Since the tragedy that happened at an elementary school in Connecticut, there has been much call for a national discussion about access to mental health care. In 2014, the Affordable Care Act will provide for that. It requires health insurance plans to cover mental health care. Right now, it feels like a very long time until 2014 arrives.
What happened in Connecticut, at Sandy Hook Elementary School, was a tragedy. No one wants to see this happen again. I’m sure everyone has heard the details by now, and I have no need to reiterate them here. After the tragedy, many people felt the need to discuss two big topics: gun control laws, and mental health care.
I’m writing this for the Special Needs Blog at Families.com, so I will not cover the topic of gun control laws here. Instead, I will point out that there are families, all across America, who fear that their mentally ill child will one day do something similar to what happened in Connecticut.
I recently pointed out a post from a blog called “The Anarchist Soccer Mom” that was very eye-opening. She talked about her thirteen year old son who is mentally ill. She says she loves her son, but he terrifies her. The blog has been passed around the internet. Hopefully, it will encourage a national discussion about the state of our mental health care system.
The Affordable Care Act will help, but not until 2014. Boston.com has an article under their “Health Stew” section that points this out. It is titled Mental Health and the ACA and was written by John McDonough.
He points exactly where the in the Affordable Care Act it states that help is coming. He points out that you should take a look at Title I, section 1302.
That is the part that defines the essential health benefits that all health insurance policies must include and cover as of January 1, 2014. All health plans must do so in order to qualify as health insurance in the United States. You can find more details on page 59 in the full text of the Affordable Care Act and Reconciliation Act.
Section 1302 is called Essential Health Benefits Requirements. Under that, there is a Part (b) called Essential Health Benefits. Under that, it says (1) In General. Beneath that part of the outline is a part (E) which says:
Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment.
There is hope. In 2014, all Americans will have access to a health insurance plan that covers treatment for mental health. Families with children like the child written about in the “The Anarchist Soccer Mom” blog will have access to the mental health care their child needs – but not yet. That’s the scary part.
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