From the ED's Desk - Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight the critical connection between mental and physical health.
Earlier in my career, I worked for a health insurance carrier where I was responsible for determining insurance rates. This process involved assessing risk, analyzing cost trends, and evaluating claims data. One notable aspect was the exclusion of mental health services from these evaluations, as they were typically handled by a separate mental health insurance provider.
While this separation might make sense from a rate-setting perspective, it undermines our broader goal of achieving comprehensive health. Although some progress has been made, we still need to address key issues such as parity in service reimbursement, equitable access to care, and consistent coverage.
This is no small task. Public perception often favors the idea that physical conditions can be “cured” through medication or surgery, while mental health conditions are seen as something to be merely managed. Moreover, mental health diagnoses are often viewed as less straightforward than physical health diagnoses, which contributes to this divide.
To move forward, we must continue integrating mental and physical health by reimbursing equivalent services at the same rate, ensuring that employers and government programs offer equal coverage, and applying consistent standards for referrals and authorizations.
You can help raise awareness by advocating for policies and practices that bring mental and physical health services into alignment—because true health means addressing both, equally and together.
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