Many homeless are mentally ill[/caption]Carol Forsloff---A number of shooting incidents involving people who were, or are, mentally ill have again reminded people of the need to expand mental health evaluations and treatment; however, access to mental health care continues to lag far behind physical medicine.
And it is the poor who suffer the most, since 50% of psychiatrists refuse to take insurance, leaving many people with no alternative than to pay directly. This is true despite the parity places on mental health care by the Affordable Care Act. Many psychiatrists have opted out of taking insurance for mental illness.
The rich pay; the poor can't; and the problems related to mental health continue to grow, as frontline social service agencies continue to struggle with financial burdens following the recession. In addition cuts in funding have created problems in having enough social workers available to meet the growing needs of the mentally ill. More and more of these people end up on the streets or without services. It is estimated that at least one-third of those living on the streets are mentally ill, and the numbers are growing, including those with severe illnesses such as schizophrenia.
A New Year's resolution to solve the problem of getting treatment for the mentally ill who can't afford private pay might be to increase funding for physician training with the recommendation that universities and hospitals promote psychiatry as a specialty, as fewer trained psychiatrists again reduces the possibility of people getting the mental health services they may need. In addition, some psychiatrists may want to consider the importance of having a few more patients in the mix who have insurance and to treat these same people with the same level of care as the rich and famous.
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