The US government spends $193.2 million to care for people with mental illnesses. One such illness is the bipolar mental disorder. It causes unusual shifts in ability to carry out normal activities as well as triggering mood changes (Nicholson, 2018, p.114). An approximated 18.5% of adults and 21.4% of youth are reported to suffer from the disorder.

Public Financing Resources

One public financing resources available for such patients is the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). It provides monthly payment to individual who cannot work to earn a living as a result of the mental disorder. There are various requirements that the patients must meet in order to receive the funds. They must be unable to perform duties they did before, inability to shift to other work as a result of the condition and that the disorder has lasted or is expected to last for at least one year or result to death (Pellegrini & Geissler, 2018, p.2603). The funds have a limitation that make some of the patients with the disorder fail to benefit from them. The funds benefit the individuals who have paid taxes to the Social Security system for at least six years at the time when they were working.

Failure in meeting of eligibility standards

Individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria for the Social Security Disability Insurance funds will apply for consideration for Supplementary Security Income (SSI).SSI is a welfare program that offers financial assistance and health care coverage to persons with low or no income and with limited access to healthcare such as the disabled, children and adults.

Methods for alternative funding

Apart from SSDI and SSI, persons with bipolar mental disorder can fund their medical care by use of social insurance and out of pocket payments. The social insurance is cover is advantageous as it allows the individuals who cannot afford the healthcare fee to access health care. The out of pocket method allows individuals to choose the health care they prefer and can afford, hence avoiding the health services imposed on them by the health centers (Godfrey-Wood  & Mamani-Vargas, 2019, p.27).However, the two methods have demerits that make them ineffective funding methods. Social insurance cover has limitations in scope while out the of pocket funding could be costly for some patients.

References

Godfrey-Wood, R., & Mamani-Vargas, G. (2019). ‘It really saves us’ versus ‘it doesn’t cover       everything’:             The benefits and limitations of a non-contributory pension in the Bolivian altiplano. Ageing and             Society, 39(1), 17-44. Doi: 10.1017/S0144686X17000460

Nicholson, P. J. (2018). Common mental disorders and work. British Medical Bulletin, 126(1),    113-121. doi:10.1093/bmb/ldy014

Pellegrini, L. C., & Geissler, K. H. (2018). Social security disability insurance enrollment and      health care employment. Health Services Research, 53(4), 2591-2614. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.12764