Compass Rose Benefits Group - Compass Health

Compass Rose Benefits Group  - compass health

Compass Rose Benefits Group  - compass health
Company Profile

Company History

For over 65 years, Compass Rose Benefits Group (CRBG) has offered a wide range of insurance solutions to an exclusive membership. The Compass Rose Health Plan caters exclusively to civilian employees and retirees of the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense and the Department of State; while all other products are open to the entire Federal Government.

In 1948, an organization known as the Government Employees Health Association (GEHA) allowed a small section of Federal Government employees to obtain low-cost group health insurance plans. Since that time, a number of insurance plans have been added or changed.

In 1960, the newly established Federal Employees Health Benefits(FEHB) Act of 1959 provided all Federal employees, annuitants, and eligible family members with the opportunity to voluntarily enroll in a group health benefits program with the government sharing the cost of participation. GEHA qualified under this Act and quickly entered into the FEHB program. Due to name similarities with another insurance carrier, GEHA changed its health plan name to the Association Benefit Plan (ABP).

For over 55 years, the Association Benefit Plan was underwritten by Mutual of Omaha. In 2006, the company name was changed to Compass Rose Benefits Group (CRBG) and eligibility was extended to include all employees of the Intelligence Community (IC). In 2007, Coventry Healthcare became the health plan underwriter. In 2008, CRBG extended eligibility to include civilian employees and retirees of the Department of Defense (DoD). In 2011, eligibility expanded once again to include employees of the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development and the network provider changed to UnitedHealthcare (UHC), which is one of the largest networks of providers and facilities in the FEHB market. In 2015, eligibility on insurance solutions (aside from the health plan) opened to include all employees of the Federal Government.

Evolution of Company Name

1948: Government Employees Health Association (GEHA)

2006: Compass Rose Benefits Group (CRBG)

Evolution of Health Plan Name

1948: Government Employees Health Association (GEHA)

1960: Association Benefit Plan (ABP)

2011: Compass Rose Health Plan

Evolution of Health Plan Underwriter

1948: Mutual of Omaha

2007: Coventry Healthcare

2011: UnitedHealthcare

Compass Rose Insurance Solutions

Compass Rose Insurance Solutions include:

  • Group Term Life Insurance underwritten by New York Life
  • Group Accident Plan
  • Legal Protection
  • Identity Theft Protection

Compass Rose Benefits Group  - compass health
Compass Rose Charities

Established in 2010, CRC provides financial assistance to members of the Intelligence Community (IC) who serve to protect our nation’s freedoms. Compass Rose Charities provides support through three programs:

  • Charity to Charity Support
  • Food & Fuel Support
  • Scholarships

Fuel and food assistance program

Compass Rose Charities, Inc. provides grants for Intelligence Community (IC) employees who have had an unforeseen emergencyâ€"personal hardship, death in the family or loss of propertyâ€"due to a natural disaster.

Applications are submitted through the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA). You must be currently employed by an Intelligence Community Agency, as defined by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Scholarships

The Compass Rose Charities, Inc. Scholarship Program is open to current employees of the Intelligence Community (IC) as defined by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and their dependent family members (spouse/child). FEEA administers this scholarship fund.

Charity to charity support

Compass Rose Charities, Inc. provides financial support to other charities with a similar purpose. Donations are made to help assist other charities that are part of a 501(c)(3) organizationâ€"supports civilian members of the Intelligence, Diplomatic, or Defense communities.

Programs Include (but are not limited to):

  • Federal Employee Emergency Assistance
  • Family Action Board
  • Companions4Heroes (C4H)
  • Operation Purple Camp
  • Fallen Diplomat Scholarship Fund
  • The Honor Flight Network

Compass Rose Benefits Group  - compass health
Further reading

  • Greaney, Meaghan. "Who We Are: The History Behind Compass Rose Benefits Group" (PDF). Compass Connection. Compass Rose Benefits Group. Retrieved 1 February 2011. 
  • [C:\Users\Ekillian.COMPASSROSEU\Desktop\Wikipedia\New Name Health Plan.pdf "New Name Health Plan"] (PDF). Compass Connection. Association Benefit Plan. Retrieved 1 January 2011. 

Compass Rose Benefits Group  - compass health
References

Compass Rose Benefits Group  - compass health
External links

  • http://www.compassrosebenefits.com
  • http://www.compassrosecharities.org
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Howard Bayless - Bradford Health Services

Howard Bayless  - bradford health services

Howard J. Bayless III (born 1965) is an American healthcare professional and politician from Birmingham, Alabama. On October 9, 2007, he was elected to the Birmingham Board of Education, making him the first openly gay man elected to public office in the state of Alabama. He did not seek re-election in 2009 but ran for Birmingham City Council against incumbent councilwoman Valerie Abbott, losing by 60% to 38%. His term on the school board ended in December 2009.

A product of Birmingham City Schools, he graduated from L. Frazier Banks High School in 1983. He went on the University of Montevallo and, years later, to University of St. Francis. Since 1989, he has worked at Bradford Health Services, a healthcare organization that provides substance abuse services to patients across Alabama and the southeastern United States.

A Crestwood resident since 1994, he ran in 2007 to replace Mike Higginbotham on the Birmingham School Board, representing District 3. Facing Earnest J. Lumpkin III, he won handily: gathering 4,059 votes (77.9%) to his opponent's 1,154 (22.1%). In so doing, he became the first openly gay man and only the second openly LGBT person elected to public office in Alabama (Patricia Todd had been the first, elected to the state House of Representatives in 2006).

He has held leadership positions in Equality Alabama, the Equality Fund of Alabama and the Equality Federation, as well as volunteering with many other organizations. Both his campaigns won the support of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

Howard Bayless  - bradford health services
References

Howard Bayless  - bradford health services
External links

  • Official campaign website


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The Valley Hospital - Valley Health System

The Valley Hospital  - valley health system

The Valley Hospital is a 451-bed, acute-care, not-for-profit hospital in Bergen County, New Jersey. Valley staff includes more than 1,100 physicians, 3,700 employees and 3,000 volunteers.

In 2015, Valley recorded 46,967 admissions, 74,185 emergency department visits and 3,384 births.

The Valley Hospital is part of Valley Health System, which also includes Valley Home Care and Valley Medical Group.

The Valley Hospital  - valley health system
Healthcare Services

Services available at The Valley Hospital include:

  • The Valley Heart and Vascular Institute
  • The Bolger Emergency Department
  • The Blumenthal Cancer Center
  • The Total Joint Replacement Center
  • The Valley Hospital Breast Center
  • The Center for Childbirth (including a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)
  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine services
  • Pediatrics (including a pediatric emergency room and developmental pediatrics)
  • The Neuroscience Center of Excellence
  • The Same-Day Services Center
  • The Valley Fertility Center
  • The Center For Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery
  • The Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery
  • The Center for Sleep Medicine
  • The Gamma Knife Center
  • Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU)

The Valley Hospital  - valley health system
Locations

Main Hospital Campus (223 North Van Dien Ave., Ridgewood)

The Valley Hospital’s main campus houses the hospital’s inpatient medical/surgical services and emergency department, as well as cardiovascular, orthopedic, oncology, mother/baby and neurology services.

Luckow Pavilion (1 Valley Health Plaza, Paramus)

The Robert and Audrey Luckow Pavilion is home to the George R. Jaqua Same Day Services Center, the Daniel and Gloria Blumenthal Cancer Center, the Valley Hospital Fertility Center and the Valley Health Pharmacy.

Kraft Center (15 Essex Road, Paramus)

Support offices for The Valley Hospital, Valley Home Care and Valley Medical Group, as well as the department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, are located at The Dorothy B. Kraft Center.

Kireker Center for Child Development (505 Goffle Road, Ridgewood)

The Center for Child Development offers care for children with special needs, including developmental pediatrics, rehabilitation therapy, audiology services, feeding therapy, autism programs and more.

555 Route 17 South, Paramus

The Valley Hospital Health and Fitness Center, Sports Institute and Mobile Intensive Care Unit are located at a satellite office on Route 17 South in Paramus, N.J.

The Valley Hospital  - valley health system
Affiliations

In December 2014, Valley announced its affiliation with the Mount Sinai Health System. The academic partnership brings new research opportunities to Valley, with the goal of enhancing the hospital’s clinical services and attracting leading physicians. Both institutions will remain independent.

