Cone Health Foundation: This bill could widen access to mental health care

This misperception further stigmatizes mental illness and can discourage people from seeking the help they need.

In the United States, our prisons have become the largest mental health system, oftentimes subjecting those incarcerated to an environment that exacerbates the very condition that landed them in jail or prison. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports that as many as one-quarter of all homeless persons suffer from some type of untreated mental condition. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asserts that suicides account for more American deaths every year than automobile accidents or homicides.

Of those who die from suicide, more than 90 percent have a diagnosable mental illness. And our own N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reveals that about 1 in 5 adults in our state have a mental health condition. Yet 56 percent of adults with mental illness do not receive treatment.

Generally, the public has little sympathy for those who suffer. As a result of stigma, many people soldier on in denial, refusing to seek treatment even if it is available. Surely we can do better in North Carolina.

There is no fail-safe solution, and no single measure will heal all of our woes. However, one possible solution has been introduced at the state legislature to address greater access to health care, including mental health services. Carolina Cares (HB 662) proposes an affordable health insurance program for working, uninsured North Carolinians and it deserves a serious hearing by our lawmakers.

Too many people in North Carolina lack access to health insurance and “fall in the coverage gap,” meaning that their incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid and too low to afford private health care. Research suggests that as many as 400,000 uninsured adults are currently in the coverage gap. Most of the individuals lacking coverage come from working families who have incomes at 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (which is $12,060 for a single adult and $24,600 for a family of four). Access to coverage means our neighbors have access to appropriate health care when it’s needed most, not just in times of crisis.

The opioid crisis has further strained our behavioral health system. Much work has been done in North Carolina over the past year — from the passage of the STOP Act (Stop Opioid Misuse Prevention) to the release of a state-wide Opioid Action Plan — but more is needed to turn the tide and stop the senseless loss of life.

Mental illness and substance abuse disorders are too often the target of ridicule, prejudicial assumptions and ignorance. Society rallies around people who are experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack or a diabetic crisis, but we turn away from people manifesting the symptoms of a serious psychiatric crisis or struggling with addiction.

We believe that health care is a basic human right — and mental health is an integral quotient in a person’s total health.

Let’s walk beside our neighbors, all of our neighbors, to ensure access to health care in all of its forms is available.