Behavioral Health Policies Essay

Discussion–550 words 3 sources Choose 1 of the 2 topics below •Pharmaceuticals: What two public policies have been recently proposed or adopted to support proper access to medications for all consumers, fair pricing, and reasonable regulation of new drugs coming to market? Behavioral Health Policies Essay. Who are the private and public stakeholders? Name some organizations advocating for policy changes OR •Behavioral Health: What two public policies have been recently proposed or adopted to improve access to behavioral health services and treatment? Who are the private and public stakeholders? Name some organizations pushing for policy changes.

Behavioral health involves studying the emotions, biology, and behaviors relating to an individual’s mental well-being, their capacity to function in their daily lives, and the aspect of self. Some researchers or healthcare professionals prefer using the term mental health instead of behavioral health. Individuals struggling with behavioral health might experience depression, anxiety, mood disorders, stress, addiction, ADHD, grief, relationship issues, or other psychological problems. Therefore, therapists, life coaches, counselors, nurse practitioners, psychologists, or physicians should identify the above mental health concerns (Lake, 2017). Managing and treating behavioral health issues entail therapy and counseling.

Annually, the United States spends billions of dollars on treating, managing, or preventing avoidable healthcare issues that have increased prevalence. Most of the nation’s deaths are attributed to chronic diseases, not forgetting that patients with chronic infections account for most of the hospital admissions. Efforts to control the development of these chronic illnesses have not succeeded. This is because healthcare systems and the government ignored behavioral health when they brainstormed on physical health factors. Also, primary-care physicians refuse to consider mental or emotional health as a cause of chronic conditions, yet research suggests that the two are interconnected closely. Improving behavioral health is thus significant in preventing the development of chronic conditions or other diseases. Several policies have been proposed to improve access to behavioral health services and treatment. Behavioral Health Policies Essay.The two recently proposed policies are Improving Access to Remote Behavioral Health Treatment Act of 2019 and the Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2019.

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            Improving Access to Remote Behavioral Health Treatment Act of 2019 was proposed to amend the Controlled Substances Act. The Controlled Substances Act permits for substances to be classified and regulated and describes the registration eligibility of an approved community mental health facilities. The bill defines an approved or qualified community mental health facility as one that satisfies the criteria stated in either the Protecting Access to Medicare Act or Public Health Service Act and is known by the state government. The proposed policy would enroll qualified community mental health facilities, which would then use telemedicine to administer controlled substances (“H.R. 4131 – Improving access to remote behavioral health treatment Act of 2019,” 2020). Stakeholders in the proposed policy are mental health nurses, mental health specialists, patients with mental health or psychosocial disabilities and their families, and the bill’s sponsor, Doris Matsui.

Another policy is the Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2019. Currently, licensed mental health counselors (MHCs) and marriage and family therapists (MFTs) are not eligible Medicare providers. Even though they play crucial roles in delivering prevention, treatment, and recovery services to the elderly population with disabilities, especially in underserved areas with shortages of mental health providers, these professionals are not qualified to bill Medicare. The proposed policy was introduced in 2019 to permit licensed MHCs and MFTs to bill Medicare for their services directly (National Council for Behavioral Health, n.d.). This change would elevate patients’ access to needed care in their region immediately. Behavioral Health Policies Essay.

Congress has supported the Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2019. Its need continues to grow due to various reasons, such as mental health counselors and MFTs would assist in fighting the opioid crisis, and older citizens would receive mental health needed services. Stakeholders in this proposed policy are mental health counselors, Medicare beneficiaries, nurses, marriage and family therapists, the Congress, and senators. Lastly, organizations pushing for policy changes are the world health organization, the national institute of mental health, the national alliance on mental illness, the American psychiatric association, and mental health America.

References

H.R. 4131 – Improving access to remote behavioral health treatment Act of 2019. (2020, February 26). SciPol.org. https://scipol.duke.edu/track/hr-4131-improving-access-remote-behavioral-health-treatment-act-2019

Lake, J. (2017). Urgent need for improved mental health care and a more collaborative model of care. The Permanente Journal. https://doi.org/10.7812/tpp/17-024

(n.d.). National Council for Behavioral Health. https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/090619_HillDay_FactSheet_MentalHealthAccessImprovementAct_v2.pdf?daf=375ateTbd56. Behavioral Health Policies Essay.