Behavioral Health Care
VI. Key Issues: Financing and Delivery >> Health Care Delivery System >> Behavioral Health Care (last updated 11.7.14)
Topic Outline
Overview
- According to multiple studies summarized by the Treatment Advocacy Center, these untreated mentally ill are responsible for 10% of all homicides (and a higher percentage of the mass killings), constitute 20% of jail and prison inmates and at least 30% of the homeless. Severely mentally ill individuals now inundate hospital emergency rooms and have colonized libraries, parks, train stations and other public spaces.
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Altogether, the annual total public funds for the support and treatment of mentally ill individuals is now more than $140 billion.
- In 2009, 4.7 million Americans received SSI or SSDI because of mental illnesses, not including mental retardation, a tenfold increase since 1977. The total cost was $46 billion.
- The total Medicaid and Medicare costs for mentally ill individuals in 2005 was more than $60 billion.
Diagnostic Systems
ICD-10 & DSM-5: The ‘How-To’ Guide To Successfully Managing The Transition (Executive Web Briefing Recording) October 30, 2014. Presented By: Dru Anne Walz, Director, Product Management, Netsmart. “Big changes affecting health care providers and members of the human services community are occurring and without preparation, many health care activities will be impacted. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), was released in May 2013 and adoption varies state by state. The switch to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10), code sets used to report clinical diagnoses and procedures will take place on October 1, 2015. The convergence of new diagnosis terms and codes presents unique challenges to managers in the behavioral health field.”
Links
- Chapter 11 – Mental Health and Substance Abuse (Alliance for Health Reform)
- Mental Health/Substance Abuse (Health Affairs topic page)
- E. Torrey Fuller. American Psychosis: How the Federal Government Destroyed the Mental Illness Treatment System. Oxford University Press 2013.