Discuss the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 in the United States law

Discuss the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 in the United States law

Discuss the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 in the United States law

Reply to each classmate’s post providing educational feedback with 200 words for each classmate:

CLASSMATE#1 The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 is a United States law that prevents insurance issuers from gaining certain unscrupulous benefits by offering poor benefit limitations on mental health patients. The law is ideal as it ensures that mental health patients get coverage proportionate to their medical needs. The law also ensures that mental health patients are treated equally and eligible for insurance and care just like any other patient. Congress was among the major institutions in the country to take a stand against discriminatory insurance practices. This guaranteed that the mentally ill and those who struggled with addiction could receive the appropriate care they require without incurring extra costs. Mental health services have greatly improved as the law ensures that the mentally ill are not discriminated against.

Their family members do not struggle with medical costs to get their loved ones the care they deserve. With insurance companies offering coverage for this population, more hospitals are expanding their horizon regarding mental health care as the costs they incur are covered by insurance companies (Nickitas et al., 2019). Hospitals have agreed to invest more in mental healthcare as their financial resources are now available, and there is greater awareness about the matter nationally. Most mental health patients have been shunned in the past and those suffering from substance abuse disorder, which limited the medical care they received, especially for families with little money to spare for mental health care. The act created a huge difference in how mental health is visualized and treated in the country as access to care, making it possible for the topic to be discussed in public and for more people to open up about family members who suffered from mental health or substance abuse disorders.

Alongside other medical professionals, nurses are expected to advocate and offer medical care to vulnerable groups in society no matter their sexual orientation, mental health state, ethnic background, or socioeconomic status. Medical professionals have a crucial role in dealing with vulnerable populations as they are mainly misunderstood and discriminated against in the broader community. Professional medical care has specific vital goals. One of them is improving the well-being of their patients; thus, taking care of vulnerable populations includes offering medical services and ensuring that they are doing well overall. Based on human values, no one should be discriminated against, and it is such ethics and values that should guide medical professionals. Laws such as the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 are also developed to guide stakeholders in the healthcare industry. They must all come together and stand regarding how they treat people with specific weaknesses or vulnerabilities in society.

Alongside other vital medical professionals, travel nurses should be well equipped and prepared to meet individuals from vulnerable populations. They must acquire the necessary skills and information on how to proceed with medical care, among other forms of care to the patient (Hall-Clifford et al., 2019). The fundamental ethical principles that care facilities and professionals should adhere to when dealing with vulnerable populations include promoting justice, respecting patient autonomy, and preventing harm. Some of the key vulnerable groups in society include the elderly, those with mental health issues, low-income children and families, patients with HIV, the uninsured, and ethics minorities.

References

Hall-Clifford, R., Addiss, D. G., Cook-Deegan, R., & Lavery, J. V. (2019). Global Health Fieldwork Ethics: Mapping the Challenges. Health & Human Rights: An International Journal, 21(1), 1–5.

Nickitas, D. M., Middaugh, D. J., & Feeg, M. D. (2019). Policy and politics for nurses and other health professionals: Advocacy and action. (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Read Chapters 5 & 6.

CLASSMATE#2 There are lots of policies within our economic system that is able to protect the mental health treatment of those within our communities. Mental health is often the type of health that is overload compared to other types of health and it is important that we protect us right. The parity act of 2008 states that less cannot be budgeted to mental health of citizens that is of physical health. This means that our politicians cannot draw disparities for the mental health population when it comes to their treatment. This involves treatment companies such as insurance companies and other medical facilities. There are a lot of common mental health populations that we have within our communities. We have those with Alzheimer’s dementia, PTSD, depression, and many other diseases that commonly live within our system. All of these populations are very vulnerable and require treatment to both maintain and prevent put and possibly treat the root cause. Without first controlling mental health physical health is worth nearly nothing. Let’s take veterans with PTSD for example. If we decided to treat any other existing problems by not handle mental health issues the person will not have a quality of life due to the fact that they are constantly battling post traumatic experiences within their minds. This also applies for children with depression. Whenever people are struggling with depression they’re often times where they could be having thoughts of harming themselves and this can be extremely dangerous to this individual. It is very important that we prevent this from happening and we make sure that we are spending the money on counseling and medication as appropriate. This money is provided by insurance agencies is able to cover most of the cost for these treatments and medication‘s. Mental health illness equality is a very serious issue and it is very important that we keep up with treating this population when they are very vulnerable.

References

Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). (2017). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services | CMS. https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-and-Initiatives/Other-Insurance-Protections/MHPAEA

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