Mental Health Parity And Addiction Equity Act: A Case Study

In an economic lens, mentally ill patients also experience discrimination due to the stigma and stereotypes surrounding their disorder. Although mental illness is similar to other diseases/disorders such as cardiac disease, in the sense that they are malfunctions in a part of the organ, mental disorders are not treated like it. Until the passage of Mental Health Parity And Addiction Equity Act in 2008, an act that made mental health and substance abuse treatment easily accessible, there was health care discrimination where they refused to pay for therapy sessions or other forms of treatment for people with mental disorders. But, even with the passage of the act, there is still discrimination in accessing. For example, Ali Carlin a person

with borderline personality disorder had therapy sessions and had a “co-payment of $25 per session. But in 2015, the therapist stopped accepting her insurance and her rate jumped to $110 per session” (Gold). In cases like these, mentally ill patients are forced to stop their treatments because it is no longer accessible despite the fact that mental disorders are similar to other health disorders. Furthermore, mental health care is becoming more inaccessible as states are cutting funds for mental health. For instance, In Oklahoma funds were cut for the “ Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services by $52.6 million over the last four years”, the impact of this is “73,000 Oklahomans suffering from mental illnesses” (Ellis), yet the state continues to make cuts. In addition, going back to the stigma in which mentally ill patients face, it puts them at a disadvantage for economic and educational development/opportunities. Because mentally ill patients do not receive many employment opportunities whether it was caused by discrimination or a result of self-stigma, many of them are in poverty.This results in “shortages of affordable housing, inadequate income, and exclusion from quality education and employment alienate individuals from life in the community” (Alexander).