Mental Parity in the USA
The issue of mental health parity is a conflicting one for many patients and their insurance companies. The issue creates a social inequality between those with mental illness and those without. By setting a standard of medical treatment for one or the other, it has many beginning to think that both the government and insurance companies are discriminating against those with mental illness.
While many believe that those with mental disorders should be treated on the same level of treatment as those with physical disorders, not much as resulted of this argument. The reason this debate exists is because of the fact that our government believes that mental disorders are in some cases, less real and more the fault of the victim, then physical disorders are. When that notion is completely false, this legacy lives on.
According to an University of Michigan presentation, social inequality harms one’s health. Socioeconomic differentials are arguably the most important public health problem facing our nation, reported Dr. James S. House, the featured speaker at a recent NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research seminar. Substantial evidence shows that behavior, psycho social, and environmental factors are major factors within one’s health. The United States spends the most money on medical care than any other nation in the world; however that is only with physical illnesses, nothing else.
Nearly 4 years ago, President Bush called to congressional leaders to pass legislation to provide full mental health parity. However, years later with nearly two-thirds of Senators and a strong majority within the House that support the idea, the process has been continuously stalled.
A 2004 national survey concluded that 78 percent of American believe it is unfair for health insurance policies to limit mental health benefits. America is a democracy, is it not? This is the time for change; this is a chance to end this social inequality for good.
Mental parity defines the idea of making sure mental health is fully covered by insurance plans the same as physical health . Without every given health insurance company, coverage for mental disorders is always inferior to those who are treated with physical concerns. Many argue diagnosis and treatment is more difficult because it is harder to define what is actually going on with the patient’s head and what needs to be done to treat the condition. The complexity of the procedures is the basis for the cause of less coverage in many cases.
A recent medical study confirmed the idea that poor mental health can cause our bodies to age faster and for illness to occur more frequently. This statement alone should alert insurance companies on coverage for mental health; they are costing themselves more money in the future for not treating patients. This research should be a positive step for those who wish for treatment for mental health conditions.
Mental and physical disorders, are in fact, diagnosed using different diagnostic books. Patients with mental illness are discriminated against by employees and society because of the unfair comparison that is made between physical and mental health illnesses. The other side believes in equal coverage. They argue that mental illness can be just as long lasting and impactful on one’s body that physical illnesses can. If these conditions go untreated, serious implications can occur. Conditions may worsen, or in some cases, people may “lose their mind” entirely.
The other side argues the idea that mandating a mental health parity requirement would create just as many more problems as it solves and would harm more people than help. Studies of the estimated average cost of imposing a broad mental health parity mandate reflect an array of disagreement, ranging from less than a percent to more than ten percent. This however is not surprising because mandating this parity would change the rules that govern the health care marketplace. They are most interested in how these increased costs will be distributed between employers and employees.
Rene Descartes believed in the idea of the mind-body split that explains that the conscious part of a person is different than the physical part of one. While the body grows old and eventually dies, the soul never ages and exists long after death. The mental health parity can be used to describe this idea as well. Most people fear mental health at greater rates because they feel that the “you” part of yourself is being damaged and that is long-lasting, just as Descartes believed.
Also, early doctors had very simplistic tools and methods of diagnosis. They also believed in false notions of parts of our body. For example, they believed that the heart was a source for emotion and though. It was greatly accepted that physical illness for easy to visualize and mental could not be at all. Treatment for physical conditions were effective in getting rid of the disease. However, with mental disease there were no known causes for the diseases, so no treatment was effective if you couldn’t see the effect. This helped create a separation in coverage from years past to the present day, in which, insurance companies still believe that mental health illnesses are less significant than physical ones.
The history of the debate started decades ago. However, the first step toward complete success began in September 1996 when the Mental Health Parity Act was signed. This would require that annual or lifetime limits on mental healthcare benefits be no lower than those of medical and surgical benefits offered by a specific healthcare plan. This act applied to all plans beginning on or after January 1, 1998. The extension runs through December 31, 2006.
In 1999, the White House held a Mental Health conference. The president directed benefit parity to be accomplished by 2001 contract year. However, that never was accomplished. He suggested full coverages for mental illness and treatments that were clinically-proven to be effective. Copays would be compared to that of other physical illnesses.
By researching the topic, it was discovered that health companies could hire specialized mental health care workers to provide successful care to patients. They also used research from the National Institute of Mental Health to indicate that there was a growing consensus on treatment protocols and how effective managed care delivery systems actually were. In the end, they decided that they could implement these things in an affordable way for all.
A few years later, the National Pain Care Policy Act of 2003 was introduced by Mike Rogers into the House of Representatives and passed throughout Congress. This was the first federal recognition of the importance of mental parity as a critical, unanswered health care problem in our nation. It was introduced with the Decade of Pain Research initially which included a near $80-100 billion dollar a year plan that would involve research, educations and training, public awareness and treatment procedures. This was one of the first real attempts at achieving ultimate equality within coverage.
NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness), fights for this issue in Washington daily. Founded in 1979, they are the largest national grassroots mental health organization that’s main focus is to improve the lives of people living with serious mental illness. These people have faith that NAMI is their voice on mental illness topics and one exists within every state across the country. They hope to improve the quality of life for those who are affected by these diseases. Mental parity advocacy groups like NAMI believe that mental disorders are brain-based and should be treated on that basis as a physical illness.
This argument however creates the sense of a physical disorder is better than a mental one; a stigma they have been fighting against for years. The group wants measurable reform for the patients and their families that are directly affected by these uncured illnesses. So, it is understandable that they may redefine illnesses so that they can be treated. Any treatment is better than none. And to some activists within NAMI, their fight involves results. If they compromise a part of their beliefs and get results, then they will still successful in some way.
The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) is the nation’s oldest and largest non- profit organization that addresses all aspects of mental health and mental illness. The group works to improve the mental health of all Americans, most importantly [to them] the near 54 million people with mental disorders. They use advocacy, education, research and service to fight for these patients’ rights. The group’s Campaign for America’s Mental Health works both locally and nationally to raise awareness that mental illnesses are common, real and treatable conditions. They seek to increase the number of Americans who receive treatments for mental illnesses and to improve the manner in which the illnesses are detected and treated.
Citizens can appeal to their local representatives in Congress. Those living close to the Nation’s capital, can lobby on Capitol Hill. Writing letters to administration can also positively bring the issue back to light. Perhaps by “fueling” a fight that something may be done about it, so in a sense, to quiet the ones advocates so hard for the issue.
In turn, equal equality should be implemented with the mental health issue. Our country’s ideas stand on the idea of equal rights for all – that should be extended to medical concerns as well. While, costs will increase for services, the overlying effects on the patients will be worth the money. If these illnesses go un treated for so long, it is reported that more physical illnesses will occur. This will ultimately cost the insurance companies more money than just treating the mental issue at hand initially.
