Prevention Proposal for Addressing Mental Health Crisis in Children and Teens (and Young Adults)
The Plan: Provide and encourage two office visits per year for all children, teens, and young adults to a mental health professional similar to the dental cleaning model
- allow for the young people to touch base with a mental health professional to discuss how life is going and determine whether follow up care is needed
- assess for emotional, behavioral needs and any need for acute care
Fiscal Impact:
- Historically Prevention Models can save money down the line
-Currently the cost of a therapeutic visit is around $150, so total cost per person would be $300 annually (Forbes, March 2023)
- The cost of a 4 day mental health hold is around $10,000 (NIH database)
But in reality how much are we willing to pay to greatly reduce violence against children in schools and the suicides for children, teens, and young people?
Feasibility: In reality making this change is a simple as doing it.
- Work with insurance companies to provide this prevention model and encourage it for their clients
-Currently in order to receive care we as professionals operate under the “medical necessity” model meaning that someone needs to be suffering in some significant capacity before meeting this criteria.
-This proposal flips this service to promote mental wellness through routine wellness checks twice per year, similar to dental cleanings. Although this would be framed in a new preventative light, many insurance companies may actually already cover two visits per year.
-The visits should include a small emotional/behavioral scale, and an abbreviated risk assessment in order to help us get care to those who most need it as fast as possible
But wouldn’t we need a multitude of more mental health providers to cover these services?
-Prevention research indicates that the earlier the treatment, the better the outcomes and the faster the results.
-A couple of sessions when someone has a small emotional issue likely will go a long way to preventing a need for extensive mental health services down the road, saving both money and mental health resources in the long run.
PSA: We need a national campaign encouraging the use of these two emotional and behavioral wellness checks every year. It is time of a model of prevention and wellness.
The Plan: Provide and encourage two office visits per year for all children, teens, and young adults to a mental health professional similar to the dental cleaning model
- allow for the young people to touch base with a mental health professional to discuss how life is going and determine whether follow up care is needed
- assess for emotional, behavioral needs and any need for acute care
Fiscal Impact:
- Historically Prevention Models can save money down the line
-Currently the cost of a therapeutic visit is around $150, so total cost per person would be $300 annually (Forbes, March 2023)
- The cost of a 4 day mental health hold is around $10,000 (NIH database)
But in reality how much are we willing to pay to greatly reduce violence against children in schools and the suicides for children, teens, and young people?
Feasibility: In reality making this change is a simple as doing it.
- Work with insurance companies to provide this prevention model and encourage it for their clients
-Currently in order to receive care we as professionals operate under the “medical necessity” model meaning that someone needs to be suffering in some significant capacity before meeting this criteria.
-This proposal flips this service to promote mental wellness through routine wellness checks twice per year, similar to dental cleanings. Although this would be framed in a new preventative light, many insurance companies may actually already cover two visits per year.
-The visits should include a small emotional/behavioral scale, and an abbreviated risk assessment in order to help us get care to those who most need it as fast as possible
But wouldn’t we need a multitude of more mental health providers to cover these services?
-Prevention research indicates that the earlier the treatment, the better the outcomes and the faster the results.
-A couple of sessions when someone has a small emotional issue likely will go a long way to preventing a need for extensive mental health services down the road, saving both money and mental health resources in the long run.
PSA: We need a national campaign encouraging the use of these two emotional and behavioral wellness checks every year. It is time of a model of prevention and wellness.
