Mental health in U.S.

As of Nov. 7, the United States House of Representatives passed a new Affordable Health Care for America Act, with a narrow vote of 220 to 215.  The bill, which I downloaded late Saturday night,  is a monster of a PDF, topping off at 1,990 pages. (However, one can quickly find a variety of summaries online, thankfully.) Despite the flaws in I might see in the bill (abortion coverage, for example), this bill may be a beacon of hope for mental health care in the United States.
   
As of August 2009, the National Institute of Mental Health cited that 57.7 million Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. This translates to about one in four Americans. The burden of mental disorders on countries like the U.S. is more than that of cancer; mental illness accounts for 15 percent of disease burdens according to the Global Burden of Disease study. A 2008 study from Harvard revealed an even more startling number. Serious mental illnesses cost society $193.2 billion annually in lost earnings. Yes, that’s billions, not millions.
   
Despite this number, nearly half of all Americans have either limited or no mental health care coverage. In a poll by the American Psychological Association, 87 percent of Americans cited a lack of insurance for their unmet mental health care needs, while 81 percent also cited worry over cost. Specific to our state, Iowa has some of the worst mental health coverage in the nation.        
   
The National Alliance on Mental Illness gave Iowa a “D” (the national average) for coverage, specifically citing that Iowans have problems paying for mental health care, or are not reimbursed properly.
   
We live in a country which claims to have some of the best quality health care in the world, and yet millions of Americans cannot access it. Millions of Americans forgo mental health care due to a lack of funds.
   
What does this have to do with the Affordable Health Care for America Act? Under this new act, every American would have access to higher quality care, no matter their income. Of course, this does not change the fact that in states like Iowa there are certainly logistic issues which affect access to care. However, income will no longer compound these problems. Furthermore, this bill will make it so no American is denied health care due to any pre-existing condition, such as mental illness. As such, this bill is helping to lower the stigma associated with mental illnesses and seeking out mental health care.
   
I urge you to contact our representatives, and tell them that you support mental health care coverage. Even if you don’t fully agree with the  Affordable Health Care for America Act, the change in care must happen. This act will change millions of lives in the United States, for the better.

 

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