Allies and Enemies in the Fight for Mental Health Reform
By Nathan Ahlgrim The Need for Allies Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons . Mental healthcare in the United States is in need of serious reform. Mental healthcare is less accessible than other services , and efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act could put adequate care out of reach for millions more Americans. Opposition to mental healthcare reform comes from all sides, with the popular talking points demanding law and order, fiscal responsibility, and moral accountability. Still, the consequences of un- or under-treated people interacting with un- or under-trained authorities are hard to ignore, most strikingly in the criminal justice system. Americans with mental illnesses are sixteen times more likely to be shot by police , and more than half of all inmates in America suffer from mental health problems. Mental health reform, then, stands to benefit the healthcare system, criminal justice, and family structure itself. Given the opposition, legislative policy victories wil...