If mental health is the cause, why aren’t mental health investments the clear solution?

by Cassie, Founder and Executive Director

“Mental health” seems to be in the news, in headlines and contentious conversations increasingly often.

Mental health, or rather mental illness, gets raised in the context of criminal cases, prioritizing self care, emphasizing the importance of healthy parenting. You name it, mental health can be made a part of it.

Yet, the real story is that all that talk also is where it mostly stops.

The discussion does not typically include a concerted push to invest in access to mental health in a significant way. Legislators and policymakers don’t “put the money where the talk is” and make large enough investments that helps society and the economy improve from a foundational level. Any investments do not go far enough to solve these challenges proactively. Rather, it remains a reactive conversation … time and time and time again.

What exactly does this mean?

Come along for an example. What happens when there is an incidence of school violence? Mental health of a perpetrator hits center stage almost immediately. If mental illness is a contributing factor, wouldn’t investing in universal access to mental health care help solve that problem and, more broadly, curb the incidence of school violence as a societal challenge?

Come along for another example. Often, we hear that law enforcement should not have to act as mental health crisis workers. (Agreed.) We hear, far too many times, that public safety officials end up evaluating mental health, transporting people to and from mental health facilities and doing work that is not in their job descriptions or formal training.

If that is the case (which most agree that it is), wouldn’t investing in mental health on a broad scale help alleviate those pressures?

So, why is mental health cited as a reason for so many issues and challenges yet never truly invested in at a scale that matches the level of concern?

We won’t hypothesize there, but we will be direct: Legislators and policymakers cannot have it both ways. Mental health cannot be a reason both to make and not to make certain public policy and legislative choices.

We believe the choice has always been quite clear: Investing in universal access to mental health care services and resources would have an exponentially positive effect on social and economic outcomes in this country.

Don’t believe us? Believe the statistics:

Approximately 20 percent of U.S. adults have a diagnosed mental illness.

Wisconsin ranks 21st of all states in terms of access to mental health care services and resources. It ranks 25th in terms of the prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders.

Mental illness costs the U.S. economy $282 billion a year, which is the equivalent of a recession. This estimate includes income loss, treatment costs, less consumption, and less likelihood of making investments.

At the same time, nearly 1 in 3 adults say they haven’t taken their medications as prescribed due to costs. Meanwhile, people owe at least $220 billion in medical debt in the United States.

On a broader health scale, a newly published study estimates universal access to health care would save 33,232 lives of those currently uninsured and can’t access lifesaving care and 29,631 lives of those who are currently underinsured and cannot afford care.

We believe it is time to stop talking and start doing. Wellbeing is the foundation of our ability to live full, healthy and dignified lives. Let’s start with making significant mental health investments and then begin to measure how much lives improve and flourish as a result.

We’re confident the return will be worth the investment.