This year, Compassion Behavioral Health will be partnering with Bright Health Insurance to provide mental health and substance abuse services.
Bright Health is an affordable Florida Marketplace policy for individuals and families to obtain behavioral health insurance, including mental health and substance use disorder services and behavioral health treatment. The policy also includes prescription drugs and access to 67,000+ pharmacies nationwide. Taking care of your emotional health is just as vital as taking care of your physical well-being. Insurance providers such as Bright Health offer improved mental health benefits so you can have access to quality behavioral health services.
Bright Health also offers an expanded selection of telehealth services through primary care providers and partnerships with behavioral health facilities such as Compassion Behavioral Health. Video and telephone consultations are a great alternative to urgent care or same-day appointments and are available for a wide variety of needs – including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other mental health concerns.
The importance of mental health coverage
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), all Marketplace plans are required to cover behavioral health treatment, mental and behavioral health inpatient services, as well as substance use treatment.
The cost of mental health treatment has long been an obstacle for those seeking help. For many who had insurance before the Affordable Care Act was enacted, their policies often didn’t cover mental health care. For people with relatively minor mental health diagnoses, health plans were allowed to charge higher premiums. Some would just reject applicants who had preexisting mental health conditions such as addiction.
When it comes to mental health, the cost of prevention and treatment versus leaving the condition untreated is much lower in the long run. For example, the cost of maintaining an addiction is significantly higher than the cost of a treatment program. Alcohol addiction can cost upwards of $14,000 a year. Addiction to prescription opioids can cost anywhere from $3,500 to $70,000, and the average cost of heroin addiction can be almost as much as the average median income of $59,000. Addiction treatment is also much less expensive than its alternatives, such as incarceration. Aside from the actual cost of paying for alcohol and drugs, addiction can cost people their relationships, employment, and their physical well-being. Treatment centers such as Compassion Behavioral Health offer rehab programs that include education on addiction as a disease and individualized treatment plans to help their clients achieve long-term sobriety.
Mental illness often causes physical symptoms, which can easily be treated by a doctor, but screening for and treating the underlying cause is much more effective in the long run. Symptoms like headaches, digestive issues, sleep disturbances, “brain fog,” and chronic fatigue can indicate a mental health condition. The longer the condition goes untreated, the worse the symptoms could become, and the damage is sometimes irreversible.
Improved outcomes with mental health coverage
Numerous people suffer from mental health and substance abuse issues that are equally debilitating as some of the most severe physical illnesses. Before the Affordable Care Act was enacted, mental health care was often inaccessible for patients in individual or small-group health plans and people who lacked any insurance type.
There are several reasons why people would have lack of access to mental health treatment. Many people don’t seek it for various reasons such as lack of awareness and insight into their condition, practical barriers such as financial hardship and lack of transportation or child care, or the stigma surrounding mental illness. Fortunately, many insurance plans like Bright Health cover virtual therapy so that clients can have access to quality treatment through their care partners.
Bright Health’s covered Mental Health and substance use services include inpatient care and outpatient treatment such as crisis intervention, diagnosis, mental health assessments, medication management, substance use, and chemical dependency evaluations, referral services, Short-term individual, family therapy, and group therapeutic services including intensive outpatient therapy and treatment planning.
Studies have shown that when people have access to appropriate mental health care in a timely manner, they use medical services 90 percent less frequently. When people have access to quality mental health care, they reduce the risk of stress-related diseases, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.
Treating the whole person
When it comes to healthcare, it is imperative to treat the whole person. Since many mental health issues present as physical symptoms, primary care doctors are often the first line of defense when accessing mental health care. A primary care physician can treat physical ailments and screen for mental health issues such as substance abuse, depression, anxiety, bipolar and psychotic disorders.
Insurance policies with mental health benefits ensure that patients have access to care and mental health resources. With many behavioral health centers partnering with insurance companies such as Bright Health, the outcomes for individuals living with mental illness are drastically improved.
At Compassion Behavioral Health, each client is treated with a program specific to their needs to have success. We offer group, individual, and family therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, Neurotherapy, substance abuse treatment, and relapse prevention. If you have Bright Health Insurance, contact us to find out how we can help you.
