Due to greater understanding of how many Americans live with
mental illnesses and addiction disorders and how expensive the total
healthcare expenditures are for this group, we have reached a critical
tipping point when it comes to healthcare reform. We understand the
importance of treating the healthcare needs of individuals with serious
mental illnesses and responding to the behavioral healthcare needs of
all Americans. This is creating a series of exciting opportunities for
the behavioral health community and a series of unprecedented challenges
mental-health organizations across the U.S. are determined to provide
expertise and leadership that supports member organizations, federal
agencies, states, health plans, and consumer groups in ensuring that the
key issues facing persons with mental-health and substance use
disorders are properly addressed and integrated into healthcare reform.
In
anticipation of parity and mental healthcare reform legislation, the
many national and community mental health organizations have been
thinking, meeting and writing for well over a year. Their work continues
and their outputs guide those organizations lobbying for government
healthcare reform..
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY
1. Mental Health/Substance Use Health Provider Capacity Building:
Community mental health and substance use treatment organizations,
group practices, and individual clinicians will need to improve their
ability to provide measurable, high-performing, prevention, early
intervention, recovery and wellness oriented services and supports.
2. Person-Centered Healthcare Homes:
There will be much greater demand for integrating mental health and
substance use clinicians into primary care practices and primary care
providers into mental health and substance use treatment organizations,
using emerging and best practice clinical models and robust linkages
between primary care and specialty behavioral healthcare.
3. Peer Counselors and Consumer Operated Services:
We will see expansion of consumer-operated services and integration of
peers into the mental health and substance use workforce and service
array, underscoring the critical role these efforts play in supporting
the recovery and wellness of persons with mental health and substance
use disorders.
4. Mental Health Clinic Guidelines: The pace
of development and dissemination of mental health and substance use
clinical guidelines and clinical tools will increase with support from
the new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and other research
and implementation efforts. Of course, part of this initiative includes
helping mental illness patients
find a mental health clinic nearby.