THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 20, 1995 TAG: 9502170011
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
I am currently a graduate-level intern at a local psychiatric facility, and I work with adolescents who have behavior problems. I am concerned about our move toward providing care based completely on the HMO system.
In our country, we live under the misconception that health care, especially mental-health care, is designed to help people get better; to live more fulfilled lives; and, in the case of my clients, to correct some of the damage done by a less than perfect environment. In reality, treatment is based not on what best serves a client's needs but on what is most convenient for the institution or what insurance will pay for.
When money runs out, the question is not how to continue to provide services that the child in trouble still needs, but how to get the child out of the system as fast as possible. Decisions about treatment and placement are based not necessarily on the suggestions of a care provider or therapist who knows the client, but on the decisions of administrators and referral sources with dollars in mind.
As a service provider, I know that we all need to be paid for the work we do and that some decisions may have to be based on money; but the burning questions remain: What is the point of a mental-health-care system at all if people aren't given the time and resources to get better? Is it cheaper to pay for readmission rather than getting it right the first time? And what is our responsibility to these broken children?
JENNIFER A. MILEY
Norfolk, Jan. 31, 1995 by CNB