Better mental health

As Congress considers health-care reform legislation, it is critical that Medicaid coverage remains available to low-income adults and children so they can get help dealing with any mental illness and behavioral health issues they face.

New medications, psychotherapies, and other technologies have dramatically expanded the ability to treat a range of conditions. Access to them through Medicaid has given individuals suffering from mental illness greater cause for hope today than at any time in history.

The Mental Health Council of Arkansas is determined to bring this hope to all our state’s residents, including those in remote and rural areas, delivering care to those who need it wherever they are, and whatever their means.

Not only does mental health treatment benefit patients, but it benefits communities too. Children are affected by a parent’s mental illness, and untreated mental illness can lead to use of addictive substances, compounding our opioid crisis. Many times, those with mental illness wind up in our jails and overwhelm our court system even though mental illness is not a crime.

Some proposals in Congress would create significant barriers to effective mental health treatment by eliminating protections on pre-existing conditions and limiting access in rural counties and low-populated areas. For behavioral health care, these types of restrictions would further cap coverage, place more adults on the street or in local jails, and put children and adolescents at greater risk for institutional placement.

Conversely, by making treatment widely available, especially through Medicaid, we can help those with mental illness fully contribute their talents to families, workplaces, and neighborhoods, and live more productive and fulfilling lives. DIANNE SKAGGS

Little Rock