Will I be able to get mental health help for a child in crisis?

Mental health help is crucial for a child, especially with the violence in our schools. Many parents and professionals claim that getting this help is much easier than done under managed care.

According to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), about 9 to 13 percent of children between the ages of 9 and 17 have a serious emotional disturbance with “substantial” impairment of normal functioning. About 5 to 9 percent deal with “extreme” impairment due to mental illness. 

According to the National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, unmet need for services remain as high today as if was 20 years ago – despite these numbers. According the evaluation made by the World Health Organization, childhood neruopschiatric disorders will rise by over 50 percent internationally by the year 2020.

Dr. Barry Herman, an Austin, Texas, child and adolescent psychiatrist and former HMO medical director says whether school violence is self-directed or aimed at other children, prompt help is critical to prevent tragedy.

Herman says, “It’s very hard for parents to get the appropriate treatment for their children under managed care. It’s a shell game all about cost-shifting rather than patient care. Many diagnoses specific to children and adolescents, such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and eating disorders, are excluded from coverage. These kids fall through the cracks”.

Sheri Larivee, a former consumer advocate for the National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers and a mother of a daughter suffering from a mental disorder was denied coverage for medical help.

Larivee claims, “I don’t think people realize there is a huge snowball affect of what a denial of benefits can do to a family. Insurance used to mean you were guaranteed against a certain loss or harm. Insurers now direct the medical care you and your children receive by controlling what benefits they will pay for. It’s now turned around. Insurers are guaranteeing against their loss and harm, not against ours.”

Herman recommends that parents need to become better educated consumers in order to get the mental health care help from HMOs their children need. Herman claims, “appeal everything” and as many times as it takes to secure the appropriate medical care. The best places to take your complaints, according to Herman, are:

• Your insurer
• Your state insurance department
• Your state legislators
• Your local media organizations