Should Mental Health Care Be Free? The Costs and Benefits to Consider

Mental health plays a vital role in an individual’s ability to enjoy a satisfying life. What if you need help? Many people struggling with mental health are unable to access and afford specialized services. So, should mental health care be free?

In this blog, we explore this complex, controversial issue and highlight the case for and against free mental treatment. In addition, we’ll identify the consequences for the patients, in society, and the health system, taking care of the availability of care, quality of care, capacity, and resource allocations. 

Should Mental Health Care Be Free? Why Yes May Be the Answer

1. Equity Access: Mental illnesses do not discriminate for race, color, gender, sexual orientation, or age and if the financial barriers were lifted then that might encourage people to get help at the first sign of an issue, tending toward better recovery and quality of life. It adds to the creation of a fair medical delivery system by preventing poor individuals from getting preferential medical care while their richer peers must pay for it.
2. Earlier Intervention and Lower Social Costs: Left untreated, mental illness can take a high societal toll. It is a leading cause of reduced productivity and helplessness in its most acute form, an important contributory factor in job loss, and can lead to the inability to form close relationships with others. Earlier intervention in the form of accessible treatments might stop many of these downstream costs, and will at the very least be a benefit to society.
3. Improved Outcomes in Public Health: Mental illness is a substantial individual and public health issue. Depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders account for a large proportion of hospital admissions and visits to the emergency department. Population health can improve from free mental health treatment due to early prevention and other measures.
4. Destigmatization and Conscience: There are different types of stigma about this concentration of mental fitness and especially therefore, make sure that each one assures, in fact, the correct starting point. Early conversations and treatmentIf people can easily get mental health support and free treatment, then they might initiate a cultural shift by pretending the idea to help their mental health care. 
5. Economic Benefits Research shows that mental health programs can produce a return on investment, lowering health care costs, enhancing productivity, and reducing the use of social services.

Reasons Not to Offer Free Mental Health Treatment

1. Sustainability and Resource Deployment: Open access to treatment for all is an expensive programmeWith the increasing number of individuals needing mental healthcare at an alarming rate, there is a reasonable concern about the sustainability of such a program in the long run. Low Resources may lower the quality of care.
2. Abuse potential: giving away psychological treatment for free normalizes overconsumption among a population of people you think need it for, at best, the benefit of those who are sick. It only further postpones more.
3. By making treatment free there is a risk of the quality of care being lowered. However, without a financial incentive, there may not be ‘enough bodies’ willing to get involved in the program, which might also affect the quality of care.
4. Free treatment and moral hazard: A counter-argument would be that free treatment envisages a reduction in the incentive for people to take personal responsibility for maintaining their health. The concept of approachability has to be balanced with endeavors to deliver self-care strategies.
5. Rationing: Shortages will lead to the rationing of care in ways that only the most extreme cases are deemed worthy of competition for the limited supply of available treatments. This invites moral questions of whether certain patients should be treated, and is likely to reduce access to the surgery available only to those who can afford it. 

Southern Live Oak Wellness Center: A Blueprint for Whole Person Care

Southern Live Oak Wellness Center provides clients with evidence-based therapies to treat mental illness symptomology, as well as holistic practices to prevent further symptom development. Using innovative programming such as the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) and Residential Treatment, needs can be met on an individual level depending upon the severity of the patient’s needs.

Quality versus access: the best quality care seems available at Southern Live Oak only if the most successful programs in Atlanta are the goal, and likely costly. Further, this remains a trade-off between affordability and the best mental health care, which is now the public priority in re-emerging from endemic conditions.

Balancing Act: Approaching from All Sides

It therefore seems a good thing to advocate in favor of those who answer yes to the question: should mental health care be free? However, the provision of free treatment is ethically complex, and there are legitimate worries about environmental externalities irrespective of the practical issues of sustainability and resources. 

A few ways to make things more accessible while still maintaining a quality of care:

• Charge reasonable premiums: Have a structure that’s graduated so that people pay more based on their earnings so that it’s still skin in the game but reasonable.
• Policy To Boost Coverage: Push for laws that mandate coverage of mental health to be equivalent to physical health insurance policies. 
• Scale up telehealth and technology: Using telehealth and technology-based interventions to support access in rural areas can help address gaps in care.

Programs for Mental Health Awareness and Prevention

• Mental Health Awareness Campaigns: Supporting public education programs promoting mass mental health awareness and addressing mental health stigmas can help raise awareness.
• Workplace Mental Health Initiatives create a culture of mental health awareness and support in the workplace, which might include things like employee assistance programs that support employees and encourage better care for patients as well.
• Early intervention Programs: Funding to help children and youth in schools and communities to identify their mental health needs at an early stage. Some examples of early intervention efforts include developing and studying programs to improve mental health support for teachers and counselors so that they can recognize when students appear to be struggling and know how to help them access appropriate care.

Other Approaches to Make Mental Health Care Affordable

• Sliding Scale Fees: Sliding scale fees can help reduce the cost of entry into your courses or programs for those with constrained finances. 
• Promotion and Outreach: Collaborate with community-based organizations that work with disenfranchised individuals, to use them as vehicles for mental health screening or to provide workshops in the community.
• Grant Scholarship Programs/Financial Aid: financial aid opportunities and grants can help people who can’t afford to receive mental health treatment. 
• Advocacy/Lobbying: Encourage the development of policies that foster mental health awareness, funding for mental health services, and a level of parity in insurance regarding mental health benefits.

Considering the Cost of Mental Health Care

There are no easy answers to the question of: should mental health care be free? But, we must be open to these arguments on both sides and learn how to succeed in reaching a society where everyone can get the mental healthcare they deserve. A key part of Southern Live Oak Wellness Center is helping forward in that effort by offering high-end mental health programs and working daily and helping build the mental health landscape to be a more open, connected realm. 

Moreover, weight should be given to the work they are actually doing, which is being done continuously in the field of mental health, as there are, and always will be new treatments, and new treatment modalities being developed. 

By encouraging mental health awareness, and pushing for effective and equitable resource allocation and early intervention, we can foster a world where mental health is both valued and accessible. Reach out to our team today to learn more about our intitivaes surrounding accessibility to mental health services.