When Hillsborough County established the Indigent Healthcare Fund a few years back, it shone as an example of how local government can respond to the needs of the people it serves. Now, with a surplus of monies in that Fund, the Board of County Commissioners again has an opportunity to prove that government can be forward thinking and compassionate. The Indigent Healthcare Fund was created to provide primary health care services to uninsured individuals who are ineligible for other assistance and who otherwise would be unable to obtain care. Given the current resources available in this program, there is now an unprecedented opportunity to expand the services to more fully provide for the mental health and substance abuse needs of Hillsborough County residents. Doing so would make sense from both a public health and a public policy point of view.
Mental illness is a major public health concern.
It s estimated that 6 percent of adults and 11 percent of children need mental health services. The rates are even higher among low-income populations. We now know that many mental illnesses are easily and successfully treated, particularly depression. Recent studies show that depression, the most prevalent disorder, may be particularly prevalent in low-income populations the very populations that are the target for these medically indigent funds. Without appropriate and early treatment, people with serious mental illnesses may face significant and, in some cases, avoidable disability leading to the eventual need to provide more expensive treatment in other settings such as hospitals and jails.