Alliance Note: The disparities in access to quality preventive mental health services has a direct financial impact people seeking support and the United States at large. A report released last month details the projected growth of avoidable spending in the US due to mental health inequities. The authors of the report expect this spending, currently at $477.5 Billion a year, could exceed nearly $1.3 Trillion annually by 2040. This burden is most felt by populations the system has historically struggled to appropriately serve. The report states “certain populations such as racial or ethnic minority groups, the justice-involved community (including incarcerated individuals, parolees, etc.), people living with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, low-income individuals, and many others, have historically experienced challenges at a rate that is unsettlingly high.”
The report not only details the deep disparities felt by underserved communities, but also offers recommendations to reduce these disparities as well as the financial burdens placed on these communities. The recommendations are simple ones many of us in the field have been calling for, including improving access to effective culturally responsive service, increasing integrated models of care to pair physical and mental health services, and funding more preventive services. One clear finding was that unnecessary emergency department use and loss of productivity due to long spells of unemployment are two of the largest driving factors for the disparities in economic burden.
To truly address these issues, leaders must shift the focus of funding from emergency services and hospitals to heavily investing in community-based services which prevent hospitalization and support people as they maintain their recovery. We must provide more peer support, funding for employment services, and housing to help people live full lives in their communities of choice. Failure to invest in these critical services will cost our society billions to trillions of dollars and, more importantly, lives. We must act now to prevent this and help all who are seeking support. See below for more information.
Mental Health Disparity May Cost Trillions: Analysis
By Jon Asplund | Modern Healthcare | May 16, 2024
The staggering cost of mental health inequity in the United States, the counterpart to the more widely acknowledged economic burden of chronic illness, threatens to rise to a cumulative $14 trillion by 2040 if left unaddressed, according to a new analysis by Deloitte and the School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College.
The U.S. currently spends about $477.5 billion annually in avoidable and unnecessary expenses related to mental health inequities, according to the report. That could rise to $1.26 trillion a year by 2040, including a projected $17.5 billion in annual emergency department utilization related to mental health inequities, the report says.
The report, “The projected costs and economic impact of mental health inequities in the United States,” points to a strong link between mental health and chronic conditions, creating a need for an equity-centered approach from government, healthcare and business sectors.
“Lower-income individuals bear a disproportionate burden of chronic conditions, exacerbating their economic challenges, while racial and ethnic disparities persist in healthcare. . . .Each of these key issues . . . may not only lead to unnecessary healthcare spending but also contribute to productivity loss, especially among marginalized groups that face higher rates of unemployment due to mental health challenges,” the report says.
It also notes an estimated 57% of people in underserved populations face difficulty accessing care.
“I see the correlation between how chronic conditions can exacerbate mental health challenges and economic strains that impact my patients’ overall health,” Dr. Jay Bhatt, a Deloitte executive and practicing physician in Chicago, said in a press release. “With my patient experiences coupled with the findings from this report, there’s no denying that there is an urgent need to make mental health more visible and prioritize actions to improve health outcomes and reduce costs associated with managing these conditions.”
Bhatt is the managing director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and Deloitte Health Equity Institute.
The report suggests finding cost savings by doing three things:
• Increasing access to high-quality mental healthcare for underserved populations
• Integrating mental healthcare into chronic disease management programs
• Investing in preventive mental health services to identify and address issues early.
Improving mental health, the report says, can help decrease other health issues such as the prevalence of premature death, the number of emergency department visits and productivity loss due to cardiovascular disease.
“In recognizing the compelling correlation between brain health and chronic conditions, we determined that in order to have a more complete picture of the costs of mental health in America, we needed to understand the present and future costs of inequities in mental health and physical health conditions,” Daniel Dawes, founding dean of the School of Global Health, said in the release. “We urge employers, clinicians, researchers, advocates, policymakers and community leaders to unite in catalyzing actionable solutions to address these pervasive and increasingly costly mental health inequities.”
This story first appeared in Crain’s Chicago Business.
Mental health disparity may cost trillions: analysis | Modern Healthcare