One thing that we have noticed during the COVID-19 pandemic is that mental health is the silent bond between people. It’s silent because a mental health disorder is a condition that is rarely discussed in public, but it’s a bond because within our friends and family we find about one degree of separation from it (be it our spouses, our parents, our siblings, our children or even ourselves)!
We have found that the social stigma around mental health is an interesting concept and a profound reality given so many people we know are affected by that stigma even here in Georgia.
One of the biggest challenges we inevitably hear when discussing mental health is, “but it’s so hard to find good help!” This statement really comes as no surprise. According to the 2019 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the CDC’s national survey data, Georgia ranks 48th in the nation for access to mental health resources, and mental healthcare. In Georgia, two in five children have trouble accessing the mental help treatment they need. This can be especially troubling for parents trying to access quality mental health resources for their children in Georgia.
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One example that comes to mind is a friend whose daughter was participating in self-harm. The daughter’s depression had fallen into a state where it had become apparent that she needed more help in addition to her therapist. When looking for resources to help his daughter, the father felt the resources in Georgia were so lacking that the family flew the daughter across the country so she could get the help she needed. This meant that the father had to be separated from his wife and daughter while they were away for treatment for several weeks as he stayed home with their other two children. This situation put an even bigger strain on a family that was already going through a crisis. Luckily, though, he had the resources and flexibility to support his family through their difficult time.
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Unfortunately, most people are not in the position to take their loved ones to another state for help. This is why the Georgia’s Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) introduced this legislative session in Georgia is so critical. This legislation will help mental health become more accessible to the people who critically need it. In addition, it will provide incentives to boost the much-needed number of mental health providers currently required to treat our Georgians. If the Mental Health Parity Act were already in place now, our friend could have found the resources his daughter needed in Georgia and his family would have remained together throughout the crisis. And in fact, their daughter would have had an opportunity to receive the additional treatment initially needed when her mental health disorder first worsened, versus months later when her condition reached a life-threatening level.
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The federal Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act enacted in 2008 requires that “insurance coverage for mental health conditions, including substance use disorders, to be no more restrictive than insurance coverage for other medical conditions.” This means that your insurance coverage for your mental health conditions like anxiety or depression, including substance use disorders, should be equal to your insurance coverage for your physical health conditions, like high blood pressure or diabetes.
The Georgia MHPA fulfills this law and addresses the mental health workforce shortage. The Georgia MHPA will also make it easy to report unfair mental health coverage and increase transparency and accountability of mental health coverage in Georgia.
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Georgia, it is time to take action on our mental health system! We can no longer continue to hide behind stigmas and a broken system. Please urge your congressperson to vote “yes” on the bipartisan Mental Health Parity Act!
Melissa Dietz is a board member at Mental Health America of Georgia.
Tracey L. Henry, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., is public policy chair for Mental Health America of Georgia and associate professor of medicine at Emory University. Her views expressed here are her own and do not represent Emory University.
Madison Scott is director of development for Mental Health America of Georgia.
Abdul Henderson is executive director of Mental Health America of Georgia.
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