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Americans are suffering from increasing psychological pressure as mental health insurance services are not available to everyone, and according to a report published by the US network “CNBC”, the number of American adults suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression, since the start of this year, has risen to 42% After a hard and stormy year for Americans, and full of their psychological suffering, last year saw the outbreak of the “Covid 19” pandemic , in addition to the famous racist incident, which ended with the death of black American citizen, George Floyd.
The report says that one in five Americans suffers from mental health problems, and adds that US spending on health care reached $ 225 billion in 2019, and that the number which increased by 52% on a decade includes spending on things like treatment, medication, and stay in specialized rehabilitation clinics.
This figure does not include indirect costs and losses such as decreased participation in the labor force and decreased productivity.In fact, depression alone is responsible for a total of $ 44 billion of productivity losses in the American workplace.
The report pointed out that the costs of psychological care in the United States are so high that many Americans may be reluctant to even consider receiving it if the patient does not have insurance coverage.
The report states that the cost of a single psychological care session in the United States ranges from $ 65 to $ 250 for those who do not have health insurance covering this type of care, and in addition, a patient suffering from A more severe form of depression can cost an average of $ 10,836 a year. To treat his psychological problem, it only costs a diabetic patient 4,800 a year to purchase the insulin injections needed for his treatment.
The most difficult problem with mental health issues for Americans is their limited access to mental health insurance. 112 million Americans live in areas where mental health care providers are scarce, and the United States is expected to continue to suffer from a shortage of mental health care providers through 2050. In addition, many providers currently available operate outside the scope of health insurance. .
56% of American psychiatrists accept commercial health insurance compared to 90% of doctors who treat organic diseases, mainly because American insurance companies pay psychiatrists much less for their services than they pay doctors with other specialties in age and experience. the odds for Americans seeking psychological care to seek out-of-network health insurance physicians are 5 times higher than the odds of using out-of-network physicians for physical therapy or surgery.
The report included an interview with Dr. Coral Alter, director of behavioral health systems at Baylor Scott & White Health Care in Texas, USA, warned of the danger of the current situation on mental health and, therefore, the lives of Americans. This is not enough for everyone.
She added: “Mental health disorders are often diagnosed as less serious than they actually are, and therefore are also underestimated, and what usually happens is that the majority of people don’t. receive no treatment for their mental disorder, or can, but less effective treatment.
The report pointed out that these negative facts have serious consequences for Americans, who suffer from psychological problems, and may reach the point of their death. He reported that less than half of Americans with mental disorders are receiving appropriate treatment, and the percentage of those who are receiving effective treatment is less than 10%.
Additionally, those numbers are getting worse for black Americans, as the proportion of those with access to effective treatment for mental disorders is nearly half of their white American counterparts, and the report confirms that the The current situation in the United States demands solutions, perhaps the most important of which is increased training and cooperation between physicians who provide basic health services, on the one hand, and mental health professionals, on the one hand. somewhere else.
She referred to Dr. Alter added to the other side of the problem: “The majority of mental health problems in the country are presented as part of basic health care, so those who have these problems are referred to. biological doctors, not psychiatrists, ”she said.
“There are things that can be done to help primary care physicians better diagnose mental disorders, and these things are not only possible, but also the inevitable future of primary health care services.”
There is a very important new variable in the psychological care equation in the United States, which is the use and expansion of electronic medicine and telemedicine, a variable imposed by the “Covid 19” pandemic within new imposed variables such as social distancing, work, distance learning and other concepts, and the report said that this variant is very likely to survive, and even thrive, even after the end of the pandemic.
The report states that remote psychological counseling services cost less than their traditional counterpart, which takes place in the actual presence of the patient in front of the doctor, as the prices for these sessions range from $ 60 to $ 90 per week.
The report addressed a third area that could host huge changes to the healthcare landscape in the United States, namely the federal Medicare program, which provides health insurance services to US citizens aged 65 and over. , as well as some people of a younger age. And those who suffer from certain health problems such as disability, kidney failure and others.
The report states that Medicare provides insurance coverage for a period of 190 days on psychiatric services in hospitals, and while that number may seem large at first glance, it is in fact woefully insufficient for those suffering from chronic mental disorders, from the early stages of their age.
The report pointed out that making changes to Medicare would not only improve the level of participation of psychiatrists in the program, but also spur change across the entire insurance industry in the country, because as a federal program it urges still the US commercial insurance companies do what they need to do.
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