| The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was | | | | to assist small businesses to provide comprehensive |
| passed in March of this past year, and aims to | | | | workplace wellness programs. Grants will be awarded |
| improve all aspects of our country's health services. | | | | to eligible employers to provide their employees with |
| One aspect that will be much-improved is the area of | | | | access to new workplace wellness initiatives. |
| mental health care. | | | | The grants will be awarded beginning in 2011 with |
| Insufficient coverage and a lack of programs that | | | | $200 million appropriated for a five-year period. The |
| educate the public on mental illness have plagued the | | | | PPACA spells out that a comprehensive workplace |
| United States for quite some time. With the passage | | | | wellness program must be made available to all |
| of the new law, a number of new provisions aim to | | | | employees and include health awareness |
| change the public's perception of mental illnesses and | | | | initiatives(including health education, preventive |
| offer programs and other initiatives to help those | | | | screenings, and health risk assessments) as well as |
| who need mental health care. A few of those | | | | supportive environment efforts (including workplace |
| provisions include: | | | | policies to encourage healthy lifestyles, healthy eating, |
| - Improvements to Medicaid (including the expansion | | | | increased physical activity, and improved mental |
| of eligibility) that will allow more people to experience | | | | health). |
| the benefits of mental health services | | | | The improved workplace atmosphere when it comes |
| - Several new options for people with disabilities | | | | to mental illness awareness is particularly important, |
| - Improve coordination and communication between | | | | as knowledge about mental health is notoriously |
| primary care and mental health services | | | | absent from workplace programs. It has been studied |
| - Much more... | | | | that employees are eager to become more |
| Essentially, what this means is that, over time, | | | | understanding of mental illnesses and ways to treat |
| individuals with mental illnesses will have access to | | | | them, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care |
| health insurance that covers mental illness and | | | | Act aims to accomplish that. |
| substance abuse services, giving people | | | | Mental health services will be experiencing a major |
| unprecedented help and cooperation from the | | | | renovation with the government's commitment to |
| government. Other services include prevention | | | | overall health care reform. Those with mental illnesses |
| programs, new insurance plans for long-term | | | | will find it easier to seek help and others will find |
| community care, and more. | | | | much more information on mental illnesses to create |
| The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also | | | | a better understanding of how these health services |
| aims to improve health services in the workplace. It | | | | operate. By creating a more cohesive health care |
| specifies that starting in 2014, employers can offer | | | | system for mental illnesses, our society will not only |
| bigger incentives for employees' positive lifestyle | | | | become more fluid in its operations, but more |
| practices or participation in health promotion | | | | knowledgeable and, therefore, better for it. |
| programs. The PPACA also creates a grant program | | | | |