Families Need Affordable Healthcare in order to have Mental Health Care

Recently the government was closed because members of the Democratic Party were concerned about the Affordable Care Subsidies that will end in a few weeks. The Republican Party said that they would negotiate about the subsidies after the Democrats passed their bill. The problem is that the Republicans have been promising to provide a law since 2016, so everyone would be able to afford healthcare. It’s basically 10 years later and they have provided no health plan for the people of the United States. Parents are having to renew their health plans now and without the insurance subsidies, families are receiving premiums and copays so high that they cannot afford health insurance. It is estimated that some families insurance premiums will increase by 26% (California health care). Families are already experiencing increases in housing food, and electrical bills so many families cannot afford this increase. As a result, some families are struggling with deciding between their health care and gas or electricity. Additionally, many companies are laying off employees making the situation worse. Amazon just laid off thousands of employees so how are they going to afford housing, food or healthcare .

The Affordable Care Act besides making health insurance available to many more Americans also addressed many other healthcare issues. Before the ACA, if you had ever taken antidepressants, your insurance could deny to cover psychotherapy for you or require you to pay a very high copayment. I saw this happen many times to patients I was treating prior to the ACA. Depression and anxiety are considered pre-existing conditions. Also in your insurance contact there is a standard clause that if the insurance company wants to see all your medical records you cannot stop them. I had insurance companies make these requests and I checked with numerous attorneys and the answer always was the same. The way the insurance writes their contract, you cannot stop them from getting all your records from the day you were born. If you refuse, they can terminate your insurance coverage. Insurance companies typically will ask for all your records because if you had psychotherapy as a teenager that is a pre-existing condition. Therefore, they can deny to cover your psychotherapy. They could even terminate your health insurance all together.

What if you have children? If you have a child with Autism, ADHD or if they were ever suicidal, your child will not be able to get insurance coverage or the psychotherapy they desperately need. Before the ACA I had many families in this exact situation. Many would automatically terminate therapy. Research now shows if children with these issues receive therapy when they are very young we can improve the outcome for them as adults. However, without the ACA, insurance companies specify these issues as pre-existing conditions and therefore the child is not entitled to psychotherapy. If they didn’t deny the coverage, the family often would have a $6000 deductible or a $50 dollar copay. Therefore, the family would have to pay 6000 out of their pockets before trying their insurance and then they had to pay $50 a session in addition to rent and food. I often provided psychotherapy to these families at a fee they could afford. However, not every therapist can afford to lower their fees and I can only do it for a certain number of families because it cost money to run a business. Furthermore, many families were embarrassed and decided to stop therapy and try to treat their bipolar child themselves

Some very important facts are that 1 out of 5 children meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health issue (CDC). Additionally there is an epidemic of depression, anxiety, suicide and loneliness in children and teenagers. This group of children growing up after 2000, have also had to deal with mass school shootings. Some students have even been involved in 2 mass shootings. As a result, many children born after 2000 are dealing with trauma issues. The research clearly demonstrates that if children receive psychotherapy treatment as children they have a better chance of growing up to be responsible adults (CDC). Without treatment as a child their symptoms may increase and they are more likely to grow up to be adults living on the streets using drugs and living on welfare (CDC)

Why would we take this risk with our children? The Republican Party has had 16 years to develop an alternative to the Affordable Care Act and they have failed to develop anything in 16 years. So why should we trust them? Additionally, the majority of our citizens like the Affordable Care Act and want it to continue. Prior to the Affordable Care Act being able to treat adults and children was very difficult. Since the Affordable Care Act it has become much easier to treat adults and childcare with mental health issues. Yes the Affordable Care Act may have some problems, but instead of getting rid of it, fix it. Parents remember the United States is a government run by the people for the people. Therefore, contact your Congressman and Senators and demand that they address the Affordable Care Act before the subsidies expire and families are having to face outrageously high insurance premiums.

Dr. Michael Rubino is a psychotherapist with over 25 years experience treating children, teenagers, trauma victims including first responders. For more information about Dr. Rubino visit his website at www.RubinoCounseling.com