“I want you to imagine for a moment what it would be like if Americans treated cancer in a different way than we do now. Imagine that instead of encouraging people to quit smoking and take other steps to prevent cancer, we just sort of crossed our fingers. Instead of telling people they need to[…]
“No genuine system of mental health care exists in the United States. This country’s diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems are fragmented across a variety of providers and payers – and they are all too often unaffordable. If you think about it, the list of complications is almost endless: Families of loved ones with[…]
“We don’t want to have a situation where your brain is in one HMO, your teeth are in a second HMO and your eyes are in a third HMO,” said Florida Medicaid Director Justin Senior. “Your whole head should be in the same organization and that is why we have done this reorganization.” Read the[…]
“The failure to provide treatment and supportive services to people with mental illness – both in the community and in hospitals – has overburdened emergency rooms, crowded state and local jails and left untreated patients to fend for themselves on city streets.” “The federal government has set so many barriers to getting care, which they[…]
“He says the problem is that HIPAA wasn’t written with mental illness in mind. “When someone has cancer, you can make the assumption that their brain is working normally so that they can make an informed decision as to whether or not they want their loved ones to know exactly what the details of the[…]
“No oncologist would say, “You’re entitled to 10 treatments, and then your cancer coverage stops.” Yet that’s exactly what mental health patients have heard. No cardiologist would tell a patient, “If you relapse into high blood pressure, your treatment is considered a failure.” And yet that’s been the message to alcohol and drug addicts.” Read[…]
“Mentally ill Americans who have nowhere to go and find little sympathy from those around them often tumble into a de facto mental health system, made up of emergency rooms, county jails and city streets. The lucky ones find homes with family. The unlucky ones show up in the morgue.” Read the Full Article
“There is a huge stigma surrounding mental illness and the mental health system is for the most part, a joke. People are dying through suicide; at times because others are uneducated about illnesses that affect such a large number of the population.” Read the Full Article Source: Indpendent.ie
