Insurance

  • Sharing – America’s Lack of Bereavement Leave Is Causing a Grief Crisis

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 3 minutes

    So people who are grieving do it privately. They barely function through the workday and then go home and grieve by themselves. They are left to process grief without any community and the support that provides. They are left to feel like there is something wrong with them because they still miss their loved ones as if that is somehow not normal.

    It is normal, we don’t simply forget the people we lose or the tragedies we experience and then move on. It sticks with you. You feel it again on birthdays and holidays, in places where you are reminded of them when you want to pick up the phone and tell them some exciting news. That doesn’t just go away after a set amount of time.

    We should stop pretending that it should and start making sure everyone has some space to grieve, no matter how long it’s been.

  • Sharing – Don’t Just Post About Supporting Those With Depression, Support Them

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

    John ends his post with an important message, one that I echo for sure because his story is something I’ve heard too many times. He talks about “reaching out” to people only to be dismissed. Being told “Oh you’re strong, you’ll get through this”, or that it’s not that serious, and then the struggle to reach out to a hotline or for professional help and be met with some short term strategies, and lack of available resources, etc. is how you “support” depression without really supporting the person in front of you dealing with depression.

    Just the other day I saw someone close to me talking about spending 45 minutes just trying to figure out how to set up an appointment with a therapist through the app her insurance has set up for her through her employer, before finally giving up.

    This is why we need reminders like this for the people we know, and why we need to remind the entire mental health care industry of this as well.

  • 2022 State of Mental Health Report Shows Shocking Lack of Access to Care

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

    The report is available to download in full, or you can skim some of the statistics. As you do though, pay special attention to the section on Access to Care, where you’ll learn things like the fact that over 27 million people in the US with some sort of mental health issue did not get any treatment. None. Not a bit. Even in the best state for matching treatment with patients, Vermont, almost 43% of people did not get care.

  • Looking at Insurance Data to Identify What Works to Prevent Abuse in an Organization

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

    This makes sense. Even something as common and necessary as background checks are only going to catch people who’ve already been caught before. It’s a good thing to do, but it leaves that gap. What doesn’t leave a gap is having policies and procedures in place that prevent anyone from being able to abuse kids when working with your organization. If being alone with a child is simply not acceptable for anyone, that closes those gaps.

    As the article goes on, that means rules like not giving kids gifts, not driving them home, etc. That’s what works, and it has to just be the culture in the organization, no questions asked. Create that culture, and you’re making the best effort to protect kids that you can make.