Relationship between Mental Health Care Access and Social Classes

Introduction 

To many Americans, accessing mental health care has become an issue for all social classes based on matters of insurance, whereby insurance companies do not provide coverage for such services and also due to the fact that mental illness is a cause for stigmatization. Various resources have been made available to the public, but most of these are unknown to them since most of the population does not bother to research or inquire about these resources and this is a cause for concern since the inability to deal with mental health can result in n adverse effects such as suicide, abuse, violence and alcoholism, just to mention a few. It is thus important to establish how mental health care affects different social classes and explain why it is important for them to pursue mental health care. 

Source 1 

The American Psychological Association published an article in response to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive. The article whose title was Few Americans Aware of Law Broadening Access to Mental Health Treatment explains how the ignorance suffered by the public due to their lack of knowledge concerning mental health professionals and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. This Act was passed in 2008 and allows people with health insurance to get coverage for mental health treatment. According to the survey, one-quarter of Americans suffer from mental health, and only a few seek medical assistance even though costs of both mental health treatment and physical health costs have been equalized. Firstly, when looking at the different social classes in the society, the middle class and low class avoid getting treatment for fear of incurring huge costs (Chamberlin, 2004). These costs include any deductibles, prescription costs and out-of-pocket costs. Second, there is the assumption that no medical insurance company is able to cover for their mental health treatment for the middle-class individuals. Thirdly, others have a fear of stigmatization once people know that they are receiving mental health treatment. For this reason, they choose not to seek medical help. As a result of this, there has been an increase in the rates of suicide resulting in the death of able individuals. It is clear that seeking medical health will ensure that individuals have a sound mind and be able to contribute positively to the society. 

Source 2 

The American Psychological Association also released a report on mental health impurity in the issue titled The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics . According to the report, many citizens are still paying more money in order to access mental health treatment. The report also states that in comparison to physical health coverage, less insurance is provided for mental health the more time an individual continues to seek mental health care (Packard, 2006). Firstly, this shows that mental health care can only be accessed by individuals or families that are able to pay for intensive treatment and hospitalization. Less insurance provided over a long time of seeking treatment is attributed to the increased number of restrictions provided by health care organizations for in-network providers and thus consumers seek out-of-network providers who charge more money for every session. Second, high costs are also related to the need for privacy by certain individuals (Packard, 2006). Concerns for privacy are important to individuals who may be influential in the political or economic sphere, and who may not want to be considered as mentally unfit to lead or make decisions regarding the firms and organizations they head or work for. For this reason, they pay huge amounts of money to ensure that high confidentiality is maintained. Those unable to incur such payments are thus not viable to seek mental health treatment, especially if great amounts of time are required for effective recovery to be observed. Third, the frequency of use of mental health care services is also a limitation to members of low social classes who cannot afford to cater for such expenses. It is clear that the costs increase with the amount of time taken for treatment and this may be an issue for concern for those unable to pay for these services, seeing that they are unable to pay for medical insurance coverage. With less insurance being provided with an increase in time, members of the middle class find it unnecessary to seek treatment until recovery. However, according to the report, individuals who paid out of pocket have received a reduction in the total expense required for regular visits, but are still higher than expenses for non-mental health treatments. 

Source 3 

According to a national poll that the American Psychological Association also released, most American continue to seek mental health treatment, although cost and insurance are still barriers, while stigma regarding seeking mental health treatment is no longer a barrier to most people. This was released in their article titled APA Poll: Most Americans Have Sought Treatment but Cost, Insurance Still Barriers . Firstly, many individuals still think that mental health treatment should largely be covered by health insurance in order to allow them to have adequate access to these services. With reference to this poll, it is evident that the attitudes of members of different social classes have changed as many of them are ready to seek mental health treatment without fear of people finding out. Second, another factor that is making it impossible for them to get mental health treatment is the lack of access to health care plans that can be used by members of different social classes to cater for expenses of mental health treatment. This is important because it will help individuals to seek the type of treatment that is affordable to them and as a result, be able to cater for the expenses on their own. Thirdly, the inability to access such information is the cause for people not seeking mental health treatment, since the only option that they are provided with is more expensive than they can afford, especially for middle and low-class individuals. The scarcity of qualified health care professionals also contributes to the inability of people from different social classes to access mental health treatment. This is because the few professionals available have to cater for a large number of patients and this has resulted in long waiting lists before people can be attended to. This can be said to mostly affect people of middle and low social classes since people of high social classes can easily pay more money in order to be given more preference. In cases where professional help is given upon payment, members of the high social class are able to access these scarce professionals easily since they can afford such services. These makes it difficult for members of middle and low classes to find it difficult to access mental care treatment. 

