Personality Disorders Are a Minefield of Issues and Lack of Coverage

Actor Crush of the Day:

Insurance companies often deny reimbursement for personality disorder treatments, leaving therapists struggling to help some of their neediest patients.

Despite the difficult-to-treat reputation of personality disorders, clinical trials of treatments show promise.

Insurance companies, GRRRRRR!!!

Well, those three words sum up probably the worst problem in the mental and medical healthcare system, although there are other major factors/problems/areas of needed change as well.

It SOUNDS like there are a VERY few insurance companies STARTING to listen and cover at least borderline personality disorder, for longer treatment periods, but . . . . that is the barest beginning of PERHAPS what might be, hopefully, a trend. It'll need alot of work, attention, and advocacy, and maybe even legislation, to move things along to where personality disorders, ALL of them, in addition to BPD, are covered.

Really, a year of therapy IS less expensive than being admitted to a hospital for a certain length of time. And various ER visits, depending on treatment given and costs thereof.

I just WISH that something other than the short term, upfront cost to the insurance company would be in the forefront of health insurance companies' minds . . . . What about the cost to society? What about the cost to employers? If there was more mental health coverage, there'd be less absenteeism at work due to mental illness, and less behaviors that interfere with work and productive behavior and efficiency at work, and so the employer would save money, thus being able to better afford more insurance coverage for their employees, thus putting more money into the insurance company. There are all SORTS of factors that play out over the medium- to long-term, that, if considered, and potentially implemented, would eventually reap many benefits.

All of this is probably obvious to most people, but again it can be summed up in those three words: Insurance companies, GRRRRRR!

(This message has been partially sponsored by Tony the Tiger, who was channeled by Sara's inner child.)

I want to do a post on some of the other factors that are broken or impaired in our mental and physical health care system, aside from the insurance (it can't be completely aside from it, as it is all interconnected . . . .)