With the Supreme Court ruling that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — enacted by Congress in 2010 — can stand, it paves the way for full implementation of the law in the years to come.
There are many benefits to the law. For instance, eventually an insurer won’t be able to turn you down for a pre-existing psychiatric or health condition (kids are already covered by this provision; adults soon will be). Low-income people will also have greater access to an expanded version of Medicaid, the federal/state program for the poor and disabled.
Opponents of the law suggest it will drive up health-care costs — something the law wasn’t intended to fully address. Health care costs are already rising much faster than inflation, so this is an ongoing problem that most economists, politicians and physicians can find little agreement on how to solve. The Affordable Care Act is meant as a first step in controlling costs, however, by emphasizing preventative care and cooperative, integrated physician/hospital practices.
What does the Supreme Court ruling mean for access to mental health treatment and care in the years to come?
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Here’s my prediction of PPACA survived past January 2013: first, psychiatry will be basically resigned to impatient care, community mental health outpatient services, correctional services, and addiction work (goodbye most outpatient care we know left now); second, EMR will demand psychiatric records be part of the full chart, as debated in prior post this week; third, formularies will make psychopharmacology return to the good old’ 1990s at best, as we already see big pharma retreat from new meds innovations; finally, we will see people with bare clinical degree certifications be pretty much the only therapy providers.
Here’s a shout out to my psychologist colleagues: your profession is almost as much at risk as mine! You think a politically driven change for health care management gives a crap about standards of care and maintaining a hierarchy of who provided it?!
With the insurance industry signing onto this garbage legislation back in 2010 and their history of decimating mental health services to now, you really think they will prioritize mental health care here on? You are clueless and/or delusional to say yes.
Mental health care is doomed if PPACA survives as is!!! Anyone who says this legislation is fine as is has no other primary priority than worrying about Democrat interests first and foremost. A couple of nice parts does not make it a proper whole!!!
With all do respect to the author (I appreciate his effort–and the inherent risk of stating an opion–in writing the article) I do hope this rose-colored picture is the outcome of the Affordable Care Act. However, I do not see the impact as one-sided (positive). I think there are going to be significant changes to mental health practice that will benefit some and harm others (careers, finances). In fact I am already seeing professionals in the field adjusting (trying to move to private pay, coaching, concierge or boutique services, and consulting) to try and prepare for the negative effects on private practices. Maybe I’m a cynic but I’ve often not been impressed with the government-run agencies I interact with (there are some notable exceptions of course) and I’m not willing to concede that this one will be a sterling example of efficiency or common sense. Just to be fair, I’ll write my own response (on my blog) and let everyone (the author included) who wants to take aim and my “jaded view.” Bryan
Until it is all implemented, we won’t really know how these changes will all play out, but to me it seems like there are lots of positive aspects to the act. I’m ready to give it a chance with the hope it will benefit millions of people.