The federal government spends approximately more than $1.2 trillion in health care in a single fiscal year. Despite the huge spending, there exists a lot of disparities in health care access due to medical insurance costs and eligibility. The quality of care is still a challenge in comparison to other developed countries like the U.K who spend more on health care as well. However, health care and medication access is still predominantly a challenge for people with underlying mental health issues (Hartman, et al., 2018). There is a need to extend coverage for mental health issues as it is growing into a gigantic problem across the nation, extension, and affordability of insurance and access is not enough but also the creation of awareness about mental health should be done aggressively.
Despite huge government spending and the presence of public insurance and private insurance for mental health treatments, mental health challenges keep on soaring across the nation. According to a report compiled by Mental Health America (MHA), depression in youth has skyrocketed by almost 5% and currently, there is more than 2 million youth with mental issues across the nation (Reinert, et al., 2020). Suicidal susceptibility in adults increased from 3% to 4 % between 2012 and 2017 and currently more than 10 million American adults are at risk of committing suicide. This situation calls for enormous social advocacy to alleviate the mental health issues in our society. Mental health challenges demand extensive and well-structured coverage and policies aimed at the creation of more awareness about this issue.
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I intend to advocate for extensive insurance coverage and increased funding by the federal government targeting mental health. There is a significant amount of coverage available for mental health both public and private but the problem of affordability still exists among different communities across the nation and this calls for an urgent appraisal of policy framework (Rowan, et al., 2014). Medicaid and Medicare both cover several inpatients and outpatient mental health services but due to unemployment and socioeconomic disadvantages, some individuals are locked out from accessing medical cover to secure their mental health (Rowan, et al., 2014). Lobbying Mental Health America (MHA) and other mental health advocates, we will push for a policy that broadens the definition of mental health across the nation. (Rowan, et al., 2014) This policy should address challenges of access insurance coverage, creation of awareness on the importance of seeking help to treat any mental health issues as soon as possible to avoid further damage.
It is prudent for the federal government to increase funding and employment of social workers to help address the challenges of different communities across the nation. Social workers work towards the improvement of quality of life through social justice advocacy and enhancing the overall well-being of communities. It is necessary to invest more in social work specifically to address challenges of mental health; partnerships with social workers will help the federal government establish major triggers of mental health and work towards sealing such loopholes. My advocacy extends to ensuring the incorporation of social workers in tackling mental health problems because to win against this battle the nation needs a united front and especially input from people who are close to communities (social workers). In addition to increased funding, coverage, I will also advocate for the categorization of behavioral health issues into the primary care group (Crowley & Kirschner, 2015). The integration of mental health into primary care will help recognize this issue early enough and mobilize resources to tackle it early enough.
Mental health and issues associated with it are likely to be the leading cause of mortality in the coming decade more than chronic diseases and this calls for more research, policy, and allocation of resources to tackle behavioral health issues. It is my conviction that my ambition to be a clinical psychologist will continuously position me well to advocate and champion for mental health treatment, more federal funding, and extension of coverage to enhance a healthy nation. I hope to witness people coming out in large numbers soon to seek mental health treatment without experiencing cost barriers or any other challenges. I intend to continue advocating for this issue to prevent the nation from a future catastrophe.
References
Crowley, R. A., & Kirschner, N. (2015). The Integration of Care for Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Other Behavioral Health Conditions into Primary Care: Executive Summary of an American College of Physicians Position Paper. Annals of Internal Medicine, 163 (4), 298-299.
Hartman, M., Martin, A. B., Espinosa, N., & Catlin, A. (2018). National Health Care Spending in 2016: Spending anfd Enrolment Growth slow After Initial Coverage Expansions. Health Affairs, 37 (1), 150-160.
Reinert, M., Nguyen, T., & Fritze, D. (2020). The State of Mental Health in America 2020. Montgomery: Mental Health America.
Rowan, K., McAlpine, D., & Blewett, L. (2014). Access and Cost Barriers to Mental Health Care by Insurance Status, 1999 to 2010. Health Affairs (Project Hope), 32 (10), 1723-1730.
