As Suicides Rise, Insurers Find Ways to Deny Mental Health Coverage

[tulc]

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

The U.S. is in the midst of a mental health crisis. In 2017, 47,000 Americans died by suicide and 70,000 from drug overdoses. And 17.3 million adults suffered at least one major depressive episode. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, a landmark law passed more than a decade ago, requires insurers to provide comparable coverage for mental health and medical treatments. Even so, insurers are denying claims, limiting coverage, and finding other ways to avoid complying with the law.



Americans are taking to the courts to address what they see as an intrinsic unfairness. DeeDee Tillitt joined one lawsuit in 2016, months after she lost her son Max. He’d been an inpatient for three weeks at a treatment center to recover from a heroin addiction and seemed to be making progress. His addiction specialist wanted him to stay. United Behavioral Health, a unit of UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest insurer, declined to cover a longer stay for Max. Reluctantly, his family brought him home. Ten weeks later, Max was dead of an overdose. He was 21.

tulc( )

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

As part of the overall politics, they love to overall coverup the fact (I think) that drugs greatly increase disease and mental problems. The truth sets people free, but is often illegal to publish.

 

[WherevertheWindblows]

If you added the 47,000 Americans who died by both suicide and the 70,000 who died from drug overdoses in with the 17.3 million adults who suffered at least one major depressive episode those numbers (which seem large by themselves) would be only 5% of the American population.

Seems strange that those numbers to insurers would make it a thing to deny (as if those numbers were so overwhelming for them). After all 17.3 million (being the larger number of them all) were just depressive episodes whereas 117 thousand (where such a thing materialized into their life being taken). whether that was by suicide (intentionally) or by an accidental overdose.

They were definitely going through a personal crisis but I'm not sure that constitutes a national crisis.
How does one define a national crisis in numbers for itself?

 

[grasping the after wind]

Perhaps the rise in suicides etc. coinciding with the decade old bill should tell us something about the idea that legislating mental health coverages would be effective. Is it possible that what we are doing in mental health is counter productive? Or is it just ineffective and other factors leading to the rises are not being dealt with by mental health care.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Perhaps the rise in suicides etc. coinciding with the decade old bill should tell us something about the idea that legislating mental health coverages would be effective. Is it possible that what we are doing in mental health is counter productive? Or is it just ineffective and other factors leading to the rises are not being dealt with by mental health care.

I think (and it has been shown by others) that when the government gets involved trying to control things, any thing practically,
the cost skyrockets and the problem likewise INCREASES !

This happened since 1960 something with the school system - where more and more money is added, and less and less good results keep happening, possibly every time, year after year.

 

[grasping the after wind]

I think (and it has been shown by others) that when the government gets involved trying to control things, any thing practically,
the cost skyrockets and the problem likewise INCREASES !

This happened since 1960 something with the school system - where more and more money is added, and less and less good results keep happening, possibly every time, year after year.

If it ain't broke, let's fix it so it is. After all, how can government accrue more power over its citizens if things are allowed to continue working.