Title: U01: Ronald Reagan and the Federal Deinstitutionalization of Mentally Ill Patients | PSY 833: Ethics and Leadership (Wheeler)
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Content: all., 2015). From the consequentialist perspective one can assume that Regan thought that cutting the budget for mental health issues would do less harm than not cutting the budget. The OBRA gave mental ill patients a choice to seek treatment outside of a mental institution and the freedom to administer their own medication but it also put a stronger burden on families and those very people who are ill. It removed guaranteed access to individuals with the expertise to treat the mentally ill. It removed the ability for families to easily navigate the system to find sound help. It allowed each state to decide how much funding should be put into caring for the mentally ill-which after everything else that the state budget must consider–depending on its importance receives or doesn’t receive funding. Whether the state provides a lucrative budget for mental health facilities, dictates the level of care one can receive. Then it’s up to the private companies to supplement the lack of facilities. And, only the elite or well-off have access to such facilities as they can be quite expensive or only accept a certain type of insurance.