This four-page paper provides a discussion on the topic of mental health and the insurance industry. The writer uses several jumping off points to explore the benefits and the process for receiving mental health care nationwide and then focuses on some of the problems and issues that are key to the state of Arizona. There were five sources used to  complete this paper.

In recent years society has begun to remove the stigma that was once attached to mental illness and accept that it is a reality of life just as physical health is. We used to shun those who had mental illness or lock them away in institutions thereby preventing them from becoming contributing members of society. This caused those who needed to seek help to be silent about their problem for fear of being ostracized. In more recent years the stigma has begun to disappear and the result has been more people than ever before coming forth and seeking treatment for various mental health issues. This has created an overload in the system and it has developed some important eye openers when it comes to the health insurance industry regarding the way it handles mental health coverage. In many areas of the nation mental health needs are just not being met by insurance coverage. In other areas they are. It depends on the insurance policy itself as well as the state legislators and their votes. The state of Arizona is beginning to show some promise in the area of mental health coverage however there is still much work to be done before it will adequately meet the needs of its residents.

“When it comes to mental illness, Arizona has some disturbing statistics. Only 5 percent of insurance companies offer equal benefits for mental and other forms of medical illness. About 16 percent of inmates suffer from mental illness. More people with mental illness live in jails and prisons than in the Arizona State Hospital. Arizona has the second leading rate of teen suicide. Only 1 in 4 people with depression receive treatment. Only 10 percent of those with serious mental illness are employed(Dine, 2001). “

These statistics are alarming to say the least and several experts have been scrambling to come up with suggestions for change. Some of the things that have been discussed are:

• Offering insurance parities. This would equalize benefits for mental and medical illness. This measure has consistently been defeated in the state of Arizona since 1994. While 32 other states have passed legislation for insurance parity Arizona refuses thus far to join the ranks. If there were parity offered then more people would receive treatment and become productive members of society instead of a burden on the system(Dine, 2001).
• Begin programs that educate PCP’s and mental health workers to work together in the care of the patient(Dine, 2001).
• Provide public education about mental illness. Arizona has lagged in most areas regarding the mentally ill for many years and the subsequent fallout is a lack of understanding by its public. Educating the public to remove the stigma will improve the care the mentally ill receive. These are all decisions that can be made by legislators in the quality of mental health care for the residents of Arizona(Dine, 2001).

The insurance for mental health in the state of Arizona is lacking in many ways. While it is beginning to make some improvements there are still gaps in the system that are causing those who need treatment to be shortchanged. One example of this is the lack of beds and funds that was reported in 2000 for East Valley Mental Care(Snyder, 2000).

“Tired and frustrated, East Valley leaders say the shortage of services has persisted too long, and they are demanding more oversight of those services that are provided(Snyder, 2000). “

This is becoming a mantra throughout the state as each area becomes filled with requests for help with addictions and other mental illness needs(Snyder, 2000).

The state of Arizona is making strides in the improvement of the mental health system however it still lags behind many other states. Nationwide advocates for the mentally ill continue to push for improvement and the wheels are beginning to turn in their favor.

Nationwide the mentally ill carry an unfair insurance burden. “Mental illness affects 22 percent of the U.S. population in any one year(Conroy, 1998). Treatment for it costs at least $67 billion a year, according to a 1997 study for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is mental illness, and the stigma against it keeps people from getting adequate treatment. For 25 years, the Utah State Mental Hospital has staged a Halloween haunted house with its residents as the star attractions. Could the hospital possibly be playing on the public’s fear of mental illness to draw a crowd(Conroy, 1998)?

The stigma of mental illness is a chief component of the insurance companies being able to discriminate against those with mental illness. Typically insurance companies have a much lower lifetime benefit on the mental illness portion of the coverage that is written and claim it is how they are keeping the premium costs down(Conroy, 1998).

“A May 1998 study by the Hay Group consulting firm found that mental health spending fell 54 percent from 1988 to 1997, while spending on all health care fell 7 percent. Managed care is largely responsible for that drop(Conroy, 1998). But it did so while cutting off services to people who needed them, and by slashing the number of therapists approved to provide therapy, even though those therapists had licenses, experience and bonds with their clients(Conroy, 1998). As a result, many people with fully paid insurance policies had to go without care. When people go without care, they miss days of work, seek family doctors for a variety of complaints and in some cases, commit suicide. According to a 1993 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry, when the social costs of mental illnesses are included, severe mental disorders cost $74 billion a year(Conroy, 1998). These costs account for shortened lives, lost productivity, and criminal justice and social service systems(Conroy, 1998).”

The need for mental health care is evident. It is here, and it is here to stay. The insurance industry needs to find a way to stop stigmatizing the need and begin covering it as fully as it does medical needs. People with a mental illness can be fully productive if given the opportunity to receive the same comprehensive care that someone with diabetes or a broken leg receives.

We have come so far in developing techniques and methods for helping those with mental illness it is nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately many cannot take part in their own recovery because they cannot afford it and their insurance companies will not cover it. The state of Arizona needs to step up to the plate and help its residents receive treatment and the rest of the nation needs to do so also. The decision to cover or not cover a claim for mental illness nationwide involves a bureaucratic red tape maze that is difficult to unravel. The mentally ill are going without help in millions of instances across the country and it is up to the insurance companies to remedy the situation. In the long run it will be a positive step because the physical complaints will decrease if the mentally ill can get their addictions, anxieties and other needs handled.

REFERENCES

Conroy, Mary (1998). Mentally Ill carry Unfair Insurance Burden.  Capital Times; pp 1C.

Dine, Max (2001). Mental Health Care Can Improve.  The Arizona Republic,  pp 2.

Hippler, Patricia (1998). Mental Health Insurance Anti- Discrimination Rally. Business Wire; pp 21

Mental Health Treatment Draws Insurance Questions (1997). Wisconsin State Journal,  pp 5A.

Snyder, Jodie(2001). Lack of Beds and Funding In East Valley. The Arizona Republic, pp A1.

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Mental Illnesses by the Pasadena Villa Team