A Maplewood parent who experienced first-hand a family member denied mental health coverage calls on insurance companies to change the way patients are evaluated for treatment.Imagine two 16-year-olds at a doctor’s office with recent headaches and bloody noses. One has a healthy history, so the doctor sends them home with aspirin and perhaps something to keep their nose moist. The other is in recovery from childhood leukemia, and these are two of the symptoms of that disease.
My family has our own incredibly painful experience with this overriding flaw in mental health coverage. For the sake of privacy, I won’t delve into individual details. But the bottom line is time and again over the last six years, a family member has been denied ongoing mental health coverage just when they needed it most.
Don’t miss an issue of our Opinion newsletter! Get it delivered each Wednesday right into your inbox by adding your email below and hitting"subscribe."Our struggle is not an anomaly. Health care in our country, particularly mental health care, is not based on the best health outcomes. It’s based on health insurance companies doing the minimum amount they believe is required to protect themselves from legal liability.
So a substantial majority of teenage girls aren’t living their lives normally. A third is at risk of ending their lives, and one in five have actually tried. Yet we continue to allow a health insurance system that perpetuates and worsens the crisis.
Many of those teen mental health issues can be traced to Gov Murphy’s failed lockdown policies. Maybe parents should hold him accountable?
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