MHPA Research Paper

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act invoked a $75 millon dollar demonstration project known as the Medicad Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration that was amended in section 2707 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The change seemed to be just what the nation needed, however, there was fine print added to the amendment that changed the interpretation. The fine print stated, patients who are on Medicaid from the ages of 21-65 seeking inpatient mental health care can receive treatment under the law. However, the inpatient facility will receive no

The purpose of the bill is to reduce state Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments annually from fiscal year (FY) 2014 through FY 2020. The reduction will occur “at the same time as the Marketplace and Medicaid provide increased coverage options that will reduce uncompensated care levels for hospitals. State Medicaid programs make DSH payments to qualifying hospitals that serve a large number of low-income individuals.”

The cool, calm and collective Gunna who creates loud and phenomenal music. The in differ name, Gunna comes from his cousin who felt that the name Gunna is more suitable for his aptitude and lifestyle, so his previous stage name, Snypa was dismissed. Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, Gunna took on a lot of knowledge from the streets that kept him focused on a career path in Hip Hop. Growing up listening to Jay- Z and Lil Wayne, he knew that he was capable of making great music. Being a part of the evolution of Hip Hop, his sound of music is different than the artists that he listens too. He is motivated by the love he have for music. He is passionate about his lyrics that limericks, gives energy and represents the realness in life.

This creates a dilemma for the state as it could risk loosing the matching federal Medicaid funds for such services if a violation occurs. For the purposes of this review, I will focus on Stark II Phase III of the final rule.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) -The law amended the 1996 Mental Health Parity Act by extending the parity requirements to include substance use disorder benefits. In addition, the MHPAEA requires parity with respect to all financial requirements (cost-sharing such as deductibles, copayments, and co-insurance) and treatment limitations (day or visit limits) between medical and surgical benefits and benefits for mental health and substance use disorder services (Kongstvedt 608-609)

Senate (S.) 689 is the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013, which resanctions and increases critical behavioral health programs through superior federal education and healthcare programs related to awareness, early identification, and prevention of mental illness (The Library of Congress, 2013). United States Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) pioneered S. 689 on April 9, 2013 (The Library of Congress, 2013). There are 23 co-sponsors of the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013, including 14

Unfortunately, there are limitations to this coverage. For example, each state is allowed to create their own “benchmark” for coverage, with many offering very bare coverage options. Some even leave out vital options, such as methadone treatment, due to outdated negative perceptions.

Policy analysis of mental health care under the ACA as well as description of how mental health care/service are organized under the ACA from federal to local levels.

The Mental Health Services Act is a monumental proposition that has helped many people for more than a decade. In California alone, close to 1.2 million adults and around 422,000 children live with a serious mental illness (State 2010). Without the proper treatment, suicide is the leading cause of death for a person battling an untreated mental illness (State 2010). With over thirteen billion dollars raised so far, MHSA has been the root of funding for mental health in California (Williams 2015). MHSA is still a work in progress. The act is nowhere near perfect, as a recent audit has shown, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was enacted on October 3, 2008 as sections 511 and 512 of the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008. MHPAEA amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Federal Register, 2013). The MHPAEA is an extension of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which prohibited annual or aggregate lifetime financial limits on mental health coverage by addressing other restrictions, such as limits on outpatient visits or inpatient days (DOL, 2010). MHPAEA expands parity requirements to treatment limitations, financial requirements, and in- and out-of-network covered benefits (Smaldone, 2010). It also expands the opportunity of mental health parity requirements at the federal level and includes substance use disorders within its scope. Prior to 1996, health insurance coverage for mental illness had historically been less generous than that of other physical illness (Sarata, 2011). Mental health parity is a response to this disparity in insurance coverage, and generally refers to the concept that health insurance coverage for mental health services should be offered equally with covered medical and surgical benefits (Smaldone, 2010).

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) is an act that requires parity or equality between mental health treatment and medical/surgical treatment covered by private and public insurers with over 50 employees. That means that if an insurance covers mental health issues they can’t impose more stringent limits and financial requirements than medical/surgical coverage. The act was signed into law in 2008 by President George W. Bush. Before the act was signed into law, mental health care was not as affordable or accessible for individuals. (United States Department of Labor, 2016)

I feel that even if the proposals become law it’s only the first step to fixing this problem. The article discusses some promises made by Kennedy in 1963 to subsidize mental-health services in every community. Kennedy signed a bill to create as many as 2000 community health centers, there are just 740 today. The insurance companies might feel a little better about supporting mental-health if they were presented with some comparisons of successful treatment between psychiatry and physical medicine. One such comparison given in the article is that 60% of those treated for schizophrenia can be successfully treated, while just 41% of those that have angioplasty can recover fully. There is a huge number of mentally ill that are homeless because they’ve gone untreated. They often turn to illegal drugs to ease there pain and confusion. In my opinion this problem should be addressed quickly. There are confused mentally ill people that have been forgotten about by society that are roaming the streets. These people can un-knowingly commit horrific crimes such as the man discussed earlier that pushed the women to her death in the New York subway. The

Regardless of where one stands, one must admit that the American economy is not thriving. Not only is it not thriving, but also the American economy has either been in depression or on the verge of depression for the last decade. Because of this, parity seems to be a dream. It is not the prime time to push for the ACA, perhaps during the 80’s or 90’s, but there were other political dilemmas that needed to be dealt with. Another factor to take into account is the reaction of the healthcare system once it truly has to cover for mental illness treatment. Because there is an immense amount of cost, around $131,000(Abelson), to

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made a significant impact on the U.S health care landscape. One facet of health care that has greatly benefitted from the ACA is mental health. A research article published by Saloner and Le Cook, (2014) on the effects of the ACA on young adults with possible mental health and substance abuse disorders reflect how much this population gained from this program. The researchers wanted to find out if the ACA coverage expansion of dependents to the age of 26 would improve accessibility to mental health and substance abuse care. They performed the research by reviewing data files from the 2008–12 rounds of the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (Saloner and Le Cook, 2014). The researchers analyzed mental health

Mica, a key ingredient for the billion-dollar beauty industry, is mined by children in an impoverished region of India. While rich cosmetic companies count their cash children risk their lives to put the ‘sparkle’ into our cosmetics. Even though child labor is illegal it still happens more than you know. In the jungles of India the ground literally sparkles. Beneath the thick tropical forests which make a home for some of India’s poorest tribal communities, the earth is rich with valuable mica deposits. Although few people have heard of mica, it is a valuable mineral deposit used as an insulator in electronic goods, and also as the ‘secret ingredient’ in cosmetic products to give them their sparkle and shine. As per a report featured in