A new report has claimed that only one in three people with commercial health insurance who have a mental health condition receive adequate mental health care.
A report released by mental health advocacy group Inseparable found significant barriers to Americans’ ability to access and utilize services for mental health and substance use disorders.
Dr. Benjamin Miller, a clinical psychiatrist and co-author of the report, said one of the big concerns overall is that the public continues to place more importance on mental health than other aspects of health. Stated.
“We’ve built walls and artificial barriers around care, and care has become one of the most invisible things,” Miller asserted. “When you are in crisis, when you or your loved one needs the help you need, you have to work harder to get that help. It’s like a cruel irony.”
Miller noted that the report includes more than a dozen evidence-based solutions for national policymakers. It also includes a scorecard showing each state’s progress in implementing policies that make it easier to find and pay for mental health care.
The study also pointed to a lack of follow-up care after an emergency room or hospital visit, which means the majority of people seeking help for mental health or substance use suffer from relapse or readmission. This means that the risk is high. Miller added that many of them can’t find a private practice.
“We talk a lot about workforce, because if we don’t have the clinicians to do that job and we keep referring people into the system, we won’t have enough people to treat them,” Miller said. said. “We have to solve that problem too.”
Angela Kimball, Inseparable’s chief advocacy officer and a co-author of the report, said health policy is largely determined at the state level, where her organization is most likely to push for change. added.
“In states like Illinois, we have members of Congress introducing very important legislation that seeks to address some of the barriers to accessing necessary and deserved mental health and substance use services. ,” Kimball said. he emphasized.
In Wisconsin, 1.08 million people have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, the report shows.
In Wisconsin, about 37 percent of commercially insured people with mental illness received professional care.
Among Medicaid recipients, the rate rose to 47%.
In Wisconsin, 5.4 percent of people were uninsured.
