Greater need for mental health care amid pandemic
COVID spikes create depression and anxiety
As COVID spikes, so does depression and anxiety, highlighting the need for stronger mental healthcare. A new law, SB 855, addresses discrepancies with the Parity Act, expanding insurance coverage for mental health and substance abuse.
The California Mental Health Parity Act limited mental health parity to nine enumerated severe mental illnesses but failed to address or require parity in the treatment of many substance abuse, anxiety, opioid use, alcohol use, and posttraumatic stress disorders, according to Linda Nguy, policy advocate for Western Federal Law and Poverty.
“For people who just need someone to talk to for their everyday life, they don’t have access to it. It would mean the choice between basic necessities and healthcare treatment,” said Nguy.
According to drug- rehabs. org, there are 31 addiction treatment centers in and around Woodland.
“The anxiety caused from the pandemic can trigger coping mechanisms that may not be the healthiest,” said Nguy.
Julie Snyder, government affairs director of the Steinberg Institute, said SB 855 was built off of a court case, which focused on how United Behavioral Health denied claims from more than 50,000 people. The case highlighted how behavioral health limited what kind of care was medically necessary.
“From day one, patients will see significant changes in their healthcare response based on treatment,” Snyder said.
According to Snyder, the Steinberg Institute is still in the implementation phase which includes guiding legislation around arranging outofnetwork guidelines that apply to insurance plans.
“As science changes, the way we view who should be covered changes. We are focused on making sure the implementation goes as smoothly as possible,” Snyder said.
The Steinberg Institute partnered with The Kennedy Forum to draft legislation and work with a committee of lobbyists to form healthcare coalitions supporting SB 855.
“We think higher access to mental health and additional care to cover mental health and addiction will put a stop to wrongful denials of mental health and addiction,” said David Lloyd, senior policy adviser at The Kennedy Forum.
According to Lloyd, those most impacted by the bill would include people with health insurance coverage who seek care as a preventative measure.
“We need strong implementation of the bill. It’s a groundbreaking bill of mental health and substance abuse in California and can benefit other states to implement in the future,” Lloyd said.
According to Lloyd, insurers commonly deny claims for mental health treatment.
“We are making sure regulators overseeing lawmaking are insurers that are in compliance. It should help people get the right level of care so they have the right underlying conditions addressed,” said Lloyd.
Those who oppose SB 855 feel it comes at a cost, driving up insurance premiums. The California Association of Health Plans released a press release on August 5th in opposition to SB 855.
“SB 855 will also drive up premiums by millions of dollars in the first year alone,” the association said. “The bill also pulls critical funds from the state at a time when California is slashing spending. This cost ultimately impacts enrollees … creating new mandates on health plans is not the solution and only drives up health care costs for everyone.”
Those backing the bill remain committed to seeing it through, hoping it will succeed at addressing the mental health crisis.
“It’s the beginning of keeping a promise under the 2008 Parity Law. It should expand access to care, help reduce stigma and improve access to healthcare,” said Alex Briscoe, principal of the California Children’s Trust.
According to Briscoe, the Parity Act of 2008 failed to adequately address the mental health crisis. The Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, offered a way to fix what the Parity Act failed to address. This new bill SB 855 brings the two together.
“The Affordable Care Act didn’t align with the Parity Bill and now we have to realign things,” Briscoe said.
According to Briscoe, Californians with commercial insurance will be the ones to benefit from this bill if passed. Briscoe expects to see easier and broader healthcare access to therapy, inpatient care, medication, assessment and appointment wait times.
“The things that are affecting our healthcare are the things that we feel. We must bring them out of the shadows as a healthcare system, we need to acknowledge and not ignore,” Briscoe said.
According to The State of Mental Health in America, youth have the highest rates of suicidal ideation, especially LGBTQ+ youth. Between January and September 2020, 77,470 youth reported experiencing frequent suicidal ideation, including 27,980 LGBTQ+ youth.
“We need to have support for healthy development, not just to heal you when you are hurt, but to stop you from getting hurt. If we have a healthcare system that can do that, maybe we can heal as a culture,” Briscoe said.
Briscoe said the bill doesn’t address Medi- Cal or low- income children.
This law will commercialize health plans to provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, thus providing true parity for those struggling with these conditions, according to Karen Larsen, director of Yolo County’s Health and Human Services Agency.
“To date, Californians on Medi- Cal have had access to a broader array of mental health and substance use disorder treatments than their counterparts in the privately insured world in many instances,” Larsen wrote in an email.
According to Larsen, the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California works closely with the Steinberg Institute because their priorities are closely aligned with Yolo County.
“Locally, we have seen people drop their private insurance in order to get county services,” Larsen wrote in an email.
Larsen said SB 855 has the potential to end the suffering of millions of Californians struggling with mental health and substance use disorders by giving them access to medically necessary treatments proven to ameliorate their conditions.