What Is the State of the Mental Health Care System in America? Elizabeth Warren (2013)

• Report rights infringement
• published: 23 Oct 2013
• views: 3548

A lack of mental health coverage for Americans bears significant ramifications to the U.S. economy and social system. A report by the U.S. Surgeon General found that mental illnesses are the second leading cause of disability in the nation and affect 20% of all Americans. It is estimated that less than half of all people with mental illnesses receive treatment (or specifically, an ongoing, much needed, and managed care; where meds alone, can not easily remove mental conditions, but may only help) due to factors such as stigma and lack of access to care. The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 mandates that group health plans provide mental health and substance-related disorder benefits that are at least equivalent to benefits offered for medical and surgical procedures. The legislation renews and expands provisions of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. The law requires financial equity for annual and lifetime mental health benefits, and compels parity in treatment limits and expands all equity provisions to addiction services. Up to 2008 insurance companies used loopholes and, though providing financial equity, they often worked around the law by applying unequal co-payments or setting limits on the number of days spent in in-patient or out-patient treatment facilities. According to the World Health Organization in 2004, depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States of America for individuals ages 15 to 44.[27] Absence from work in the U.S. due to depression is estimated to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status and prognosis.[28] Each year, roughly 30,000 Americans take their lives, while hundreds of thousands make suicide attempts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).[29] In 2004, suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States of America (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), third among individuals ages 15--24. Despite the increasingly availability of effectual depression treatment, the level of unmet need for treatment remains high.[citation needed] There are many factors that influence mental health including: Mental illness, disability, and suicide are ultimately the result of a combination of biology, environment, and access to and utilization of mental health treatment. Public health policies can influence access and utilization, which subsequently may improve mental health and help to progress the negative consequences of depression and its associated disability. Research conducted by Mental Health America found the following factors to be considerably allied with improved depression status and lower suicide rates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_mental_health_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health_care_in_the_United_States