EDITORIAL: Fund Mental Health Care

May 09--It is a fallacy to think that paying attention to mental health can or should be limited to one month on the calendar. The seriousness and the costliness of the issue demand year-round attention.

But with May being designated as Mental Health Month (along with Older Americans Month, National Foster Care Month, and others), we are provided an opportunity to examine the state of mental health in this country while assessing the level of attention that it receives on a daily basis.

Mental health is, undoubtedly, an essential segment of health care, and a quick look at this nation's social ills demonstrates the far-reaching tentacles of inadequate care. Among the pressing issues in this country are homelessness and an epidemic of opioid abuse -- items that are directly influenced by mental health. In many cases, homelessness or opioid abuse are merely symptoms of the underlying problem of untreated mental illness. According to the National Institutes of Health, 1 in 5 American adults experience mental illness, and 1 in 25 have a serious illness. These numbers are similar across all racial, age and gender demographics and range from anxiety disorders to serious mood disorders.

This is particularly important as the nation grapples with health care policy and Republicans attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act -- colloquially known as Obamacare. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance plans are required to cover 10 health services deemed as essential -- including mental health. Under the American Health Care Act, which Republicans in the House of Representatives passed last week and sent to the Senate, this would no longer be required. In addition, Medicaid funding would be slashed, further diminishing mental health care. The GOP plan sets aside some money for mental health, but experts say it would largely dismantle such care.

Republicans insist their plan would save money for the federal government, but their inattention to mental health reminds us of the proverb about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. As with many aspects of health care, waiting for minor mental health problems to manifest themselves as serious maladies is costly to patients and to the health system as a whole. Dealing with issues early is more cost-effective than treating homelessness or opioid addiction or other negative results of mental illness.

Last year, the journal Health Affairs calculated that the United States spends more than $200 billion annually on mental health, ranking it far ahead of heart conditions and trauma injuries as the most costly health condition. Rather than taking this information as evidence that mental health is an area in which money can be saved and funding can be slashed, it should serve to reinforce the importance of adequate spending for treatment. A study from the World Health Organization estimates that the cost of mental health treatment is outweighed fourfold in terms of increased production and improved physical health.

Unlike, say, cancer, mental health carries an unfortunate stigma that diminishes society's collective urgency to address the issue. Many people are quick to shun or to blame those who afflicted, rather than recognizing the need for compassion. In truth, the study, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health deserve the kind of attention that is willingly afforded to cancer or other serious health problems.

Republicans are wise to seek savings for patients, insurance companies, and the government throughout the nation's health system, but cuts to mental health care will prove costly down the road. And we don't need a special month to remind us of that.

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