In April 2015, Valley announced its affiliation with Cleveland Clinic's Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute. Through this affiliation, Valley has become a member of the Cleveland Clinic Cardiovascular Specialty Network. Both institutions will share best practices in cardiac care, coordinate care, and develop programs to improve quality of care and patient safety.

The Valley Hospital  - valley health system
Awards

Valley is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, making it one of the most honored healthcare organizations in New Jersey. Recognitions include Healthgrades 5-star ratings in various specialties; an "A" for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group; and a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures distinction from The Joint Commission, among others.

The Valley Hospital  - valley health system
Notable donations

In 2008, Valley announced a $30 million pledge by philanthropist David Bolger. The gift is thought to be the largest-ever single donation to a hospital in New Jersey.

The Valley Hospital  - valley health system
Expansion

The hospital is acquiring properties for expansion. A proposal to nearly double the size of the hospital has been rejected twice by Ridgewood's planning board, leading the hospital to ask a court to intervene.

The Valley Hospital  - valley health system
Hospital rating data

The HealthGrades website contains the clinical quality data for the Valley Hospital, as of 2017. For this rating section three different types of data from HealthGrades are presented: clinical quality ratings for thirty-five inpatient conditions and procedures, thirteen patient safety indicators and the percentage of patients giving the hospital as a 9 or 10 (the two highest possible ratings).

For inpatient conditions and procedures, there are three possible ratings: worse than expected, as expected, better than expected. For this hospital the data for this category is:

  • Worse than expected - 2
  • As expected - 19
  • Better than expected - 14

For patient safety indicators, there are the same three possible ratings. For this hospital safety indicators were rated as:

  • Worse than expected - 2
  • As expected - 5
  • Better than expected - 6

Percentage of patients rating this hospital as a 9 or 10 - 77% Percentage of patients who on average rank hospitals as a 9 or 10 - 69%

The Valley Hospital  - valley health system
References

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Mental Health - Sound Mental Health

Mental health  - sound mental health

Mental health is a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of mental illness. It is the "psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment". From the perspective of positive psychology or holism, mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life, and create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health includes "subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, inter-generational dependence, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential, among others." The WHO further states that the well-being of an individual is encompassed in the realization of their abilities, coping with normal stresses of life, productive work and contribution to their community. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how "mental health" is defined. A widely accepted definition of health by mental health specialists is psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud's definition: the capacity "to work and to love".

Mental health  - sound mental health
Mental health and mental illness

According to the U.S. surgeon general (1999), mental health is the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and providing the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity. The term mental illness refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disordersâ€"health conditions characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior associated with distress or impaired functioning.

A person struggling with his or her mental health may experience stress, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, grief, addiction, ADHD or learning disabilities, mood disorders, or other mental illnesses of varying degrees. Therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners or physicians can help manage mental illness with treatments such as therapy, counseling, or medication.

Mental health  - sound mental health
History

In the mid-19th century, William Sweetser was the first to coin the term "mental hygiene", which can be seen as the precursor to contemporary approaches to work on promoting positive mental health. Isaac Ray, one of the thirteen founders of the American Psychiatric Association, further defined mental hygiene as "the art of preserving the mind against all incidents and influences calculated to deteriorate its qualities, impair its energies, or derange its movements."

Dorothea Dix (1802â€"1887) was an important figure in the development of "mental hygiene" movement. Dix was a school teacher who endeavored throughout her life to help people with mental disorders, and to bring to light the deplorable conditions into which they were put. This was known as the "mental hygiene movement". Before this movement, it was not uncommon that people affected by mental illness in the 19th century would be considerably neglected, often left alone in deplorable conditions, barely even having sufficient clothing. Dix's efforts were so great that there was a rise in the number of patients in mental health facilities, which sadly resulted in these patients receiving less attention and care, as these institutions were largely understaffed.

Emil Kraepelin in 1896 developed the taxonomy mental disorders which has dominated the field for nearly 80 years. Later the proposed disease model of abnormality was subjected to analysis and considered normality to be relative to the physical, geographical and cultural aspects of the defining group.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Clifford Beers founded the Mental Health America - National Committee for Mental Hygiene after publication of his accounts from lived experience in lunatic asylums "A mind that found itself" in 1908 and opened the first outpatient mental health clinic in the United States.

The mental hygiene movement, related to the social hygiene movement, had at times been associated with advocating eugenics and sterilisation of those considered too mentally deficient to be assisted into productive work and contented family life. In the post-WWII years, references to mental hygiene were gradually replaced by the term 'mental health' due to its positive aspect that evolves from the treatment of illness to preventive and promotive areas of healthcare.

Mental health  - sound mental health
Significance

Mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. Over 26 percent of all Americans over the age of 18 meet the criteria for having a mental illness. Serious mental disorders affect an estimated 6 percent of the adult population, or approximately 1 in 17 people. A little more than half receive treatment. A WHO report estimates the global cost of mental illness at nearly $2.5 trillion (two-thirds in indirect costs) in 2010, with a projected increase to over $6 trillion by 2030.

Evidence from the World Health Organization suggests that nearly half of the world's population are affected by mental illness with an impact on their self-esteem, relationships and ability to function in everyday life. An individual's emotional health can also impact physical health and poor mental health can lead to problems such as substance abuse.

Maintaining good mental health is crucial to living a long and healthy life. Good mental health can enhance one's life, while poor mental health can prevent someone from living an enriching life. According to Richards, Campania, & Muse-Burke, "There is growing evidence that is showing emotional abilities are associated with prosocial behaviors such as stress management and physical health." Their research also concluded that people who lack emotional expression are inclined to anti-social behaviors (e.g., drug and alcohol abuse, physical fights, vandalism), which are a direct reflection of their mental health and suppress emotions.

Mental health  - sound mental health
Perspectives

Mental well-being

Mental health can be seen as an unstable continuum, where an individual's mental health may have many different possible values. Mental wellness is generally viewed as a positive attribute, even if the person does not have any diagnosed mental health condition. This definition of mental health highlights emotional well-being, the capacity to live a full and creative life, and the flexibility to deal with life's inevitable challenges. Some discussions are formulated in terms of contentment or happiness. Many therapeutic systems and self-help books offer methods and philosophies espousing strategies and techniques vaunted as effective for further improving the mental wellness. Positive psychology is increasingly prominent in mental health.

A holistic model of mental health generally includes concepts based upon anthropological, educational, psychological, religious and sociological perspectives, as well as theoretical perspectives from personality, social, clinical, health and developmental psychology.

An example of a wellness model includes one developed by Myers, Sweeney and Witmer. It includes five life tasksâ€"essence or spirituality, work and leisure, friendship, love and self-directionâ€"and twelve sub tasksâ€"sense of worth, sense of control, realistic beliefs, emotional awareness and coping, problem solving and creativity, sense of humor, nutrition, exercise, self care, stress management, gender identity, and cultural identityâ€"which are identified as characteristics of healthy functioning and a major component of wellness. The components provide a means of responding to the circumstances of life in a manner that promotes healthy functioning.

The tripartite model of mental well-being views mental well-being as encompassing three components of emotional well-being, social well-being, and psychological well-being. Emotional well-being is defined as having high levels of positive emotions, whereas social and psychological well-being are defined as the presence of psychological and social skills and abilities that contribute to optimal functioning in daily life. The model has received empirical support across cultures. The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) is the most widely used scale to measure the tripartite model of mental well-being.

Children and young adults

Mental health and stability is a very important factor in a person’s everyday life. Social skills, behavioural skills, and someone’s way of thinking are just some of the things that the human brain develops at an early age. Learning how to interact with others and how to focus on certain subjects are essential lessons to learn from the time we can talk all the way to when we are so old that we can barely walk. However, there are some people out there who have difficulty with these kind of skills and behaving like an average person. This is a most likely the cause of having a mental illness. A mental illness is a wide range of conditions that affect a person’s mood, thinking, and behavior. About 26% of people in the United States, ages 18 and older, have been diagnosed with some kind of mental disorder. However, not much is said about children with mental illnesses even though there are many that will develop one, even as early as age three.

