Mental
Health Care
Everyone has those days that they just don’t want to get
out of bed and lack motivation. But imagine if that was your mind set everyday;
the thought of getting out of bed just made you feel exhausted and emotionally
drained. Many Americans have this feeling on a daily basis and don’t have the
resources to seek help. But under Obamacare they now have that option to get
help. Obamacare is an acceptable healthcare system because it offers to cover
treatment regarding mental health issues.
As a part of the Affordable Healthcare Act (AHA) mental
health services will now be covered as part of the patient’s health insurance. Dr.
Dilip V. Jeste, president of the American Psychiatric Association, said; “This
law has the potential to change the course of life for psychiatric paitents for
the better, in that sense it is both humane and right” (qtd in Friedman). Getting medical treatment for a physical
aliment is considered a human necessity. Treating psychological aliments should
be accessible to everyone and treated equal to a physical aliment. Under the
AHA, insurance plans will have to cover a set of core services called
“essential health benefits” (Singletary).
Included on this list of essentials are mental health and substance- use
disorder services (Singletary). The services consist of “behavioral health
treatment, counseling, and psychotherapy” (Singletary). People who have never
had the access and resources to get mental health treatment will be able to
like never before thanks to the Affordable Healthcare Act.
Insurance covering
mental health costs is long overdue. According to MentalHealth.gov one in five
adults has experienced a mental health issue (qtd in Singletary). This is
twenty percent of the adult population. If twenty percent of the adult
population had experienced some sort of physical ailment such as a broken leg
one would assume that insurance would offer coverage for it; but not in the
case of mental health diseases. The World Health Organization ranks major cases
of depression as the leading cause of disability (Friedman). If health insurance
covers mental health problems such as depression we could possibly have less people
living on disability. This can benefit the United States. In fact one in twenty adults live with a
serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major
depression (Singletary). Not only can covering mental health costs keep people
off disability for mental illness we could possibly lower suicide rates, or
even crime rates.
Not everyone believes
that mental health should be covered under the new Obamacare system. They would
argue that “mental health accounts
for a small part of total health care spending -- by one estimate, $113 billion
annually, or less than 6 percent of the $2.6 trillion overall health care bill”
(Abelson). But mental health could account for so little of the health care
system because of the stigma attached to having mental health disorders. There
is a stigma that if you need help mentally, you are crazy. This makes people
less apt to come forward and seek help for their mental health needs. As well
as a stigma attached to mental health diseases, seeking mental health can be
expensive. But making it an “essential health benefit” can cause people to get
help for mental health issues and over time the stigma might subside.
Overall Obamacare covering mental
health expenses is a positive thing. With the new coverage of mental health
care we can become a healthier society. Someone could be the healthiest person
in the world physically, but mentally be a complete mess. Is it not important
for that person to be able to seek help to become mental strong as well? Maybe
now we will not have to answer that question and the people of the United
States can be healthier both body and mind.
Works Cited
Abelson, Reed. "On the Threshold of Obamacare, Warily." New York Times 29 Sept. 2013: 1(L). Opposing Viewpoint In Context . Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
Friedman, Richard A., M.D. "Good News for Mental Illness in Health Law." New York Times
. N.p., 9j July 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.
Singletary, Michelle. "Mental-health Coverage to Get a Big Boost under Obamacare." Washington Post
. N.p., 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.
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