A Broken System Mental Health Care Reform - 2769 Words

Elizabeth Reddington Dr. Goodman English 101 4 December 2014 Fixing a Broken System: Mental Health Care Reform Mental health care in the United States is in an abysmal state, and yet the government hasn’t take action to fix it. Individuals suffering from serious mental illness are more likely to be incarcerated than to be receiving care in a psychiatric hospital. Perpetrators of mass shootings are often suffering from mental illness, and don’t receive help despite many warning signs. Homeless people are often suffering from mental illness, and many are â€Å"frequent flyers,† going in and out of prison often. Americans need to take a stand and let our government know that mental health care needs to be a priority. It is in the best interest†¦show more content†¦Helping those battling serious mental illness is not just an issue of humanity; reform will make the mental health system more effective and cost-efficient. Rep. Tim Murphy’s bill is called the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. It has bee n a rather controversial bill, but also has bipartisan support. Mental health professionals are also torn on the bill; some believe it will intrude on patient rights, while others believe it provides necessary changes that will help those with serious mental illness. The most controversial aspects of the bill, as described in the Huffington Post, are the reforms to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations, and probably the most controversial are AOT laws, or Assisted Outpatient Treatment laws. The projected changes to SAMHSA, are controversial because many believe they are not necessary, but others argue that SAMHSA is not effectively caring for those with serious mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The bill would also make some exceptions of HIPAA and FERPA that would allow mental health care pro viders to share more information with the families of patients. Obviously, these are controversial because of privacy issues and patient rights, but they would help patients receive better care by involving their families in treatment.