The most common mental illnesses in children include, but are not limited to, ADHD, autism and anxiety disorder, as well as depression in older children and teens. Having a mental illness at a younger age is much different from having one in your thirties. Children's brains are still developing and will continue to develop until around the age of twenty-five. When a mental illness is thrown into the mix, it becomes significantly harder for a child to acquire the necessary skills and habits that people use throughout the day. For example, behavioral skills don’t develop as fast as motor or sensory skills do. So when a child has an anxiety disorder, they begin to lack proper social interaction and associate many ordinary things with intense fear. This can be scary for the child because they don’t necessarily understand why they act and think the way that they do. Many researchers say that parents should keep an eye on their child if they have any reason to believ e that something is slightly off. If the children are evaluated earlier, they become more acquainted to their disorder and treating it becomes part of their daily routine. This is opposed to adults who might not recover as quickly because it is more difficult for them to adapt.

Mental illness affects not only the person themselves, but the people around them. Friends and family also play an important role in the child’s mental health stability and treatment. If the child is young, parents are the ones who evaluate their child and decide whether or not they need some form of help. Friends are a support system for the child and family as a whole. Living with a mental disorder is never easy, so it’s always important to have people around to make the days a little easier. However, there are negative factors that come with the social aspect of mental illness as well. Parents are sometimes held responsible for their child’s own illness. People also say that the parents raised their children in a certain way or they acquired their behavior from them. Family and friends are sometimes so ashamed of the idea of being close to someone with a disorder that the child feels isolated and thinks that they have to hide their illness from others. When in reality, hi ding it from people prevents the child from getting the right amount of social interaction and treatment in order to thrive in today’s society.

Stigma is also a well-known factor in mental illness. Stigma is defined as “a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.” Stigma is used especially when it comes to the mentally disabled. People have this assumption that everyone with a mental problem, no matter how mild or severe, is automatically considered destructive or a criminal person. Thanks to the media, this idea has been planted in our brains from a young age. Watching movies about teens with depression or children with Autism makes us think that all of the people that have a mental illness are like the ones on TV. In reality, the media displays an exaggerated version of most illnesses. Unfortunately, not many people know that, so they continue to belittle those with disorders. In a recent study, a majority of young people associate mental illness with extreme sadness or violence. Now that children are becoming more and more open to technology and the media itself, future generat ions will then continue to pair mental illness with negative thoughts. The media should be explaining that many people with disorders like ADHD and anxiety, with the right treatment, can live ordinary lives and should not be punished for something they cannot help.

Sueki, (2013) carried out a study titled “The effect of suicideâ€"related internet use on users’ mental health: A longitudinal Study”. This study investigated the effects of suicide-related internet use on user’s suicidal thoughts, predisposition to depression and anxiety and loneliness. The study consisted of 850 internet users; the data was obtained by carrying out a questionnaire amongst the participants. This study found that browsing websites related to suicide, and methods used to commit suicide, had a negative effect on suicidal thoughts and increased depression and anxiety tendencies. The study concluded that as suicide-related internet use adversely affected the mental health of certain age groups it may be prudent to reduce or control their exposure to these websites. These findings certainly suggest that the internet can indeed have a profoundly negative impact on our mental health.

Controversy

Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz wrote that children used to make the choice to be good or bad, and today "all children are good, but some are mentally healthy and others are mentally ill". Free will, a behaviour or misbehaviour can not be an illness, along with the legal and literal differences between an adult and a child. For example a minor is not bound by contracts he/she makes.

Prevention

Mental health is conventionally defined as a hybrid of absence of a mental disorder and presence of well-being. Focus is increasing on preventing mental disorders. Prevention is beginning to appear in mental health strategies, including the 2004 WHO report "Prevention of Mental Disorders", the 2008 EU "Pact for Mental Health" and the 2011 US National Prevention Strategy. Prevention of a disorder at a young age may significantly decrease the chances that a child will suffer from a disorder later in life, and shall be the most efficient and effective measure from a public health perspective. Prevention may require the regular consultation of a physician for at least twice a year to detect any signs that reveal any mental health concerns.

Cultural and religious considerations

Mental health is a socially constructed and socially defined concept; that is, different societies, groups, cultures, institutions and professions have very different ways of conceptualizing its nature and causes, determining what is mentally healthy, and deciding what interventions, if any, are appropriate. Thus, different professionals will have different cultural, class, political and religious backgrounds, which will impact the methodology applied during treatment.

Research has shown that there is stigma attached to mental illness. In the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Psychiatrists organized the campaign Changing Minds (1998â€"2003) to help reduce stigma. Due to this stigma, responses to a positive diagnosis may be a display of denialism.

Many mental health professionals are beginning to, or already understand, the importance of competency in religious diversity and spirituality. The American Psychological Association explicitly states that religion must be respected. Education in spiritual and religious matters is also required by the American Psychiatric Association.

Mental health  - sound mental health
Emotional improvement

Unemployment has been shown to have a negative impact on an individual's emotional well-being, self-esteem and more broadly their mental health. Increasing unemployment has been show to have a significant impact on mental health, predominantly depressive disorders. This is an important consideration when reviewing the triggers for mental health disorders in any population survey. In order to improve your emotional mental health, the root of the issue has to be resolved. "Prevention emphasizes the avoidance of risk factors; promotion aims to enhance an individual's ability to achieve a positive sense of self-esteem, mastery, well-being, and social inclusion." It is very important to improve your emotional mental health by surrounding yourself with positive relationships. We as humans, feed off companionships and interaction with other people. Another way to improve your emotional mental health is participating in activities that can allow you to relax and take time for yourself. Yo ga is a great example of an activity that calms your entire body and nerves. According to a study on well-being by Richards, Campania and Muse-Burke, "mindfulness is considered to be a purposeful state, it may be that those who practice it believe in its importance and value being mindful, so that valuing of self-care activities may influence the intentional component of mindfulness."

Care navigation

Mental health care navigation helps to guide patients and families through the fragmented, often confusing mental health industries. Care navigators work closely with patients and families through discussion and collaboration to provide information on best therapies as well as referrals to practitioners and facilities specializing in particular forms of emotional improvement. The difference between therapy and care navigation is that the care navigation process provides information and directs patients to therapy rather than providing therapy. Still, care navigators may offer diagnosis and treatment planning. Though many care navigators are also trained therapists and doctors. Care navigation is the link between the patient and the below therapies. A clear recognition that mental health requires medical intervention was demonstrated in a study by Kessler et al. of the prevalence and treatment of mental disorders from 1990 to 2003 in the United States. Despite the prevalence of men tal health disorders remaining unchanged during this period, the number of patients seeking treatment for mental disorders increased threefold.

Mental health  - sound mental health
Emotional issues

Emotional mental disorders are a leading cause of disabilities worldwide. Investigating the degree and severity of untreated emotional mental disorders throughout the world is a top priority of the World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative, which was created in 1998 by the World Health Organization (WHO). "Neuropsychiatric disorders are the leading causes of disability worldwide, accounting for 37% of all healthy life years lost through disease.These disorders are most destructive to low and middle-income countries due to their inability to provide their citizens with proper aid. Despite modern treatment and rehabilitation for emotional mental health disorders, "even economically advantaged societies have competing priorities and budgetary constraints".

The World Mental Health survey initiative has suggested a plan for countries to redesign their mental health care systems to best allocate resources. "A first step is documentation of services being used and the extent and nature of unmet needs for treatment. A second step could be to do a cross-national comparison of service use and unmet needs in countries with different mental health care systems. Such comparisons can help to uncover optimum financing, national policies, and delivery systems for mental health care."

Knowledge of how to provide effective emotional mental health care has become imperative worldwide. Unfortunately, most countries have insufficient data to guide decisions, absent or competing visions for resources, and near constant pressures to cut insurance and entitlements. WMH surveys were done in Africa (Nigeria, South Africa), the Americas (Colombia, Mexico, United States), Asia and the Pacific (Japan, New Zealand, Beijing and Shanghai in the People's Republic of China), Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine), and the middle east (Israel, Lebanon). Countries were classified with World Bank criteria as low-income (Nigeria), lower middle-income (China, Colombia, South Africa, Ukraine), higher middle-income (Lebanon, Mexico), and high-income.

