• Apply
  • Archives
  • NewsWatch
  • Classifieds
  • Multimedia
    • Ole Miss in Puerto Rico
    • Campus Protests
    • The Queen of Marks
    • Meet Aubrey Armstrong, a Real Champion and Local Celebrity
    • Mississippi voters passed Initiative 65. What’s next?
    • One year later: COVID-19 at Ole Miss
    • “It’s Just Not Fair”: One Woman’s Fight For Access to Community Water
    • A way with words
Thursday, August 11, 2022
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
  • News
    State argues Jay Lee was strangled to death by Timothy Herrington

    State argues Jay Lee was strangled to death by Timothy Herrington

    Bond hearing postponed for man charged with student’s murder

    Bond hearing postponed for man charged with student’s murder

    Murder charge filed in connection with Jimmie “Jay” Lee case

    Murder charge filed in connection with Jimmie “Jay” Lee case

    “Hope for Jay”: LOU community gathers in support of missing student Jimmie “Jay” Lee

    “Hope for Jay”: LOU community gathers in support of missing student Jimmie “Jay” Lee

    Community, family searching for missing Ole Miss student Jay Lee

    Community, family searching for missing Ole Miss student Jay Lee

    Ole Miss welcomes new Student Media Center director

    Ole Miss welcomes new Student Media Center director

  • Sports
    Rebel Nation celebrates Ole Miss’ first College World Series championship

    Rebel Nation celebrates Ole Miss’ first College World Series championship

    Ole Miss Baseball returns home to crowd of fans

    Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

    Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

    Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

    Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

    Ole Miss is dominated again in game two

    Rebels victorious over Hogs, move on to bracket finals

    Rebs stay hot in Omaha, beat Auburn 5-1

    Rebs stay hot in Omaha, beat Auburn 5-1

  • Arts & Culture
    Ole Miss students study abroad in Taiwan, leave as China begins regular military drills

    Ole Miss students study abroad in Taiwan, leave as China begins regular military drills

    A step into the sports industry

    A step into the sports industry

    Ya heek ya balash: A month of exploring and experiencing Jordan

    Ya heek ya balash: A month of exploring and experiencing Jordan

    L.A. living

    L.A. living

  • Opinion

    Opinion: The shame of Confederate Heritage Month

    Farewell Column: I did my best and the DM did too

    Gas prices are Biden’s fault, not Putin’s

    CRT can’t be in Mississippi schools but homophobia must be?

  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact
  • News
    State argues Jay Lee was strangled to death by Timothy Herrington

    State argues Jay Lee was strangled to death by Timothy Herrington

    Bond hearing postponed for man charged with student’s murder

    Bond hearing postponed for man charged with student’s murder

    Murder charge filed in connection with Jimmie “Jay” Lee case

    Murder charge filed in connection with Jimmie “Jay” Lee case

    “Hope for Jay”: LOU community gathers in support of missing student Jimmie “Jay” Lee

    “Hope for Jay”: LOU community gathers in support of missing student Jimmie “Jay” Lee

    Community, family searching for missing Ole Miss student Jay Lee

    Community, family searching for missing Ole Miss student Jay Lee

    Ole Miss welcomes new Student Media Center director

    Ole Miss welcomes new Student Media Center director

  • Sports
    Rebel Nation celebrates Ole Miss’ first College World Series championship

    Rebel Nation celebrates Ole Miss’ first College World Series championship

    Ole Miss Baseball returns home to crowd of fans

    Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

    Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

    Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

    Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

    Ole Miss is dominated again in game two

    Rebels victorious over Hogs, move on to bracket finals

    Rebs stay hot in Omaha, beat Auburn 5-1

    Rebs stay hot in Omaha, beat Auburn 5-1

  • Arts & Culture
    Ole Miss students study abroad in Taiwan, leave as China begins regular military drills

    Ole Miss students study abroad in Taiwan, leave as China begins regular military drills

    A step into the sports industry

    A step into the sports industry

    Ya heek ya balash: A month of exploring and experiencing Jordan

    Ya heek ya balash: A month of exploring and experiencing Jordan

    L.A. living

    L.A. living

  • Opinion

    Opinion: The shame of Confederate Heritage Month

    Farewell Column: I did my best and the DM did too

    Gas prices are Biden’s fault, not Putin’s

    CRT can’t be in Mississippi schools but homophobia must be?

