Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center
One of the main reasons people don’t seek treatment for mental health disorders is because they think they can’t afford it.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (PRWEB) December 30, 2013
JAMA Psychiatry recently released a study indicating that a significantly lower percentage of psychiatrists accept insurance than physicians in other specialties. This represents a major stumbling block in making mental health care more accessible, even with the implementation of new policies like the Affordable Care Act. The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center, a nationally renowned mental health treatment facility, is breaking the mold by accepting the major insurance carriers.
“One of the main reasons people don’t seek treatment for mental health disorders is because they think they can’t afford it,” says Ben Brafman, the founder and CEO of the Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center. “Our focus on increasing accessibility means that we have to make it easy to afford mental health treatment.”
Mental health has been a regular news focus lately, with the Affordable Care Act establishing parity between treatment for mental and physical health. In theory, insurers must cover mental health treatment on the same level that they cover physical health. In conjunction with the health insurance marketplaces, more people should now have access to improved insurance coverage. But what if insurance doesn’t solve the problem?
“Insurance doesn’t have to be the only option,” says Brafman, a behavioral and mental health treatment expert. “We always try to work with clients to create a payment plan that is best for them, whether that involves insurance coverage or not.”
The study published in JAMA Psychiatry indicated that while 88.7 percent of specialty physicians accept private insurance, only 55.3 percent of psychiatrists do. The numbers are of similar proportions for Medicare and Medicaid, raising the question: Why don’t psychiatrists accept insurance for mental health treatment?
The authors of the study out of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York found that administrative red tape, inadequate reimbursement, and skewed supply and demand led to the bulk of psychiatrists not accepting insurance. If these challenges are not addressed, improved policies may have little to no impact on these statistics.
“Accepting insurance is just one piece of the puzzle,” said Brafman, a 20-year veteran of the behavioral health industry. “It’s an important piece, yes, but there are other elements that need to fall into place before we as an industry can provide the maximum opportunity and access for our clients. That’s why our mental health treatment center provides a range of payment options, including insurance. We need to get more treatment for more people, and that means offering a range of choices while working behind the scenes to increase accessibility for everyone.”
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The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center is a full service mental health facility located in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Dedicated to helping individuals who suffer from mental illness find a path to living better, The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center offers a mental health program and support for a wide variety of mood and thought disorders including: depression, anxiety disorders, anger management, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. For more information on mental health treatment please contact The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center at 1-888-205-2775 or online at http://www.mentalhealthcenter.org.