The coordinated surveys on emotional mental health disorders, their severity, and treatments were implemented in the aforementioned countries. These surveys assessed the frequency, types, and adequacy of mental health service use in 17 countries in which WMH surveys are complete. The WMH also examined unmet needs for treatment in strata defined by the seriousness of mental disorders. Their research showed that "the number of respondents using any 12-month mental health service was generally lower in developing than in developed countries, and the proportion receiving services tended to correspond to countries' percentages of gross domestic product spent on health care". "High levels of unmet need worldwide are not surprising, since WHO Project ATLAS' findings of much lower mental health expenditures than was suggested by the magnitude of burdens from mental illnesses. Generally, unmet needs in low-income and middle-income countries might be attributable to these nations spending r educed amounts (usually <1%) of already diminished health budgets on mental health care, and they rely heavily on out-of-pocket spending by citizens who are ill equipped for it".

Mental health  - sound mental health
Treatment

Activity therapies

Activity therapies, also called recreation therapy and occupational therapy, promote healing through active engagement. Making crafts can be a part of occupational therapy. Walks can be a part of recreation therapy.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a process of gaining control of physical processes and brainwaves. It can be used to decrease anxiety, increase well-being, increase relaxation, and other methods of mind-over-body control.

Expressive therapies

Expressive therapies are a form of psychotherapy that involves the arts or art-making. These therapies include music therapy, art therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy, and poetry therapy.

Group therapy

Group therapy involves any type of therapy that takes place in a setting involving multiple people. It can include psychodynamic groups, activity groups for expressive therapy, support groups (including the Twelve-step program), problem-solving and psychoeducation groups.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is the general term for scientific based treatment of mental health issues based on modern medicine. It includes a number of schools, such as gestalt therapy, psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy.

Meditation

The practice of mindfulness meditation has several mental health benefits, such as bringing about reductions in depression, anxiety and stress. Mindfulness meditation may also be effective in treating substance use disorders. Further, mindfulness meditation appears to bring about favorable structural changes in the brain.

Spiritual counseling

Spiritual counselors meet with people in need to offer comfort and support and to help them gain a better understanding of their issues and develop a problem-solving relation with spirituality. These types of counselors deliver care based on spiritual, psychological and theological principles.

Mental health  - sound mental health
Social work in mental health

Social work in mental health, also called psychiatric social work, is a process where an individual in a setting is helped to attain freedom from overlapping internal and external problems (social and economic situations, family and other relationships, the physical and organizational environment, psychiatric symptoms, etc.). It aims for harmony, quality of life, self-actualization and personal adaptation across all systems. Psychiatric social workers are mental health professionals that can assist patients and their family members in coping with both mental health issues and various economic or social problems caused by mental illness or psychiatric dysfunctions and to attain improved mental health and well-being. They are vital members of the treatment teams in Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in hospitals. They are employed in both outpatient and inpatient settings of a hospital, nursing homes, state and local governments, substance abuse clinics, correctional facilities, health care services...etc.

In the United States, social workers provide most of the mental health services. According to government sources, 60 percent of mental health professionals are clinically trained social workers, compared to 10 percent of psychiatrists, 23 percent of psychologists, and 5 percent of psychiatric nurses.

Mental health social workers in Japan have professional knowledge of health and welfare and skills essential for person's well-being. Their social work training enables them as a professional to carry out Consultation assistance for mental disabilities and their social reintegration; Consultation regarding the rehabilitation of the victims; Advice and guidance for post-discharge residence and re-employment after hospitalized care, for major life events in regular life, money and self-management and in other relevant matters in order to equip them to adapt in daily life. Social workers provide individual home visits for mentally ill and do welfare services available, with specialized training a range of procedural services are coordinated for home, workplace and school. In an administrative relationship, Psychiatric social workers provides consultation, leadership, conflict management and work direction. Psychiatric social workers who provides assessment and psychosocial interventi ons function as a clinician, counselor and municipal staff of the health centers.

Roles and functions

Social workers play many roles in mental health settings, including those of case manager, advocate, administrator, and therapist. The major functions of a psychiatric social worker are promotion and prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. Social workers may also practice:

  • Counseling and psychotherapy
  • Case management and support services
  • Crisis intervention
  • Psychoeducation
  • Psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery
  • Care coordination and monitoring
  • Program management/administration
  • Program, policy and resource development
  • Research and evaluation

Psychiatric social workers conduct psychosocial assessments of the patients and work to enhance patient and family communications with the medical team members and ensure the inter-professional cordiality in the team to secure patients with the best possible care and to be active partners in their care planning. Depending upon the requirement, social workers are often involved in illness education, counseling and psychotherapy. In all areas, they are pivotal to the aftercare process to facilitate a careful transition back to family and community.

History

United States

During the 1840s, Dorothea Lynde Dix, a retired Boston teacher who is considered the founder of the mental health movement, began a crusade that would change the way people with mental disorders were viewed and treated. Dix was not a social worker; the profession was not established until after her death in 1887. However, her life and work were embraced by early psychiatric social workers, and she is considered one of the pioneers of psychiatric social work along with Elizabeth Horton, who in 1907 was the first psychiatric social worker in the New York hospital system, and others. The early twentieth century was a time of progressive change in attitudes towards mental illness. Community Mental Health Centers Act was passed in 1963. This policy encouraged the deinstitutionalisation of people with mental illness. Later mental health consumer movement came by 1980s. A consumer was defined as a person who has received or is currently receiving services for a psychiatric condition. Peo ple with mental disorders and their families became advocates for better care. Building public understanding and awareness through consumer advocacy helped bring mental illness and its treatment into mainstream medicine and social services. In the 2000s focus was on Managed care movement which aimed at a health care delivery system to eliminate unnecessary and inappropriate care in order to reduce costs & Recovery movement in which by principle acknowledges that many people with serious mental illness spontaneously recover and others recover and improve with proper treatment.

Role of social workers made an impact with 2003 invasion of Iraq and War in Afghanistan (2001â€"14) social workers worked out of the NATO hospital in Afghanistan and Iraq bases. They made visits to provide counseling services at forward operating bases. Twenty-two percent of the clients were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, 17 percent with depression, and 7 percent with alcohol abuse. In 2009, a high level of suicides was reached among active-duty soldiers: 160 confirmed or suspected Army suicides. In 2008, the Marine Corps had a record 52 suicides. The stress of long and repeated deployments to war zones, the dangerous and confusing nature of both wars, wavering public support for the wars, and reduced troop morale have all contributed to the escalating mental health issues. Military and civilian social workers are primary service providers in the veterans’ health care system.

Mental health services, is a loose network of services ranging from highly structured inpatient psychiatric units to informal support groups, where psychiatric social workers indulges in the diverse approaches in multiple settings along with other paraprofessional workers.

Canada

A role for psychiatric social workers was established early in Canada’s history of service delivery in the field of population health. Native North Americans understood mental trouble as an indication of an individual who had lost their equilibrium with the sense of place and belonging in general, and with the rest of the group in particular. In native healing beliefs, health and mental health were inseparable, so similar combinations of natural and spiritual remedies were often employed to try to relieve both mental and physical illness. These communities and families greatly valued holistic approaches for preventative health care. Indigenous peoples in Canada have faced cultural oppression and social marginalization through the actions of European colonizers and their institutions since the earliest periods of contact. Culture contact brought with it many forms of depredation. Economic, political, and religious institutions of the European settlers all contributed to the displ acement and oppression of indigenous people. The officially recorded treatment practices started in 1714, when Quebec opened wards for the mentally ill. Asylums for the insane were opened in 1835 in Saint John, New Brunswick, and in 1841 in Toronto, when care for the mentally ill became institutionally based. In the 1860s industrial capitalism began, which lead to a social and economic dislocation in many forms. By 1887 asylums were converted to hospitals and nurses and attendants were employed for the care of the mentally ill. In 1918 Clarence Hincks & Clifford Beers founded the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene, which later became the Canadian Mental Health Association. In 1930s Dr. Clarence Hincks promoted prevention and of treating sufferers of mental illness before they were incapacitated/early detection. World War II profoundly affected attitudes towards mental health. The medical examinations of recruits revealed that thousands of apparently healthy adults su ffered mental difficulties. This knowledge changed public attitudes towards mental health, and stimulated research into preventive measures and methods of treatment. In 1951 Mental Health Week was introduced across Canada. For the first half of the twentieth century, with a period of deinstitutionalisation beginning in the late 1960s psychiatric social work succeeded to the current emphasis on community-based care, Psychiatric Social Work focused beyond the medical model’s aspects on individual diagnosis to identify and address social inequities and structural issues. In the 1980s Mental Health Act was amended to give consumers the right to choose treatment alternatives. Later the focus shifted to workforce mental health issues and environment.

