Health Reform, Who Gets Help?
As congress is voting on the different amendments to the Health Care Reform Bill, I find myself wondering if it includes any help for the mentally ill. Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine have passed an amendment providing preventative care for women free of charge. This would include mammogram’s and tests for cervical cancer.
But what about a person suffering from Schizophrenia or Bi-Polar Disorder? It is widely believed that diagnosing a person who is mentally ill early allows for the treatment to have a greater effect on the patient’s quality of life. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that most patients with Schizophrenia go 8.5 years from the time the symptoms manifest to the time they actually receive help. These conditions are chronic. They do not go away, but they can be managed.
I can understand Sen. Mikulski and Sen. Snowe, being women themselves, having an interest in preventitive care for women, but who represents the millions of mentally ill in America alone? I am not aware of any senators that are suffering from these conditions, but since the illness doesn’t discriminate, there is bound to be a politician out there that at least has a relative suffering from mental illness. The problem is that there is such a stigma associated with mental illness that no one wants to speak up.
Furthermore, many people who suffer from a chronic mental condition are unable to buy health insurance (if they could even afford it) because of a pre-existing condition. Some don’t apply for medicaid because they haven’t paid enough quarter’s of taxes. So, the patient who is in dire need of treatment to retain some sense of functionality, is left in a viscous cycle. How can one receive group health benefits from an employer if they are not stable enough to hold down a job? Is it any wonder that the majority of homeless in this country are mentally ill?
How many people have to slip through the cracks before we realize that we need to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to mental health?
Just my thoughts…
Tags: Health, health care, mental illness, reform
Who is this guy? Aaron Mathis is a sales-rep by day and a web-designer by night. He currently resides in the beautiful city of Colorado Springs, Colorado.