-institutionalized.
Since it has become more understood better treatment plans have been created. There a various therapies and medications that can help manage mental health. However, there is an estimated 50 million people in America that has a mental disorder(s) and sadly only about 10 million will receive mental healthcare. Why is this? This happens simply because mental illness does not care who you are and how much money you do or do not have in the bank. Mental illnesses can effect anyone and it can be anyone of the numerous different psychological disorders. When mental illness effects a person it disrupts their whole life, this would include their daily living as well as effecting how preform at work. Take for instance, if they work a production job it can cause them not to make production. If they cannot function well enough to work at their required performance, then this could and probably would lead into them being fired from their job. Without a job they would not only lose their income but they would also have say bye-bye to their insurance plan as well. This would leave them without and mental healthcare. Did you know that if 50% of those with schizophrenia, 25% of those with anxiety disorders, 33% of those with depression are currently receiving successful treatment and the likely success rate will be around 80 to 90%? A number of people with
Belluck’s New York Times article describes a study that ordered mentally ill patients to receive treatment instead of being hospitalized. The study found that the patients were less likely to be placed in psychiatric hospitals or arrested, and outpatient treatment and medication refills increased. This also proved economical, because the mental health system and Medicaid costs were reduced by at least fifty percent. This program doesn’t only apply to the patient to accept treatment, it also requires the mental health system to provide it, making the program more effective
Braun, S. A., & Cox, J. A. (2005). Managed mental health care: Intentional misdiagnosis of
When one examines managed health care and the hospitals that provide the care, a degree of variation is found in the treatment and care of their patients. This variation can be between hospitals or even between physicians within a health care network. For managed care companies the variation may be beneficial. This may provide them with opportunities to save money when it comes to paying for their policy holder’s care, however this large variation may also be detrimental to the insurance company. This would fall into the category of management of utilization, if hospitals and managed care organizations can control treatment utilization, they can control premium costs for both themselves and their customers (Rodwin 1996). If health care organizations can implement prevention as a way to warrant good health with their consumers, insurance companies can also illuminate unnecessary health care. These are just a few examples of how the health care industry can help benefit their patients, but that does not mean every issue involving physician over utilization or quality of care is erased because there is a management mechanism set in place.
As time goes on, the law has put more emphasis on facility just like Bridgewater State Hospital in which many of the actions of the facility workers can face legal consequences such as facing prison time, fines, lawsuits, and etc. Society has a better understanding of why certain people act the way that they do and being more knowledgeable about psychology and mental diseases allows us to have a different approach when dealing with these topics or these individuals. In today’s era, there are many normal individuals who are willing to stand up for those who do not have a voice of their own. I believe that this change in one’s ability to stand up for another individual or group of individuals is what brought about change to the medical environment of those who are mentally
If the United States had unlimited funds, the appropriate response to such a high number of mentally ill Americans should naturally be to provide universal coverage that doesn’t discriminate between healthcare and mental healthcare. The United States doesn’t have unlimited funds to provide universal healthcare at this point, but the country does have the ability to stop coverage discrimination. A quarter of the 15.7 million Americans who received mental health care listed themselves as the main payer for the services, according to one survey that looked at those services from 2005 to 2009. 3 Separate research from the same agency found 45 percent of those not receiving mental health care listing cost as a barrier.3 President Obama and the advisors who helped construct The Affordable Care Act recognized the problem that confronts the mentally ill. Mental healthcare had to be more affordable and different measures had to be taken to help patients recover. Although The Affordable Care Act doesn’t provide mentally ill patients will universal coverage, the act has made substantial changes to the options available to them.