India

The earliest citing of Mental disorders in India are from Vedic Era (2000 BC - AD 600). Charaka Samhita, an ayurvedic textbook believed to be from 400â€"200 BC describes various factors of mental stability. It also has instructions regarding how to setup a care delivery system. In the same era In south India Siddha was a medical system, the great sage Agastya, one of the 18 siddhas contributing to a system of medicine has included the Agastiyar Kirigai Nool, a compendium of psychiatric disorders and their recommended treatments. In Atharva Veda too there are descriptions and resolutions about mental health afflictions. In the Mughal period Unani system of medicine was introduced by an Indian physician Unhammad in 1222. Then existed form of psychotherapy was known then as ilaj-i-nafsani in Unani medicine.

The 18th century was a very unstable period in Indian history, which contributed to psychological and social chaos in the Indian subcontinent. In 1745 of lunatic asylums were developed in Bombay (Mumbai) followed by Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1784, and Madras (Chennai) in 1794. The need to establish hospitals became more acute, first to treat and manage Englishmen and Indian ‘sepoys’ (military men) employed by the British East India Company. The First Lunacy Act (also called Act No. 36) that came into effect in 1858 was later modified by a committee appointed in Bengal in 1888. Later, the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912 was brought under this legislation. A rehabilitation programme was initiated between 1870s and 1890s for persons with mental illness at the Mysore Lunatic Asylum, and then an occupational therapy department was established during this period in almost each of the lunatic asylums. The programme in the asylum was called ‘work therapy’. In this programme, persons with ment al illness were involved in the field of agriculture for all activities. This programme is considered as the seed of origin of psychosocial rehabilitation in India.

Berkeley-Hill, superintendent of the European Hospital (now known as the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), established in 1918), was deeply concerned about the improvement of mental hospitals in those days. The sustained efforts of Berkeley-Hill helped to raise the standard of treatment and care and he also persuaded the government to change the term ‘asylum’ to ‘hospital’ in 1920. Techniques similar to the current token-economy were first started in 1920 and called by the name ‘habit formation chart’ at the CIP, Ranchi. In 1937, the first post of psychiatric social worker was created in the child guidance clinic run by the Dhorabji Tata School of Social Work (established in 1936), It is considered as the first documented evidence of social work practice in Indian mental health field.

After Independence in 1947, general hospital psychiatry units (GHPUs) where established to improve conditions in existing hospitals, while at the same time encouraging outpatient care through these units. In Amritsar a Dr. Vidyasagar, instituted active involvement of families in the care of persons with mental illness. This was advanced practice ahead of its times regarding treatment and care. This methodology had a greater impact on social work practice in the mental health field especially in reducing the stigmatisation. In 1948 Gauri Rani Banerjee, trained in the United States, started a master’s course in medical and psychiatric social work at the Dhorabji Tata School of Social Work (Now TISS). Later the first trained psychiatric social worker was appointed in 1949 at the adult psychiatry unit of Yervada mental hospital, Pune.

In various parts of the country, in mental health service settings, social workers were employedâ€"in 1956 at a mental hospital in Amritsar, in 1958 at a child guidance clinic of the college of nursing, and in Delhi in 1960 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and in 1962 at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. In 1960, the Madras Mental Hospital (Now Institute of Mental Health), employed social workers to bridge the gap between doctors and patients. In 1961 the social work post was created at the NIMHANS. In these settings they took care of the psychosocial aspect of treatment. This had long-term greater impact of social work practice in mental health.

In 1966 by the recommendation Mental Health Advisory Committee, Ministry of Health, Government of India, NIMHANS commenced Department of Psychiatric Social Work in and started a two-year Postgraduate Diploma in Psychiatric Social Work was introduced in 1968. In 1978, the nomenclature of the course was changed to MPhil in Psychiatric Social Work. Subsequently, a PhD Programme was introduced. By the recommendations Mudaliar committee in 1962, Diploma in Psychiatric Social Work was started in 1970 at the European Mental Hospital at Ranchi (now CIP), upgraded the program and added other higher training courses subsequently.

A new initiative to integrate mental health with general health services started in 1975 in India. The Ministry of Health, Government of India formulated the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and launched it in 1982. The same was reviewed in 1995 and based on that, the District Mental Health Program (DMHP) launched in 1996 and sought to integrate mental health care with public health care. This model has been implemented in all the states and currently there are 125 DMHP sites in India.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in 1998 and 2008 carried out systematic, intensive and critical examinations of mental hospitals in India. This resulted in recognition of the human rights of the persons with mental illness by the NHRC. From the NHRC's report as part of the NMHP, funds were provided for upgrading the facilities of mental hospitals. This is studied to result in positive changes over the past 10 years than in the preceding five decades by the 2008 report of the NHRC and NIMHANS. In 2016 Mental Health Care Bill was passed which ensures and legally entitles access to treatments with coverage from insurance, safeguarding dignity of the afflicted person, improving healthcare access and free medications.

Lack of any universally accepted single licensing authority compared to foreign countries puts Social Workers at general in risk. But general bodies/councils accepts automatically a university qualified Social Worker as a professional licensed to practice or as a qualified clinician. Lack of a centralized council in tie-up with Schools of Social Work also makes a decline in promotion for the scope of social workers as mental health professionals. Though in this midst the service of Social Workers has given a facelift of the mental health sector in the country with other allied professionals.

Mental health  - sound mental health
Globalist perspectives

Evidence suggests that 450 million people worldwide are impacted by mental health, major depression ranks fourth among the top 10 leading causes of disease worldwide. Within 20 years, mental illness is predicted to become the leading cause of disease worldwide. Women are more likely to have a mental illness than men. One million people commit suicide every year and 10 to 20 million attempt it.

Canada

According to statistics released by the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health one in five people in Ontario experience a mental health or addiction problem. Young people ages 15 to 25 are particularly vulnerable. Major depression is found to affect 8% and anxiety disorder 12% of the population. Women are 1.5 times more likely to suffer from mood and anxiety disorders. WHO points out that there are distinct gender differences in patterns of mental health and illness. The lack of power and control over their socioeconomic status, gender based violence; low social position and responsibility for the care of others render women vulnerable to mental health risks. Since more women than men seek help regarding a mental health problem, this has led to not only gender stereotyping but also reinforcing social stigma. WHO has found that this stereotyping has led doctors to diagnose depression more often in women than in men even when they display identical symptoms. Often communication betwe en health care providers and women is authoritarian leading to either the under-treatment or over-treatment of these women.

Organizations

Firstly, Women's College Hospital is specifically dedicated to women's health in Canada. This hospital is located at the heart of downtown, Toronto where there are several locations available for specific medical conditions. WCH is a great organization that helps educate women on mental illness due to its specialization with women and mental health. Women's College Hospital helps women who have symptoms of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause. They also focus on psychological issues, abuse, neglect and mental health issues from various medications.

The countless aspect about this organization is that WCH is open to women of all ages, including pregnant women that experience poor mental health. WCH not only provides care for good mental health, but they also have a program called the "Women's Mental Health Program" where doctors and nurses help treat and educate women regarding mental health collaboratively, individually, and online by answering questions from the public.

The second organization is the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). CAMH is one of Canada's largest and most well-known health and addiction facilities, and it has received international recognitions from the Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre. They practice in doing research in areas of addiction and mental health in both men and women. In order to help both men and women, CAMH provides "clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues." CAMH is different from Women's College Hospital due to its widely known rehab centre for women who have minor addiction issues, to severe ones. This organization provides care for mental health issues by assessments, interventions, residential programs, treatments, and doctor and family support.

