In addition to destroying our physical health, the relentless global pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health of Americans that we may not fully understand for years to come.
Covid-19 has driven an increase in mental health-related emergency room visits, suspected suicide attempts, and reported cases of depression and anxiety across all age groups, especially children.according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey, 42% of Americans have experienced anxiety and depressive symptoms in the past two years, an 11% increase from the previous year. Continued escalation of mental health needs places undue pressure on service providers.
health expert like dr fauci Predictions have finally turned “endemic” and a return to normal life is possible – which is good news. But Americans will continue to struggle with mental health issues long after the pandemic subsides, and may need access to mental health services more than ever.
Unfortunately, the state of the U.S. healthcare system means many people may continue to find it difficult to access behavioral healthcare.
Mental health professionals face an endless array of challenges in delivering care and managing their practice, including restrictive state laws, onerous certification and licensing regulations, intensive and expensive educational requirements, and historically low reimbursement by some insurers . Collectively, these challenges lead to frustration and burnout among experienced therapists, resulting in a lack of available providers.
To alleviate shortages and ensure services are available to all who need them, the entire mental health ecosystem needs to evolve. Here are four key areas where insurance providers, lawmakers, advocacy groups and providers must adopt more innovative approaches to meet the anticipated huge demand for mental health support in the post-COVID-19 era.
1. Education and guidance
One of the biggest barriers facing the next generation of mental health professionals is continuing education and mentoring. The profession must ensure that therapists receive the educational opportunities they need to practice with patients during supervision. They also need mentors, resources and tools to help them continue to learn, develop areas of professional practice and hone their craft.
In addition to years of expensive schooling, aspiring therapists must have up to 2,000 hours of practice and supervised experience before they can practice independently. Until recently, creating and running this was all very complex and expensive for a business or private institution, so hospital and institutional settings are the best option for getting the time you need.
2. Technology
Behavioral services are closely related to interpersonal interactions and depend on the strength of interpersonal connections and relationships between people. That doesn’t mean that technology doesn’t have an important place.
Therapists, young and seasoned alike, need to embrace technology enthusiastically to organize data, manage clinical risk, capture treatment outcomes, manage administrative tasks, and deal with all things impersonal.Technology is key to enabling clinician collaboration and facilitating communication between providers as this remains a significant barrier to comprehensive care
Technology-driven industry transformation will help patients more easily connect with the right providers and generate data-driven insights on impact and outcomes, driving insurers to improve reimbursement rates.
3. Insurance
Historically, the relationship between many insurance providers and the mental health industry has been adversarial.
Reimbursement is very low, and therapists who do not work with insurance companies often face administrative red tape and payment delays that undermine some smaller practices. As a result, they lost incentive to work with insurance companies, leaving patients with access to mental health benefits that they could not use. Practitioners who accept insurance spend as much time on paperwork as they do for patients.
Outcomes-based care complements billed services as part of the solution, where therapists and payers can work together to ensure members have access to the behavioral health services they need—a win-win for all involved .
4. Provisions
Even as demand for mental health services soars, regulations governing industry practices remain too onerous.
State laws and certification requirements restrict suppliers to only work in licensed states. As the pandemic has spread, some states have enacted emergency regulations that temporarily allow therapists to provide telehealth services across state lines to ensure continuity of care. But now the limit is back, which is unfortunate.
Obtaining a state license is another expensive and tedious process. As a result, patients located in states different from their providers may have to relinquish the trust relationship.
Establishing a single licensing structure where therapists can provide services in multiple states would provide patients with more options for care. Existing therapeutic relationships can be preserved and providers will be able to expand their respective practices.
We are on the cusp of a full-blown mental health crisis in this country. There has never been a more important time to address challenges and implement remedies that allow current providers to continue serving patients in need while paving the way for new clinicians to enter the field.
A more flexible and innovative approach to education, regulation and compensation is needed to systematically benefit the entire professional mental health community and the individuals who depend on them during this critical time.
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