Solutions

More Government Funding

There is currently two large states of support for mental health services which are Medicaid, a joint federal-state program and state general funds administered by state mental health authorities. A lot of people with mental illnesses do not qualify for Medicaid, either because their income is slightly higher than the Medicaid threshold or because they are too ill to take the steps necessary to apply and qualify. Also, Medicaid does not pay for some of the vital health services, most notably inpatient psychiatric treatment. Between 2009 and 2011, states cumulatively cut more than $1.8 billion from their budgets for services and adults living with mental illness. There needs to be more funding of these services because with them, people living with serious mental illness can and do eventually achieve recovery. But in contrast, with lack of services often fosters worsened conditions and adverse consequences that cost communities dearly. It is likely that the significant cuts that have occurred in a number of states have further diminished access needed to get these services. With loss of health insurance, more people have turned to the public system for mental health care. With an increase of government funding we would be able to support programs designed to educate families, peers and the public about the serious mental illness and how to respond to people living with these illnesses. These programs should be implemented on a widespread basis. Greater knowledge and awareness will lead to more effective interventions that can prevent an inevitable tragedy.

Limitations:

Some of the limitations with those solution is that funding of other programs will have to be cute short since it is going to the research of mental illness, and that not enough funding could not go into the research. It is already hard enough to ask from some extra money, it would be near impossible to as for more on top of that.

More Education in Schools

Now a days in the public school system across the United States there is teaching about physical and sexual health, yet there is no mention of how to help out others with their mental health or how students can help themselves. With more education in schools students would be able to recognize the signs of mental illnesses. The Center for Mental Health in Schools from the University of California Los Angles states “Systemic changes must weave school owned resources and community owned resources together to develop comprehensive, multifaceted, and integrated approaches from addressing barriers to learning enhancing healthy development.” There should be an increased effort between the community and the schools to further educate the children about mental illnesses. In a field test done by The Science of Mental Illness curriculum supplement for middle school children provided an opportunity to assess knowledge and attitudes about mental illness in more than 1,500 middle school students throughout the United States and to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention. There were two primary questions were examined: What are the baseline knowledge and attitudes about mental illness in this sample of students? And Does participation in a curriculum about the science of mental illness knowledge and improve attitudes about mental illness? This research showed that this curriculum increased the student’s knowledge and attitudes at posttest and was most effective in improving attitudes among those with negative baseline attitudes. These findings show that any kind of educational program, even a brief one, can be effective intervention to increase knowledge and improve attitudes about mental illnesses.

Limitations:

In a perfect world just adding mental health education to a school’s curriculum and have the students know everything but this however is not the case. There are a few limitations that go along with this solution such as: Kids not paying attention in the class well the information is given, the wrong information being given out be the instructor and the teachings of physical and sexual health will not have as much time as before the mental health teachings

More Insurance Coverage

As most people know health insurance helps patients pay for medicine, doctor visits and tests but there are some limitations when it comes to mental health. Many health insurance companies provide better coverage for physical illness than they do for mental health disorders. Only recently has there been a change in how companies take care of mental health of their customers. The Mental Health Parity Law and Federal Parity Law requires coverage of services for mental health, behavioral health and substance use disorders to be comparable to physical health coverage. An Article from the American Psychological Association, stated that more than 22 percent of those with mental illnesses said that the cost of health insurance was a barrier to seeking any treatment for their mental health.

Limitations:

There are limitations that go along with this solution as well, which are that insurance companies can jack up the prices, the insurance cannot cover what the patient needs and the patient’s health insurance company cannot be accepted at the certain hospital.