United States

According to the World Health Organization in 2004, depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States for individuals ages 15 to 44. Absence from work in the U.S. due to depression is estimated to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status and prognosis. Each year, roughly 30,000 Americans take their lives, while hundreds of thousands make suicide attempts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In 2004, suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), third among individuals ages 15â€"24. Despite the increasingly availability of effectual depression treatment, the level of unmet need for treatment remains high. By way of comparison, a study conducted in Australia during 2006 to 2007 reported that one-third (34.9%) of patients diagnosed with a m ental health disorder had presented to medical health services for treatment.

There are many factors that influence mental health including:

  • Mental illness, disability, and suicide are ultimately the result of a combination of biology, environment, and access to and utilization of mental health treatment.
  • Public health policies can influence access and utilization, which subsequently may improve mental health and help to progress the negative consequences of depression and its associated disability.

Emotional mental illnesses should be a particular concern in the United States since the U.S. has the highest annual prevalence rates (26 percent) for mental illnesses among a comparison of 14 developing and developed countries. While approximately 80 percent of all people in the United States with a mental disorder eventually receive some form of treatment, on the average persons do not access care until nearly a decade following the development of their illness, and less than one-third of people who seek help receive minimally adequate care.

Policies

The mental health policies in the United States have experienced four major reforms: the American asylum movement led by Dorothea Dix in 1843; the "mental hygiene" movement inspired by Clifford Beers in 1908; the deinstitutionalization started by Action for Mental Health in 1961; and the community support movement called for by The CMCH Act Amendments of 1975.

In 1843, Dorothea Dix submitted a Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts, describing the abusive treatment and horrible conditions received by the mentally ill patients in jails, cages, and almshouses. She revealed in her Memorial: "I proceed, gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of insane persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience…." Many asylums were built in that period, with high fences or walls separating the patients from other community members and strict rules regarding the entrance and exit. In those asylums, traditional treatments were well implemented: drugs were not used as a cure for a disease, but a way to reset equilibrium in a person's body, along with other essential elements such as healthy diets, fresh air, middle class culture, and the visits by their neighboring residents. In 1866, a recommendation came to the New York State L egislature to establish a separate asylum for chronic mentally ill patients. Some hospitals placed the chronic patients into separate wings or wards, or different buildings.

In A Mind That Found Itself (1908) Clifford Whittingham Beers described the humiliating treatment he received and the deplorable conditions in the mental hospital. One year later, the National Committee for Mental Hygiene (NCMH) was founded by a small group of reform-minded scholars and scientists â€" including Beer himself â€" which marked the beginning of the "mental hygiene" movement. The movement emphasized the importance of childhood prevention. World War I catalyzed this idea with an additional emphasis on the impact of maladjustment, which convinced the hygienists that prevention was the only practical approach to handle mental health issues. However, prevention was not successful, especially for chronic illness; the condemnable conditions in the hospitals were even more prevalent, especially under the pressure of the increasing number of chronically ill and the influence of the Depression.

In 1961, the Joint Commission on Mental Health published a report called Action for Mental Health, whose goal was for community clinic care to take on the burden of prevention and early intervention of the mental illness, therefore to leave space in the hospitals for severe and chronic patients. The court started to rule in favor of the patients' will on whether they should be forced to treatment. By 1977, 650 community mental health centers were built to cover 43 percent of the population and serve 1.9 million individuals a year, and the lengths of treatment decreased from 6 months to only 23 days. However, issues still existed. Due to inflation, especially in the 1970s, the community nursing homes received less money to support the care and treatment provided. Fewer than half of the planned centers were created, and new methods did not fully replace the old approaches to carry out its full capacity of treating power. Besides, the community helping system was not fully establishe d to support the patients' housing, vocational opportunities, income supports, and other benefits. Many patients returned to welfare and criminal justice institutions, and more became homeless. The movement of deinstitutionalization was facing great challenges.

After realizing that simply changing the location of mental health care from the state hospitals to nursing houses was insufficient to implement the idea of deinstitutionalization, the National Institute of Mental Health in 1975 created the Community Support Program (CSP) to provide funds for communities to set up a comprehensive mental health service and supports to help the mentally ill patients integrate successfully in the society. The program stressed the importance of other supports in addition to medical care, including housing, living expenses, employment, transportation, and education; and set up new national priority for people with serious mental disorders. In addition, the Congress enacted the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 to prioritize the service to the mentally ill and emphasize the expansion of services beyond just clinical care alone. Later in the 1980s, under the influence from the Congress and the Supreme Court, many programs started to help the patients reg ain their benefits. A new Medicaid service was also established to serve people who were suffering from a "chronic mental illness." People who were temporally hospitalized were also provided aid and care and a pre-release program was created to enable people to apply for reinstatement prior to discharge. Not until 1990, around 35 years after the start of the deinstitutionalization, did the first state hospital begin to close. The number of hospitals dropped from around 300 by over 40 in the 1990s, and finally a Report on Mental Health showed the efficacy of mental health treatment, giving a range of treatments available for patients to choose.

However, several critics maintain that deinstitutionalization has, from a mental health point of view, been a thoroughgoing failure. The seriously mentally ill are either homeless, or in prison; in either case (especially the latter), they are getting little or no mental health care. This failure is attributed to a number of reasons over which there is some degree of contention, although there is general agreement that community support programs have been ineffective at best, due to a lack of funding.

The 2011 National Prevention Strategy included mental and emotional well-being, with recommendations including better parenting and early intervention programs, which increase the likelihood of prevention programs being included in future US mental health policies. The NIMH is researching only suicide and HIV/AIDS prevention, but the National Prevention Strategy could lead to it focusing more broadly on longitudinal prevention studies.

In 2013, United States Representative Tim Murphy introduced the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, HR2646. The bipartisan bill went through substantial revision and was reintroduced in 2015 by Murphy and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. In November 2015, it passed the Health Subcommittee by an 18-12 vote.

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Foundation For Women's Health, Research And Development ... - Forward Health

Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development ... - forward health
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Anthem Inc. - Anthem Health Insurance

Anthem Inc.  - anthem health insurance

Anthem Inc. is an American health insurance company founded in the 1940s, prior to 2014 known as WellPoint, Inc. It is the largest for-profit managed health care company in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It was formed when Anthem Insurance Company acquired WellPoint Health Networks, Inc., with the combined company adopting the name WellPoint, Inc.; trading on the NYSE for the combined company began under the WLP symbol on December 1, 2004. On December 3, 2014, WellPoint changed its corporate name to Anthem Inc, and its NYSE ticker changed from WLP to ANTM.

Anthem Inc.  - anthem health insurance
History

Anthem Insurance Company

Anthem Insurance Company grew out of two Indianapolis, Indiana based mutual insurance companies, Mutual Hospital Insurance Inc. and Mutual Medical Insurance Inc. formed in 1944 and 1946. The companies grew significantly, controlling 80% of the medical insurance market in Indiana by the 1970s. In 1972 they came together to create a joint operating agreement, and merged in 1985 as parent company, Associated Insurance Companies, Inc, to form Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana.

In 1986 Associated Insurance Companies changed its name to The Associated Group (TAG) to reflect its expanded focus, and began heavily expanding outside Indiana, acquiring numerous insurance companies and creating new subsidiaries throughout the late 1980s through the mid-1990s.

Formerly Anthem Inc. was an insurance company which began in the 1980s as a spin-off of the group insurance operations of American General Insurance.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was created as part of the merger of The Associated Group with Community Mutual Insurance Co. of Cincinnati.

From its move to a publicly traded company in 2001 until its final merger in 2004, it merged the Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations of several states to achieve economy of scale, converting them in the process from non-profit to for-profit status. In late 2004, Anthem and WellPoint merged, with the combined company taking the WellPoint name. That Anthem no longer exists as a company, but the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield brand name is used by WellPoint in 11 states.

In October 2001, Anthem demutualized and conducted an initial public offering of common stock. WellPoint, Inc. (formerly Anthem, Inc.) was formed when WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and Anthem, Inc. merged in 2004 to become the nation's leading health benefits company.

WellPoint Health Network Inc.'s predecessor was Blue Cross of California, which was founded in 1982 with the consolidation of Blue Cross of Northern California (established in 1936) and Blue Cross of Southern California (established in 1937). WellPoint was formed in 1992 to operate Blue Cross of California's managed care business. In 1993, Blue Cross of California spun off its managed care business into a separate publicly traded entity, WellPoint Health Networks Inc. In 1996, Blue Cross of California completed the conversion of all its business to for-profit status, resulting in a restructuring that designated WellPoint Health Networks Inc. as the parent organization. Anthem and WellPoint achieved a portion of this growth through mergers and acquisitions.

