NURS: Policy and advocacy

Healthcare Issue

Mental Health Services for Americans

Description

Americans are not receiving adequate mental health treatment/services due to several factors: lack of insurance or insurance without mental health coverage, severe disabilities, overall costs, lack of access to treatment where they live, and/or a shortage of Mental Health professionals, to name a few.

Administration (President Name)

Bill Clinton – (1993-2001)

Barack Obama – (2009-2017)

Donald Trump – (2017 – Present)

Describe the administrative  agenda focus related to this issue

In 1996, Clinton signed the first limited mental health parity law (MHPA), which was intended to begin addressing the issues in mental illness coverage. He understood there was a distinct deficit in Americans’ access to Mental Health services. Then in 1999, he hosted a White House Conference on Mental Health in effort to relay to the country that we need to reduce the stigma around mental illness.

In 2010, Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which apparently extended mental health parity to Medicaid managed care plans and to qualified health plans. In 2011, he signed the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010, which increased federal support of housing resources for individuals with mental illness and/or other disabilities. In 2013, the White House hosted a National Conference on Mental Health and launched the National Dialogue on Mental Health. In 2016, a new $500 million investment to increase access to mental health care was proposed.

Trump proposes to redistribute funds would “gut Medicaid” and focus on the opioid crisis, as well as reversing drug overdose (Weerasingle, 2017). He aims to drastically reduce Medicaid reimbursements, which will deter preventative services, especially for those living at the poverty level. He wants to enhance services for those with severe illness, and enhance suicide prevention for our Veterans.

Allocation of financial and other resources to this issue

The most important action for Mental Health taken by the Clinton administration was the signing and enactment of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 (MHPA), resulting in more coverage be provided for mental illness; it was meant to ensure mental illness be considered as important as medical issues.

President Obama, as he proposed a $500 million investment be allocated specifically to Mental Health.

Trump’s proposed Mental Health budget focuses on cutting Medicaid funding, which will reduce mental healthcare to young children/families, poverty-level, and those who are not proficient in English. It does provide more funding to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSA), the CDC, the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, and towards veterans.

Notes on Administration’s approach to the issue

While Clinton did not allocate a lot of funding towards mental health, his enactment of the MHPA was extremely important to the field; at least he did acknowledge the need and did seemingly want to reduce the stigma to the field by hosting the White House Conference on Mental Health.

Obama proposed a hefty allocation of funds be given to the field, but it would seem that his healthcare plan, the Affordable Care Act, is anything but affordable for Americans.

Trump is determining what aspects of mental health services he finds most important, and is allocating funds accordingly. While I believe that is a sensible approach considering our national debt, it would seem those who are already in need the most are not being prioritized.

General Notes/Comments

While all 3 administrations had specific approaches to the field of Mental Health, they all exercises acknowledgement of the field, and the needs that is there. That in itself is proof that mental health has came a long way, and if the administrations of our country see the need, then citizens need to also accept it and help reduce the stigma that exists.

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