Source 4 

According to Nursing Times, its article titled Social Class and its Influence on Health , the ease of access to mental health treatment is also influenced by the socioeconomic status of an individual. First, this is because an individual is expected to cater for their treatment whenever insurance companies do not provide coverage for mental health treatment. As such, these services are only easily available to individuals of high social classes. This is because they are able to cater for the high expenses incurred during treatment. Second, the poor are unable to cater for medical expenses since their money is devoted to other needs. These makes them unable to pay for health insurance services. Thirdly, the rich can easily access mental health care due to their proximity to public and private mental institutions and professionals. This shows that people of the lower class have difficulty in accessing mental health care since the areas they reside in are not well-developed and thus lack such amenities. 

Source 5 

According to Health Affairs’ article titled Socioeconomic Disparities in Health: Pathways and Policies , the access to mental health care is determined by the socioeconomic status of an individual which involves education and amount of wealth. Firstly, education ensures that people have the relevant information regarding mental health care, especially how it can be accessed at an affordable price. Second, having an income makes it easy to pay for health care in order to access it. This is a problem for the poor who cannot afford the high cost and who are also unable to gain relevant information regarding mental health care, especially on cheap alternatives for mental health care treatment or on treatment plans available for mental patients. 

Comparison 

When comparing all sources used, their similarity appears to be the mention of costs as a limiting factor for people who want to access mental health treatment. This is because most insurance companies do not provide complete medical coverage for mental health treatment like they do in non-mental health treatment. They also focus on the lack of necessary information concerning mental health care that can act as alternatives to those who cannot afford them. The sources differ in the statistics they give with regards to the number of people who do not seek medical treatment due to fear of stigma and those who are interested in getting mental health treatment. These shows the evolvement of people since mental illness is no longer considered a taboo but is now a matter of concern to them. 

In conclusion, access to mental health treatment is mainly hindered by the cost of treatment that has made it inaccessible to most individuals. However, individuals should be encouraged to use the mental health parity law to their benefit, in order to gain access to mental health cheaply. People should also advocate for mental health treatment and advocate for it in order to reduce the stigma of people in need of it. This way, many individuals will be able to access treatment and cases of suicide and violence will rapidly reduce. The productivity of people will also be increased ensuring that the economic situation in the country is improved. 

References 

Adler, N. E. and Newman, K. (n.d.). Socioeconomic Disparities in Health: Pathways and Policies. Health Affairs. Retrieved from http://m.content.healthaffairs.org/content/2/60.full 

American Psychological Association. (2004, May). APA Poll: Most Americans Have Sought Mental Health Treatment but Cost, Insurance still Barriers. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2004/05/apa-pll.aspx 

American Psychological Association. (2011, Jan). Few Americans Aware of Law Broadening Access to Mental Health Treatment . Retrieved from http://www.org/news/press/releases/2011/01/law-mental-health.aspx 

Chamberlin, J. (2004). Survey Says: More Americans are Seeking Mental Health Treatment. American Psychological Association. Vol 35, No 7. (p17). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/survey.aspx 

Matthews, D. (2015, October) Social Class and its Influence on Health. Nursing Times. 111: 42, p 20-21. Retrieved from https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/public-health/social-class-and-its-influence-on-health/5091017.article 

Packard, E. (2006, December). Mental Health Imparity . American Psychological Association. Vol 37, No 11. (p13). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec06/imparity.aspx