Wellpoint, Inc. was formed in November 2004 following a merger of Anthem and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. The merger was structured as Anthem acquiring WellPoint Health Networks and rebranding itself WellPoint, Inc. When the deal was originally announced in October 2003, the merger was set at $16.5 billion. The fair market value of the merger when completed in December 2004 was approximately $20.8 billion. At the time of the merger's completion, WellPoint was the largest American insurer.

In December 2014: WellPoint changed its corporate name to Anthem Inc..

Anthem Inc.  - anthem health insurance
Timeline

Anthem/Associated Insurance

  • 1940's: Anthem began in Indianapolis, Indiana as Mutual Hospital Insurance Inc. and Mutual Medical Insurance Inc. The companies grew significantly, controlling 80% of the medical insurance market in Indiana by the 1970s.
  • 1972: The two firms, now known as Blue Cross of Indiana and Blue Shield of Indiana, entered into a joint operating agreement.
  • 1980's: Anthem Inc. began as an insurance company as a spin-off of the group insurance operations of American General Insurance.
  • 1985: The two merged into Associated Insurance Companies, Inc, a holding company. But usage of the name "Anthem" persisted.
  • 1986: Associated Insurance Companies began expanding outside of Indiana, acquiring numerous insurance companies and creating new subsidiaries.
  • 1986: Associated Insurance Companies changed its name to The Associated Group to coincide with its expanded focus. Associated Insurance's acquisitions included Anthem Health, Inc., a national company offering group life and health insurance; Raffensperger, Hughes & Co., Inc., Indiana's largest investment bank; and the Shelby Insurance Co., a property and casualty insurance business.

The Associated Group

  • 1989: The Associated Group founded Acordia, brokerage that sold and serviced insurance and employee benefit programs.
  • 1992: The Associated Group took Acordia.
  • 1993: Acordia acquired American Business Insurance for $130 million and the Federal Kemper Insurance Company for $100 million.
  • 1993: The Associated Group bought Southeastern Mutual Insurance Company, the operator of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kentucky. The deal was the first cross-state merger of major Blues plans in America. By the end of 1993, Associated Insurance posted annual profits of $65.4 million with $3.4 billion in revenue.
  • 1995: The Associated Group acquired Community Mutual Insurance (a provider of Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance plans in Ohio with over 1.9 million policy holders), then set up Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
  • 1995: The Associated Group began offering its Blue Cross Blue Shield products to consumers under the Anthem name.
  • 1996: The Associated Group changed its name to Anthem Insurance Company.

Anthem Blue Cross

Anthem Blue Cross (in full 'Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield') is a subsidiary of insurance giant Anthem Inc.. Anthem has about 800,000 customers, and has more individual policyholders in California than any other insurer. It is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association based in Thousand Oaks, California. Wellpoint had a net income of $2.49 billion in 2008, and $4.7 billion in 2009. Leslie Margolin became Anthem Blue Cross's company president in January 2008, and also was chief executive officer of the firm’s Life and Health affiliate. Joseph Swedish is currently chief executive officer of the company.

Anthem Insurance Company

  • 1996: Anthem began to exclusively focus on healthcare benefits. Anthem later added 850,000 policy holders with its purchase of Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies in New Hampshire, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine and Nevada.
  • 1997: Anthem acquires Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut.
  • 1997: Anthem Group sold Acordia to a group of private investors.
  • 1999: Anthem acquires Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Colorado and Nevada.
  • 1999: Anthem Group's revenue had grown to $6.3 billion. Among its customer base were 2.4 million PPO enrollees and 964,000 with HMOs.
  • 2000: Anthem acquires Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine.
  • October 2001: Anthem converted from a mutual insurance company to a publicly held stock company, which made it the 4th largest public managed health care company in America.
  • 2002: Anthem acquires Trigon Healthcare of Virginia, a Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan in Virginia, the largest insurer in Virginia, for $4.04 billion. Associated Insurance reached 11.9 million members

Blue Cross of California

Blue Cross of California was WellPoint Health Network Inc.'s predecessor

  • 1982: Blue Cross of California was founded with the consolidation of Blue Cross of Northern California (established in 1936) and Blue Cross of Southern California (established in 1937).
  • 1992: WellPoint was formed to operate Blue Cross of California's managed care business.
  • 1993, Blue Cross of California spun off its managed care business into a separate publicly traded entity, WellPoint Health Networks Inc. Blue Cross of California retained 80% of the company and had "nearly all" of the company's voting shares.
  • January 1993: Blue Cross California became an independent for-profit subsidiary with an IPO. Blue Cross of California retained 80% of the company and had "nearly all" of the company's voting shares.
  • 1996: Blue Cross of California completed converting all its business to for-profit status, resulting in a restructuring that designated WellPoint Health Networks Inc. as its parent organization. After this, WellPoint Health Networks Inc. began heavy expansion.

WellPoint Health Networks

  • April 1996: WellPoint completed its acquisition of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company's group life and health insurance subsidiaries for approximately $380 million. With the acquisition, WellPoint had nearly 4 million policy holders, which made it the second largest publicly held managed health company in the US.
    • WellPoint continued its expansion and acquired into 10 other states such as Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and offer life, disability, and dental insurance to all its rosters.
  • March 1997: WellPoint acquired the group health and life businesses of John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. for $86.7 million. With this acquisition, WellPoint expanded its presence into Michigan, Texas, and the mid-Atlantic and gained a unit that concentrated on serving the needs of large employers.
  • 2000: By then Wellpoint's net income was $342.3 million with revenues of $9.23 billion.
  • 2000: WellPoint acquires PrecisionRx, a mail service pharmacy fulfillment center in Texas.
  • 2001, WellPoint acquired Rush Prudential Health Plans, a Chicago provider, for $204 million.
  • March 2001: WellPoint acquired Cerulean Companies, the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia.
  • 2002: WellPoint acquired RightChoice Managed Care, a Missouri-based company, for $1.5 billion in 2002.
  • WellPoint acquires HealthLink in the mid-West.
  • 2002: WellPoint acquires MethodistCare in Houston, Texas.
  • 2003: WellPoint acquires Golden West Dental and Vision in Camarillo, California.
  • 2003: WellPoint acquires Cobalt Corp. and its family of companies, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield United of Wisconsin.
  • October 2003: Anthem announced it would acquire WellPoint Health Networks for $16.5 billion.

WellPoint, Inc.

  • November 2004: Wellpoint, Inc. was formed by merging of Anthem Insurance Company and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. The merger was structured as Anthem acquiring WellPoint Health Networks and rebranding itself WellPoint, Inc. When the deal was originally announced in October 2003, the merger was set at $16.5 billion. WellPoint still used Anthem as the brand name under which it operated. It sold its Blue Cross and Blue Shield products in 11 states. Ultimately, Anthem became the name that consumers knew the company as.
  • December 2004: The Anthem and WellPoint Health Networks deal was completed. The fair market value of the acquisition at time of its completion was approximately $20.8 billion. The newly merged company was renamed WellPoint, Inc.
  • 2005: WellPoint acquired Alexandria, Va.-based Lumenos, a provider of consumer-driven health plans, for $185 million. Lumenos was the pioneer and market leader in consumer-driven health plans.
  • 2005: WellPoint, Inc. and WellChoice, Inc., merge, making New York the 14th state in which WellPoint is a Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee.
  • December 2005: WellPoint acquired WellChoice, a New York-based Blue Cross Blue Shield provider, for approximately $6.5 billion.
  • 2007: WellPoint acquired Chicago-based American Imaging Management, the leading radiology benefit management company, that creates software to help physicians choose cost-effective locations for their patients to receive medical imaging tests.
  • 2007: WellPoint, Inc. acquires Chicago based American Imaging Management (AIM), the leading radiology benefit management company.
  • 2008: WellPoint acquired Resolution Health, a firm that analyzes patient history for potential medical problems such as adverse drug interactions.
  • 2009: WellPoint acquired DeCare Dental (a dental insurance firm).
  • 2011: WellPoint acquired CareMore, a Cerritos, California-based company that provides insurance and care centers for elderly patients.
  • 2012: WellPoint acquired Amerigroup for $4.9 billion, anticipating significant revenue growth due to Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
  • 13 August 2014: WellPoint announced it intended to change its name to Anthem, Inc.