  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
No Result
View All Result

Americans need accessible mental health resources now

Hal FoxbyHal Fox
November 29, 2021
3 min read

The University of Mississippi’s Counseling Department never really gets a day off — working with the university’s population of nearly 25,000 students and faculty members, their services are in near-constant demand. 

As nearly one-fifth of Americans struggle with a mental health disorder, with numbers on the rise since the onset of the massive societal changes starting in March of 2020, mental health awareness has evolved into an absolute necessity. Many of my closest friends, some of the most important people to me in the world, struggle with mental health issues, and it’s very concerning to sometimes see them go without adequate care — even scarier is the fact that, oftentimes, were they to be in a real crisis where they might be a danger to themselves, a stay in a mental health hospital is completely off the table.

In 2018, former President Donald Trump gave the go-ahead to inadequate health care plans, called association health plans, that do not conform to Affordable Care Act standards and usually do not include mental health benefits. Ever since, many people have been unable to afford the cost of checking into a mental health hospital, regardless of how desperately they need treatment. 

In some circumstances, patients spending only five days in the hospital can face bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. Bills for mental health treatment in a hospital nearly always number in the thousands, with one study finding costs to patients are often 2.5 times the operating costs for the hospital. 

The reality is that most Americans are unable to afford these exorbitant and, frankly, parasitic prices. In fact, 63% of Americans aren’t even prepared for a $500 crisis — these are the real consequences of declining wages, with many Americans being forced to live paycheck to paycheck with little financial flexibility. Further medical debt only serves to financially constrain these Americans even more, all the while worsening their mental health. The purpose of the healthcare system should be to cure people and provide them treatment — not to worsen their existing problems.

The writing is on the wall: The for-profit medical system only serves to raise prices to unthinkable levels for a first-world country. The more privatized the healthcare system becomes, the more out of reach quality care becomes to the average American. The only way to ensure that every American receives the care they deserve is to publicize the healthcare system. The vast majority of studies, regardless of ideological orientation, agree that a single-payer system would save trillions of dollars when compared to our broken and inefficient one.

A broken healthcare system is unacceptable. And for college students, many of whom are away from home for the first time in their lives, adjusting to college can cause a lot of stress and quickly exacerbate mental health issues, rendering access to quality mental health services essential. Unfortunately, the present reality is that many college students from middle-income and low-income families have varying access to healthcare, often making current prices for mental health treatment out of reach. The healthcare system has failed them.

If some of those students struggle with suicidal thoughts and decide to act on those thoughts, they may be unwilling to receive treatment at a mental health facility. If they do opt for treatment, the medical debt could significantly impact their financial situation, and even attending college may become out of reach. There should be no question that the impacts to their mental health would be dire.

We need socialized healthcare, both to cut costs and save lives. On a more personal level, I need socialized healthcare to protect my friends, but everyone needs access to quality mental health care regardless. Life is often unkind, and the inevitable hard times and painful situations that come with it can make anyone need more intensive mental health assistance sometimes. 

If we want to protect the people we care about, if we want to do the nearly 66 million Americans that struggle with mental health justice, we need to ensure quality and affordable mental healthcare for everyone living in the United States. Anything less is unacceptable.

Hal Fox is a sophomore majoring in Chinese and international studies major from Robert, Louisiana.

In Case You Missed It

Ole Miss students study abroad in Taiwan, leave as China begins regular military drills

Ole Miss students study abroad in Taiwan, leave as China begins regular military drills

14 hours ago
A step into the sports industry

A step into the sports industry

14 hours ago
State argues Jay Lee was strangled to death by Timothy Herrington

State argues Jay Lee was strangled to death by Timothy Herrington

14 hours ago
Bond hearing postponed for man charged with student’s murder

Bond hearing postponed for man charged with student’s murder

2 weeks ago
Murder charge filed in connection with Jimmie “Jay” Lee case

Murder charge filed in connection with Jimmie “Jay” Lee case

3 weeks ago
“Hope for Jay”: LOU community gathers in support of missing student Jimmie “Jay” Lee

“Hope for Jay”: LOU community gathers in support of missing student Jimmie “Jay” Lee

3 weeks ago

Americans need accessible mental health resources now

Hal FoxbyHal Fox
November 29, 2021
3 min read

The University of Mississippi’s Counseling Department never really gets a day off — working with the university’s population of nearly 25,000 students and faculty members, their services are in near-constant demand. 

