Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Blog

Recent research shows that one-half of all premature deaths of people who live with serious mental illnesses are caused by 19 diseases directly connected to smoking, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the general U.S. population, smoking rates over the past 50 years have dropped substantially—to about 18 percent. We have no similar improvement in the population of people living with mental illness; the rate of smoking for those with serious mental illnesses is 53 percent. This rate is higher than the smoking rate was in the general population in 1964, when the Surgeon General first warned of health harms associated with smoking. This is a public health crisis in our community, yet we also know that people are not getting the support they need to help them quit.  Read the full story on the NAMI website.

The majority of Californians do not realize that health insurance usually covers mental health care treatments, according to a new Field Poll, the Sacramento Bee reports.

The poll was conducted on behalf of the California HealthCare Foundation. CHCF publishes California Healthline.

The poll included 2,013 respondents and was conducted between June 5 and June 22 (Miller, Sacramento Bee, 9/17).

Findings

The poll found that 81% of respondents believed that treating individuals with mental health issues can help them lead healthy and productive lives.

About 77% of respondents said they would seek mental health counseling or treatment when necessary. However, just 60% of insured adults were aware that their health plan covers mental health treatment. Meanwhile, about 38% of Californians knew that health plans generally are required to offer such coverage with the same co-payments, deductibles and limits as other medical care.

Of respondents who said they or a family member had problems in the last year obtaining care for a mental health or substance misuse problem, 63% said they were unable to get treatment because of costs. In addition, about 47% of insured respondents cited a lack of coverage as the reason they could not obtain mental health care. Read more