While much has been made (and rightfully so) about Bush’s veto and its impact on children, there is one group that is chronically uninsured and among those in the most need of help to get treatment and medication: those who are mentally ill.
Recently, I checked out the availability of free mental health clinics in my area only to find that the only way to get mental help free or on a sliding scale was to develop a drug habit. Given the inflated costs of medication, a drug addiction may be cheaper than becoming a functional member of society. Most doctors charge at least $60 for a visit, and the medications for some of the more serious mental conditions can run at least $200 a month.
Our health system is a catch-22. In order to be able to hold down a job and remember to pay the bills, a person with mental illness must be treated. In order to be treated, the mentally ill person must have a job with which to pay for the treatment. It is little wonder that so many of the mentally ill wind up homeless.
If we as a society make a concerted effort to treat those who desperately need it, societal ills such as homelessness and drug abuse (which is sometimes called “self-medicating”) would decrease. Why throw away money to treat the effects rather than the cause?
Even with a job, getting some mental heath care is difficult. My shrink does not take insurance, nor does my wife’s. The meds are covered, but not the sessions, and I consider my health plan to be a good one. Could I shop around and find a clinic that takes my insurance, sure, but the relationship with a therapist is important, and the one or two that are covered do not meet my needs.
With the plan we get two shots at detox, and then no more. It usually takes more than two tries to do it.
Comment by tsakshaug — October 12, 2007 @ 9:36 am
Dear ILF, this is an excellent post.
In SF a few years ago, the wild-eyed liberal leaders gave out license plates to the homeless to put on their shopping carts. Then they all felt warm fuzzy feelings of good intentions in their hearts and were able to walk around with loving smiles, having appeased their own guilt.
The fact is that homeless people with mental problems should be in mental institutions being properly cared for, not sleeping amongst foxtails under a bridge or in the shubbery underneath a freeway overpass.
We are supposed to be the gleaming example for the rest of the world, yet in that liberal mecca, people without a place to go, for various reasons, crap in doorways and pee on walls in the financial district (hope you see the irony in that).
I’m against giving out free food and aid so that homeless can continue to be homeless, but the way we treat our mentally deficient homeless is criminal, and needs to change.
Further, the federal government should not get involved. This problem is none of their business – they’d just screw it up and make it worse anyway.
Thank you for your post, you are doing good work.
Grimmy
Comment by grimgold — October 12, 2007 @ 10:39 am
Tsakshaug, even with insurance, the medication can get really, really expensive. I know insured people who are still paying over $100 a month on medications. Sad, isn’t it?
Grimmy, I agree with you that the government would screw this up. They seem to be pretty good at that (War on Drugs, anyone?). Glad you enjoy my writing. Yours is awesome, too!
Comment by idealistferret — October 12, 2007 @ 4:51 pm