Mental Health
Discussion post 2
Mental Health is a population health problem that has risen to the presidential level, and throughout the past few decades, there have been significant reforms in it by several presidents. One of these is Barack Obama. In 2010, he signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), extending federal mental health equality to Medicaid managed care plans and qualified health plans offered through insurance place marketplaces or exchanges. In 2011, he signed the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act. This increased federal supportive housing resources for individuals with mental illness and other disabilities. (J. Hart, 2016).
Our current president, Joe Biden, has also made considerable strides towards the betterment of mental health. He passed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion rescue package to help the United States recover from the effects of Covid. (E. Haagensen, 2021). This package has significant investments to promote mental health among health care workforces. For example, there is $3 billion for substance abuse and mental health care block grants and $420 million to support Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics to expand access to high-quality, evidence-based behavioral health services. Biden has also built onto the Cures Act by integrating addiction and mental health treatment into schools, homes, and primary care settings. He also requested $1 billion in funding to expand the number of school-based mental health professionals, including school psychologists and counselors, to address the mental health needs of students. (The White House, 2021).
Truthfully, there are not many approaches I would have made differently than the two presidents I spoke of above. I agree with the steps taken in targeting mental illness post-pandemic. I have been an adolescent psych nurse for the past three years. Therefore, I have seen how it is needed to address children and young adults’ mental health in their school settings.