Anthem name revived

  • December 2014: WellPoint changed its corporate name to Anthem Inc. and its NYSE ticker symbol from WLP to ANTM.
  • December 2014: Anthem Inc. announced that it was to acquire Simply Healthcare Holdings, Inc., a leading Medicaid and Medicare managed care company in Florida.
  • June 2015: Anthem announced an offer to acquire Cigna, a global health insurance service company, for more than $47 billion in cash and stock.
  • July 2015: Anthem and Cigna announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement, valuing the transaction at $54.2 billion on an enterprise basis.
  • February 2017: A US District Court ruling blocked the Cigna merger on anticompetitive grounds. In February 14, 2017, Cigna Corp. called off its $48 billion merger agreement with Anthem Inc., with Anthem stating it would "continue to enforce its rights under the merger agreement and remains committed to closing the transaction."

Anthem Inc.  - anthem health insurance
Quality of care

In the category of "Meeting National Standards of Care" California's state patient advocacy office gave Anthem a rating of 2 out of 4 stars in its 2011 annual report card. In 2014 it received 3 out of 4 stars in the same category.

Anthem Inc.  - anthem health insurance
Controversies

Giving for uninsured

In 2007, WellPoint pledged to spend $30 million over three years, through the company's charitable foundation, to help the uninsured. In March 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that WellPoint's tax records and website showed that the company gave only $6.2 million by 2009. The company disputed that, saying that the foundation did fulfill its $30-million commitment by mid-2009, but declined to provide any financial details to support its position.

Policy cancellations

In 2007, the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC), a California state regulatory agency, investigated Anthem Blue Cross's policies for revoking (rescinding) health care insurance policies. The DMHC randomly selected 90 instances where Anthem Blue Cross canceled the insurance of policy holders who had been diagnosed with costly or life-threatening illnesses, to find how many of these cancellations were legal. The agency concluded that all these cancellations were illegal. "In all 90 files, there was no evidence [that Blue Cross], before rescinding coverage, investigated or established that the applicant's omission/misrepresentation was willful," the DMHC report said.

In July 2008, Anthem Blue Cross agreed to a settlement with the California Department of Managed Health Care. To resolve allegations of improper policy rescissions (cancellations), WellPoint paid $10 million and reinstated 1,770 policy-holders whose plans they had cancelled. They also agreed to provide compensation for any medical debts incurred by these policy-holders in the meantime. However, WellPoint did not officially admit liability.

In April 2010, a report in Reuters alleged that Wellpoint "using a computer algorithm, identified women recently diagnosed with breast cancer and then singled them out for cancellation of their policies." The story not only caused considerable public outrage, but led Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, and President Barack Obama, to call on WellPoint to end the practice.

In 2011 Anthem Blue Cross began cancelling policies of members who had been paying premiums with credit cards, sometimes without calling or emailing the member ahead of time.

Opposition to health care reform

The former Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs at WellPoint, Elizabeth Fowler, is the Senior Counsel to Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and a leading opponent of the public option in health care reform.

In August 2009, WellPoint’s Anthem Blue Cross unit, the largest for-profit insurer in California, contacted its employees and urged them to get involved to oppose Congress' plan for health care reform. Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit watchdog organization in Santa Monica, asked California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to investigate its claim that WellPoint had illegally pushed workers to write to their elected officials, attend town hall meetings and enlist family and friends to ensure an overhaul that matches the firm’s interests. According to Consumer Watchdog, California's labor code directly prohibits coercive communications, including forbidding employers from controlling, coercing or influencing employees' political activities or affiliations. WellPoint had not been contacted by the California attorney general and had not seen any complaint.

Through 2010 and into 2011, WellPoint senior executives met monthly with executives of other major health insurers to blunt the effect of the health care reform law.

2009 premium increase in Maine

In 2009, Anthem Health Plans of Maine, a WellPoint subsidiary, sued the state of Maine for the right to increase premiums further. Since Maine licenses insurance companies through its Department of Insurance, Anthem would need the state's permission to raise rates. The Court disagreed with Anthem and found that, unlike other forms of insurance, the Maine Insurance Code does not require the Superintendent to consider profits at all.

2010 premium increase in California

In February 2010, WellPoint announced that some Anthem Blue Cross individual policies in California would see a rate increase as high as 39%. This announcement resulted in an investigation by the US Federal and California government regulators. Because of this, Anthem Blue Cross gained worldwide media attention and became a poster child for the problem of rising US health costs, when it announced that it was raising rates on some individual policy holders by as much as 39% as of March 2010. The rate increase came one year after Anthem had raised rates 68% on individual policy holders. This announcement resulted in an investigation by the US Federal and California government regulators.

To explain the latest rate increases, some which were four times the rate of medical inflation, Anthem said the company has experienced a death spiral, as unemployment and declining wages led healthy customers to drop their insurance, the remaining risk pool becomes sicker and more expensive to insure, and, in turn, prices are forced up and push more people out of the market.

In response to the outrage from politicians and consumers, Anthem postponed the rate increase until May 1, 2010. Given Anthem’s rate increase plans, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democratic Senator of California, has proposed giving the federal government authority to block insurance premium hikes considered to be "unjustified".

Reclassifying expenses

On 17 March 2010, WellPoint announced it was reclassifying some of its administrative costs as medical care costs in order to meet new loss ratio requirements under the health care law, which requires insurers to spend at least 80% or 85% of customer premiums on health care services, depending on the type of plan.

2009-10 security breach

In June 2010, Anthem sent letters to 230,000 customers in California warning them that their personal data might have been accessed online. After a routine upgrade in October 2009, a third-party vendor stated that all security measures had been properly reinstated, when in fact they had not. As a result, personal information of thousands of coverage applicants who were under the age of 65 was exposed in the open. After a Los Angeles-area woman found that her application for coverage was publicly available, she filed a class-action lawsuit against Anthem. While gathering evidence for the proceeding, the woman's lawyers downloaded some confidential customer information from Anthem's website and alerted Anthem about the breach. According to the lawyers, confidential information had remained out in the open for five months.

Denying benefits

In May 2014, Anthem Blue Cross refused to pay for the hospitalization of a Sonoma County, California man for stage four cancers, although he had paid Anthem over $100,000.00 in premiums. Anthem ended up paying for coverage following public outcry.

2015 medical data breach

On February 4, 2015, Anthem, Inc. disclosed that criminal hackers had broken into its servers and potentially stolen over 37.5 million records that contain personally identifiable information from its servers. According to Anthem, Inc., the data breach extended into multiple brands Anthem, Inc. uses to market its healthcare plans, including, Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Amerigroup, Caremore, and UniCare. Healthlink says it was also a victim. Anthem says the medical information and financial data was not compromised. Anthem has offered free credit monitoring in the wake of the breach. According to Bloomberg News, China may be responsible for this data breach. Michael Daniel, chief adviser on cybersecurity for President Barack Obama, said he would be changing his own password. According to The New York Times about 80 million company records were hacked, and there is fear that th e stolen data will be used for identity theft. On February 7, 2015 Elizabeth Weise wrote in USA Today that the compromised information contained names, birthdays, medical IDs, social security numbers, street addresses, e-mail addresses and employment information, including income data.

Anthem Inc.  - anthem health insurance
References

Anthem Inc.  - anthem health insurance
Further reading

  • International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 25. St. James Press, 1999
  • Anders, George, "Blue Cross of California Sells Stake in WellPoint Health for $476 Million," Wall Street Journal, January 28, 1993.
  • Connolly, Jim, "California Blue Cross Plans to Start For-Profit Sub," National Underwriter Life & Health-Financial Services Edition, September 14, 1992.

Anthem Inc.  - anthem health insurance
External links

  • Wellpoint Website
  • Article about unethical practices of Blue Cross of California
  • Sourcewatch profile
  • Center for Responsive politics profile (Blue Cross/WellPoint)
  • Investors
  • Anthem Insurance and Anthem Blue Cross web site
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield national web site
  • Summary of Anthem rate increase news [1]
  • Center for Responsive politics profile (Blue Cross/WellPoint)- www.opensecrets.org
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