Healing Mind and Body: Behavioral Health and Reform

The health reform debate has heated up, featuring proposals from both the House and Senate. However, little of the discussion has focused on the area of mental health and substance use disorders. More than 33 million Americans are treated annually for mental health and substance use disorders. Mental illness and substance use disorders can have a profound impact on a person’s overall health and well-being. The passage of the Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in 2008 indicated that access to mental health and substance use disorder services is a priority. Yet there are concerns that the cost of accessing this care could rise as mental health parity regulations are implemented concurrent with the possibility that health reform legislation might include expansion of access to mental health services.

The Olmstead Decision Five Years Later: How Has It Affected Health Services and the Civil Rights of Individuals with Disabilities?

For decades, it was routine in the U.S. to house individuals with disabilities in institutions. Those with mental illnesses, for instance, were placed in “insane asylums,” as they were once called. The U.S. Supreme Court took a firm step toward ending this practice five years ago. In the Olmstead v. L.C. decision, the court found that institutional isolation of individuals with disabilities was, under certain circumstances, a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.