Access to Mental Health Treatment

Mental illness impacts many individuals, whether they experience it personally or it impacts someone they know. More than 50 percent of individuals will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder in their lifetime. In the United States, nearly one in five adults live with a mental illness. Even though mental illness is highly prevalent, not everyone utilizes mental health treatment.

Insurance and financial concerns are some reasons that people do not seek mental health treatment. In 2008, however, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equality Act was established as federal law. This law “prevents group health plans and health insurance issuers that provide mental health or substance use disorder benefits from imposing less favorable benefit limitations on those benefits than on medical/surgical benefits. Due to this law, many insurances cover mental health treatment in their plans.

There are many reasons why mental health treatment is not accessible for many individuals in the United States. The main reasons are due to financial constraints and lack of access to mental health providers. Based on the Health Resources and Services Administration, “89.3 million Americans live in federally-designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas”. Many rural areas lack mental health professionals, and in urban places that do not lack the professionals, people are met with long waiting lists.

Other reasons that may impact seeking mental health treatment are the lack of mental health education and awareness . People may also feel that they do not need to receive mental health treatment. In addition, another reason is due to Stigma associated with mental health, because many individuals are afraid of the impacts that seeking mental health treatment may have on their social and professional lives.

There are also racial disparities associated with mental health treatment. One study looking at the effects of the Affordable Care Act found that whites were “still the only racial group where a majority of people with severe psychological distress get treatment”. This is in comparison to individuals who are Hispanic and Asian, who were more likely to receive treatment due to the Affordable Care Act, but there was not a significant increase. People of color were found to be no more likely to receive mental health treatment than they were prior to the Affordable Care Act.

There are many factors that contribute to why an individual may not receive mental health treatment, however, mental health treatment has become more recognized as important. There have been links made from people's mental health to their physical health, which has helped people's understanding and acceptance of mental health and its treatment.

See the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for definitions and more statistics of mental illness:

1. ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm#:~:text=More%20than%2050%25%20will%20be%20diagnosed%20with%20a,have%20had%20a%20seriously%20debilitating%20mental%20illness.%205
2. ↑ https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://www.socialsolutions.com/blog/barriers-to-mental-healthcare-access/
4. ↑ https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-and-Initiatives/Other-Insurance-Protections/mhpaea\_factsheet
5. ↑ https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/health-insurance
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://highwatchrecovery.org/why-dont-people-seek-help-for-mental-illness/
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://khn.org/news/factors-beyond-coverage-limit-mental-health-care-access/
8. ↑ https://www.lehighcenter.com/the-importance-of-seeking-mental-health-treatment/
Further Reading:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/22/health/covid-19-pandemic-mental-health-children/index.html