Behavioral Health Services and HMOs

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The VA has gone through some major reorganization in the last few decades to meet the growing needs of what is mainly considered an aging veteran population. To meet the needs of veterans, many state’s VA departments have converted their services to long-term care and have also contracted clinical services.

Search the Internet using keywords “U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs” and locate your state’s VA. Search relevant information regarding the various VA services offered by your state’s VA. Using the information shared in the Web site and your textbook readings, discuss whether you agree or disagree that the current service structure for behavioral health is capable of meeting the current and future needs of veterans. Provide rationale to support your response.

The VA has gone through some major reorganization in the last few decades to meet the growing needs of what is mainly considered an aging veteran population. To meet the needs of veterans, many state’s VA departments have converted their services to long-term care and have also contracted clinical services.

Search the Internet using keywords “U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs” and locate your state’s VA. Search relevant information regarding the various VA services offered by your state’s VA. Using the information shared in the Web site and your textbook readings, discuss whether you agree or disagree that the current service structure for behavioral health is capable of meeting the current and future needs of veterans. Provide rationale to support your response.

Behavioral Health Services and HMOs

The basis of a HMO is to provide a comprehensive set of services from wellness and preventative to acute and chronic treatment. Behavioral health is unique because it is difficult to measure the outcomes, and in some instances, the comorbidity of mental illness and potential loss of function demands a higher level of services.

Search the Internet to find information on your preferred HMO. Review the information on the Web site to find out what kind of behavioral health services are supported, or offered, by the HMO.

Do you agree or di -+agree that the behavioral healthcare services covered by HMOs are considered adequate for patients with mental illness? Why? Compared to the services offered in public community mental health services, do you agree the services offered by HMOs measure up to the same level? Justify your answers with appropriate research and reasoning.pp

The basis of a HMO is to provide a comprehensive set of services from wellness and preventative to acute and chronic treatment. Behavioral health is unique because it is difficult to measure the outcomes, and in some instances, the comorbidity of mental illness and potential loss of function demands a higher level of services.

Search the Internet to find information on your preferred HMO. Review the information on the Web site to find out what kind of behavioral health services are supported, or offered, by the HMO.

Do you agree or di -+agree that the behavioral healthcare services covered by HMOs are considered adequate for patients with mental illness? Why? Compared to the services offered in public community mental health services, do you agree the services offered by HMOs measure up to the same level? Justify your answers with appropriate research and reasoning.pp

Current Issues in the Behavioral Healthcare System

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Current Issues in the Behavioral Healthcare System

In the course project assignments of the past four weeks, you have written on various topics dealing with trends and issues in the behavioral healthcare system. Those weekly project assignments can be used as references for writing your final research paper.

In addition, read and incorporate the following articles from the EBSCO host database into your paper:

  • Deakin, A. (2004, November). Finding your organization’s hidden        treasure. Behavioral Health Management, 24(6), 27-29.
  • Droppa, D., & Luczak, R. (2004, January). Collaboration, technology,and outcomes—A recipe to improve service delivery.

    Behavioral Health Management, 24(1), 41-44.

To complete the research paper, you will need to include an introduction and conclusion section as well as a title page and reference section. The title of the research paper will be the Current Issues in the Behavioral Healthcare System.

Your final paper is due for submission. The paper should adhere to the following guidelines:

  • The length of the paper should be eight to ten double-spaced pages (not including the title and reference pages).
  • The main sections should have a:
    • Title page
    • Introduction
    • Body of the paper (with subheadings)
    • Conclusion
    • Reference page(s)
  • The paper must use the APA format for citing sources and references.

Your final paper introduction (one page) should include the following points:

  • An overview of the research paper
  • The purpose or objective of the research paper

The body of the paper (five to six pages) should address each of the following topics using information learned in the course, in combination with outside references:

  • Based on your previous assignments and review of the literature, what are some of the major issues faced by today’s behavioral healthcare system? How have the current and future trends that are evolving in the industry addressed some of those issues?
  • Do you think there is a difference between the changing trends taking place in the private sector and that of public behavioral healthcare inpatient facilities? Based on your understanding about behavioral health services and the populations being served by them, do you agree that both private and public organizations are able to provide the necessary clinical services? Provide a rationale in support of your response.
  • In behavioral healthcare, outcomes are the established norm for measuring the success or lack of services. What are some of the major challenges in collecting the data needed to support and report behavioral health outcomes? Provide a rationale for your response.
  • Quality of care and services is an important part of an outcome-based strategy. The objective behind maintaining and improving quality is to provide competent and efficient services to consumers. In your opinion, do the current regulatory and accreditation standards for the behavioral health industry help to meet that objective? How?

Your conclusion (one to two pages) should include the following points:

  • What conclusions can you draw from your research that would demonstrate the role played by behavioral health in the healthcare industry?
  • What changes would you like to bring to today’s behavioral healthcare system in order to resolve the current issues identified?
  • Based on your literature review, if you were asked to conduct a formal research project on any of the topics discussed in the research paper, what would your choice be and why?

Discuss at least three factors influencing differences in the rates of satisfaction with quality of healthcare among African Americans and Hispanics.

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A lower percentage of African Americans and Hispanics report being satisfied with the quality of their healthcare than Caucasians. In the light of this, answer the questions that follow: • Discuss at least three factors influencing differences in the rates of satisfaction with quality of healthcare among African Americans and Hispanics. • Explain how differences in the healthcare received by people contribute to disparities in health. • Identify at least three strategies that can overcome these differences in care. Justify your responses by citing at least two scholarly sources. Support your responses with examples. In addition, respond to the following questions: • Explain why health indicators are an important tool in public health. • What are the leading health indicators as identified by Healthy People 2020? • Describe how organizations across the nation are addressing these priority health topics.A lower percentage of African Americans and Hispanics report being satisfied with the quality of their healthcare than Caucasians. In the light of this, answer the questions that follow: • Discuss at least three factors influencing differences in the rates of satisfaction with quality of healthcare among African Americans and Hispanics. • Explain how differences in the healthcare received by people contribute to disparities in health. • Identify at least three strategies that can overcome these differences in care. Justify your responses by citing at least two scholarly sources. Support your responses with examples. In addition, respond to the following questions: • Explain why health indicators are an important tool in public health. • What are the leading health indicators as identified by Healthy People 2020? • Describe how organizations across the nation are addressing these priority health topics.

Analyze the impact of managed care on cost, quality, and access within managed care organizations and the health insurance market

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  1. Compare the three (3) current health care financing and funding models (i.e., employee based, government based, and individual based) used with the healthcare delivery system of the United States.
  2. Compare and contrast key economic goals of public and private health insurance plans.  Evaluate the success potential of key economic goals in terms of populations covered, services included, financing arrangements, reimbursement strategies, and economic competition policies.
  3. Analyze the key effects of labor market, insurance market, and competitive market factors on health care delivery requirements at your current or previous organization of employment.
  4. Determine what changes are occurring in the economy or concerning labor and regulatory factors that must be considered in the future.
  5. Suggest the key national trends that you believe currently affect competition and pricing initiatives. Justify your response.
  6. Suggest the main quality indicators that typically affect health insurance pricing at the local level. Justify your response.
  7. Use a minimum of six (6) reputable references sources including three (3) sources from peer reviewed journals.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

  • Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
  • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

  • Assess current economic trends that influence the cost, quality, and access to care.
  • Analyze the impact of managed care on cost, quality, and access within managed care organizations and the health insurance market.
  • Use technology and information resources to research issues in health economics.
  • Write clearly and concisely about health economics using proper writing mechanics.