“Insurance companies often cover mental illness in a more limited fashion than physical illness” (Christensen). The lack of mental health care provided for the mentally ill has been a growing issue in the US during the previous years, and there has been some progress. For example, there has been the Mental Health Care and Parity Law of 2008 that was enacted so that the insurers would cover mental illness just as they would cover other illnesses. In addition, the Affordable Care Act was enacted to enforce that the insurers abide by the rules. Unfortunately, that hasn’t helped much, hence: the sneaky behavior of insurance companies. This sneaky behavior seems to be unnoticed by the government the majority of the time unless the patient or his family decides to file a lawsuit. Until then, insurance companies have been constantly bending rules and finding loopholes to not pay insurance for mental illness.
In the case of changing the mental health policy in North Carolina, the impetus for the change seems to be adopted by the State Auditor’s report beside other reports of many entities confirming the deviation of mental health service away from its original goal. According to these reports, mental health services are still delivered via traditional health delivery models rather than coordinated well-managed ones. Interestingly, these reports analyze the spectrum of mental health services nationwide with the exception of the State Auditor’s 2000 report Study of the Psychiatric Hospitals and the Area Mental Health Programs which was specifically designed for the North Carolina.
States obtain many services that fall under mental health care, and that treat the mentally ill population. These range from acute and long-term hospital treatment, to supportive housing. Other effective services utilized include crisis intervention teams, case management, Assertive Community Treatment programs, clinic services, and access to psychiatric medications (Honberg at al. 6). These services support the growing population of people living in the...
Why then is this area of healthcare both so expensive and common? One reason could be in the professionals in the field themselves. Mental health care professionals may request higher pay or more vacation time because “they deal with dangerous patients-although they have publicly proclaimed that mental illness is a disease like any other” (Sartorius). These professionals are supposed to advocate for their patients in society because of the stigmas surrounding them, yet these stigmas in turn allow them to ask for higher pay because society stereotypes their work as being extremely taxing. These facilities sometimes take advantage of the stereotypes of their work in the quality of care their patients receive as well. For example, the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Policy Coordinator, Michelle Funk, commented on the quality of care people with mental health disabilities receive. She says, “people in mental health facilities often are exposed to high levels of abuse and violence...Their living conditions are inhumane and the treatment they receive is degrading… people can be over medicated to keep them docile and easy to manage”
Most of the time there are many people out there who can afford to attain health insurance or have insurance but their insurance doesn't cover mental health. The poor are the one's who gets hit hard the most. The American Health Care Act doesn't want to expand anymore money towards mental health. Mental health treatment services need to be maintained but also expaned in order to keep the country's mental health needs. Melissa Warnke explains, "The House and Senate verisons of Trumpcare would both phase out funding for that expansion and cut Medicaid spending by almost a trillion dollars over a decade." (Warnke,1) By decreasing Americans access to treatment will just make them suffer even longer. Warnke says, "between 70% and 90% of individuals who have access to medication and/or counseling treatments for mental health issues see a significant reduction in symptoms." (2) If Trumpcare goes into effect, your only option are to be rich or maintain physical and mental health throughout your life. Treatment should not just be for the wealthy. This will just lead to suicide because there will be no help. Advocates for people with mental illnesses have urged the government
The Affordable Care Act was created to provide mental health coverage for those who cannot afford it but actions are being taken to get rid of what is benefiting
Direct costs such as medications and psychologist/therapist visits will add up to a pretty penny. Especially if you do not have insurance that will help cover your medical expenses. This financial trouble can cause more stress and more mental illness on someone. The indirect cost affects more of the productivity of work because of the mental illness. A lot of people are affected by their work effort when they have a certain mental illness; they could lose interest in work and stop showing up or caring about the
The cost of US health care has been steadily increasing for many years causing many Americans to face difficult choices between health care and other priorities in their lives. Health economists are bringing to light the tradeoffs which must be considered in every healthcare decision (Getzen, 2013, p. 427). Therefore, efforts must be made to incite change which constrains the cost of health care without creating adverse health consequences. As the medical field becomes more business oriented, there will be more of a shift in focus toward the costs and benefits, which will make medicine more like the rest of the economy (Getzen, 2013, p. 439).