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Mental illnesses problems in america essay
Mental illnesses problems in america essay
Mental illnesses problems in america essay
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Despite the fact that our time with the CBCI has been short, I have come to appreciate the diligence and hard work that goes into these policies and reports. Amongst the various groups that will have a part in the 2014 annual report, it seems to me that the Healthcare group has been diligently working on coming together with a powerful and impressive report for this year. As of today, the Healthcare section focuses on four main areas of health; Mental Illness, Malnutrition, Hepatitis C, and End Stage Disease. For each of these areas, it is clear that the Healthcare group has done thorough research and suggest very vital recommendations to some of the problems they have identified.
For the Mental illness section, the Healthcare group asserts that, there is a staggering number of 61.5 million adult citizens in the United States that have serious mental illnesses (SMI). The report explains that, despite popular belief that SMI only affects the individual involved, SMI affects the average American citizen tremendously. The report reads that “…the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that SMI costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings every year...” This group’s main message is that, “…the personal, societal and economic effects of SMI practically mandate that better care for this illness be developed….” They go further into the problems with SMI by noting that there are many barriers that arise not with individuals initially receiving their medications but rather getting refills. The report suggests that “…Medicaid programs should consider the unintended consequences of medication utilization management practices for beneficiaries with SMI…” Along with giving their own suggestions they do point out some various methods th...
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...rity community it is certainly time for these reforms to take place. Some of the recommendations that the Healthcare group is proposing are things that should have been implemented long ago. Recommendations like, passing “…the Viral Hepatitis Testing Act, which authorizes critical federal funding for screening, education and the development of public-private partnerships that help extend limited public health funds addressing this epidemic… (Healthcare)”
The Healthcare group has done an outstanding job thus far with this year’s recommendation. They have thoroughly examined issues that are overlooked and purposing ways to fix some of these problems. Along with proposing some of their own answers to these problems, they are pointing out methods that are working well and should be expanded. Their proposal thus far is impressive and is clearly meant to help the people.
...rofiles of Health Care Systems, The Commonwealth Fund, June 2010. Retrieved April 20th, 2011 from website: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund%20Report/2010/Jun/1417_Squires_Intl_Profiles_622.pdf
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.
Mental healthcare has a long and murky past in the United States. In the early 1900s, patients could live in institutions for many years. The treatments and conditions were, at times, inhumane. Legislation in the 1980s and 1990s created programs to protect this vulnerable population from abuse and discrimination. In the last 20 years, mental health advocacy groups and legislators have made gains in bringing attention to the disparity between physical and mental health programs. However, diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses continues to be less than optimal. Mental health disparities continue to exist in all areas of the world.
Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...
...e crucial change needed in health services delivery, with the aim of transforming the current deteriorated system into a true “health care” system. (ANA, 2010)
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.
...lthcare system is slowly shifting from volume to value based care for quality purposes. By allowing physicians to receive payments on value over volume, patients receive quality of care and overall healthcare costs are lowered. The patients’ healthcare experience will be measured in terms of quality instead of how many appointments a physician has. Also, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements are prompting hospitals, physicians and other healthcare organizations to make the value shifts. In response to the evolving healthcare cost, ways to reduce health care cost will be examined. When we lead towards a patient centered system organized around what patients need, everyone has better outcomes. The patient is involved in their healthcare choices and more driven in the health care arena. A value based approach can help significantly in achieving patient-centered care.
Healthcare plays an important role in almost every person’s life at one point or another. Many times, one can get caught without, or underinsured and it can be detrimental to their livelihood. With the rising cost of healthcare, it is likely that having a national healthcare policy in place, and as an individual, being able to afford and obtain adequate health insurance has not been required until now. With the new national healthcare plan, it is required for all citizens to obtain and maintain some sort of public or private insurance policy. The rising costs can be attributed to many things. A significant reason for the astronomical cost of health care is because of the staggering amount of uninsured or underinsured individuals receiving medical attention and almost many never paying the bill. Those who do have insurance have seen a gradual increase in their premiums and deductibles to make up for this.
Jojic, Dr. Mirjana. "Will Budget Cuts Threaten Mental Health in Your State?" ABC News. ABC News
These community support systems shadowed what this population was experiencing in the supports that they were receiving from Social Security disability programs, as well as, Medicare and Medicaid which were health insurance programs created in 1965 (Goldman, 2015). The sum of the afore mentioned policy changes and acts, positively altered the mental health system by expanding community programs and improving income supports for individuals with disabling mental health concerns. SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and Medicare became the financial backbone of public mental health services (Goldman,
Reforming the health care delivery system to progress the quality and value of care is indispensable to addressing the ever-increasing costs, poor quality, and increasing numbers of Americans without health insurance coverage. What is more, reforms should improve access to the right care at the right time in the right setting. They should keep people healthy and prevent common, preventable impediments of illnesses to the greatest extent possible. Thoughtfully assembled reforms would support greater access to health-improving care, in contrast to the current system, which encourages more tests, procedures, and treatments that are either
An estimated 61.5 million American Lives, or one in four, suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year, and it takes a decade, on average for them to make contact with a health care professional (Pending). One in 17 Americans currently live with chronic mental illness disorders such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder (pending). Despite the new discoveries and advances in science and technology, the social stigma of mental illness prevails. Why is mental illness an issue? Why should healthy people be concerned if their neighbor suffers from acute depression? Those are the questions that the average American faces. Yet, our society remains naïve when it comes to mental health. The roots of this issue are found in the lack of information and lack of mental health accessibility.
The NSDUH reports that individuals with a mental illness is more like to also have a chronic health condition and are more likely to use hospitalization and emergency room treatment (NSDUH, 2014). According to SAMSHA (n.d.), 50% of Medicaid enrollees have a diagnosable mental health condition. Individuals with a diagnosed mental health condition have health care cost that is 75% higher than those without a mental health diagnosis (SAMSHA, n.d.). For an individual with a co-occurring disorder the cast is nearly three times higher than what the average Medicaid
Disease and chronic illness are infiltrating our communities. As a country, if we don’t do something now,” by 2025, chronic disease will affect an estimated 164 million Americans. “. In 2010 the Department of Health and Human service (HHS) launched 10-year plan aimed at creating” high-quality, longer lives, which would be free of preventable disease, disability and premature death and would do this by creating social and physical environments that promote good health for all “. Since launching this program the CDC health insurance companies, YMCA and many other community leaders have jumped on board to partner with HHS in making this a reality. Through managed care programs, and community initiatives we have been able to make strides in population
Mental disorders are rapidly becoming more common with each new generation born in the world. Currently, nearly one in two people suffer from some form of depression, anxiety, or other mental health problem at some point in their lives (Editor). With so many people suffering from their mental illnesses, steps have been taken in order to get help needed for these people but progress has been slow. In the medical world, hospitals are treating those with physical problems with more care than those with mental problems. Prescription drugs can only do so much helping the mentally ill go through their daily lives and more should be done to help those who need more than medicine to cope with their illness. Mental health should be considered just as important as physical health because of how advanced physical healing is, how the public reacts to those with mental illness, and due to the consequences that could happen if the illness is not correctly helped.