As nearly one-fifth of Americans struggle with a mental health disorder, with numbers on the rise since the onset of the massive societal changes starting in March of 2020, mental health awareness has evolved into an absolute necessity. Many of my closest friends, some of the most important people to me in the world, struggle with mental health issues, and it’s very concerning to sometimes see them go without adequate care — even scarier is the fact that, oftentimes, were they to be in a real crisis where they might be a danger to themselves, a stay in a mental health hospital is completely off the table.

In 2018, former President Donald Trump gave the go-ahead to inadequate health care plans, called association health plans, that do not conform to Affordable Care Act standards and usually do not include mental health benefits. Ever since, many people have been unable to afford the cost of checking into a mental health hospital, regardless of how desperately they need treatment. 

In some circumstances, patients spending only five days in the hospital can face bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. Bills for mental health treatment in a hospital nearly always number in the thousands, with one study finding costs to patients are often 2.5 times the operating costs for the hospital. 

The reality is that most Americans are unable to afford these exorbitant and, frankly, parasitic prices. In fact, 63% of Americans aren’t even prepared for a $500 crisis — these are the real consequences of declining wages, with many Americans being forced to live paycheck to paycheck with little financial flexibility. Further medical debt only serves to financially constrain these Americans even more, all the while worsening their mental health. The purpose of the healthcare system should be to cure people and provide them treatment — not to worsen their existing problems.

The writing is on the wall: The for-profit medical system only serves to raise prices to unthinkable levels for a first-world country. The more privatized the healthcare system becomes, the more out of reach quality care becomes to the average American. The only way to ensure that every American receives the care they deserve is to publicize the healthcare system. The vast majority of studies, regardless of ideological orientation, agree that a single-payer system would save trillions of dollars when compared to our broken and inefficient one.

A broken healthcare system is unacceptable. And for college students, many of whom are away from home for the first time in their lives, adjusting to college can cause a lot of stress and quickly exacerbate mental health issues, rendering access to quality mental health services essential. Unfortunately, the present reality is that many college students from middle-income and low-income families have varying access to healthcare, often making current prices for mental health treatment out of reach. The healthcare system has failed them.

If some of those students struggle with suicidal thoughts and decide to act on those thoughts, they may be unwilling to receive treatment at a mental health facility. If they do opt for treatment, the medical debt could significantly impact their financial situation, and even attending college may become out of reach. There should be no question that the impacts to their mental health would be dire.

We need socialized healthcare, both to cut costs and save lives. On a more personal level, I need socialized healthcare to protect my friends, but everyone needs access to quality mental health care regardless. Life is often unkind, and the inevitable hard times and painful situations that come with it can make anyone need more intensive mental health assistance sometimes. 

If we want to protect the people we care about, if we want to do the nearly 66 million Americans that struggle with mental health justice, we need to ensure quality and affordable mental healthcare for everyone living in the United States. Anything less is unacceptable.

Hal Fox is a sophomore majoring in Chinese and international studies major from Robert, Louisiana.

In Case You Missed It

Ole Miss students study abroad in Taiwan, leave as China begins regular military drills

Ole Miss students study abroad in Taiwan, leave as China begins regular military drills

14 hours ago
A step into the sports industry

A step into the sports industry

14 hours ago
State argues Jay Lee was strangled to death by Timothy Herrington

State argues Jay Lee was strangled to death by Timothy Herrington

14 hours ago
Bond hearing postponed for man charged with student’s murder

Bond hearing postponed for man charged with student’s murder

2 weeks ago
Murder charge filed in connection with Jimmie “Jay” Lee case

Murder charge filed in connection with Jimmie “Jay” Lee case

3 weeks ago
“Hope for Jay”: LOU community gathers in support of missing student Jimmie “Jay” Lee

“Hope for Jay”: LOU community gathers in support of missing student Jimmie “Jay” Lee

3 weeks ago

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
Mississippi Press Association

Sign up for The Morning Briefing, our newsletter with the top news of the day.

SUBSCRIBE

  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In