Behavioral Health: A Costly and Often Untreated Aspect of Chronic Illness
Mental health is the costliest medical condition in the nation, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). It devastates individuals, families and communities. For many, behavioral health problems do not exist in a vacuum; they are inextricably linked with serious medical illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.
Krista Zodet, President, HealthWell Foundation
According to Mental Health America (MHA), the warning signs of behavioral health issues such as clinical depression are frequently discounted by patients and family members, who mistakenly assume feeling depressed is normal for people struggling with serious health conditions. MHA goes on to note that the symptoms of depression are frequently masked by these other medical illnesses, resulting in treatment that addresses the symptoms, but not the underlying depression.
New Real World Health Care Series
This year, Real World Health Care will bring you a year-long series on behavioral health issues associated with chronic illness. While we will cover a range of chronic illnesses, much of our focus will be on co-occurring disorders with cancer, a pervasive problem according to the statistics:
- The risk of psychological disability is six times higher for adults living with cancer than those not living with cancer.
- Adult cancer survivors are more than twice as likely to have disabling psychological problems as adults without cancer.
- One-third of cancer patients who are more than a year removed from their cancer diagnosis continue to experience distress across a range of issues, including worrying about the future, feeling lonely/isolated, and financial concerns.
- More than half of cancer patients do not receive social or emotional support as part of their care.
- Only 14 percent of cancer patients receive behavioral health counseling.
Research finds cancer patients with certain behavioral health conditions, who are untreated, may not make sound medical decisions, may avoid helpful treatments, or may not adhere to medication or other therapies, notably worsening health outcomes. In addition, if left untreated, behavioral health disorders among cancer patients have been shown to negatively influence the underlying cellular and molecular processes that facilitate the progression of cancer.
These are some of the reasons why experts in the cancer field and other chronic disease areas are calling for integrated behavioral health services that will contribute to better patient care and reduce system-wide costs.
Subscribe Today
We encourage you to subscribe to this Real World Health Care series on Behavioral Health by entering your email address in the sign-up box on the right-hand side of this page. You’ll be treated to insights on programs and initiatives from individuals and organizations dedicated to making sure that those with chronic illnesses like cancer are also getting the behavioral health treatments they need.
Helping Cancer Patients Get the Behavioral Health Treatments They Need
As the founding sponsor of Real World Health Care, the HealthWell Foundation is committed to helping patients get the medical treatments they need, regardless of their ability to pay. We’ve seen first-hand how financial distress can impact the health and lives of individuals and families. Cancer patients with behavioral health conditions are particularly hard hit; according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), they incur $8,000 more per year in health care costs than cancer patients without behavioral health conditions.
In keeping with our mission, we are pleased to announce the introduction of a new Cancer-Related Behavioral Health Fund, specifically for treatment-related behavioral health issues in cancer. The Fund will provide financial assistance to individuals with a diagnosis of cancer to help with cost-shares (deductibles, coinsurances and copayments) for covered services rendered by behavioral health providers (psychiatrists, psychologists and licensed social workers).
We invite readers of Real World Health Care to learn more about this new Fund, and how you can support it by visiting www.HealthWellFoundation.org.