Money and mental health: Experts and lawmakers say lack of funding limits access

A lack of funding and resources can prevent Americans from getting the mental health care they need, experts say.

“Let’s talk about resources, and then we can talk about the mental health crisis,” Susan Gurley, executive director of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, said during Wednesday morning’s panel: “Every Mind Matters: The Many dimensions of mental illness. .

The event was moderated by The Hill’s editor-in-chief Bob Cusack and sponsored by the Otsuka pharmaceutical company.

The conversation took place amid the country’s current mental health crisis.

According to a 2021 study, two in five American adults reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression. About 5% of adults in the United States also report signs of schizophrenia, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Lawmakers, mental health experts and advocates gathered at Wednesday’s event to discuss how stigma associated with mental health can be broken and how to build a comprehensive health system that supports people affected by mental illness, among other topics.

Lawmakers appear to agree that a lack of resources makes it harder for those who need help to get help and that greater investment in mental health is needed.

“For every dollar invested in mental health treatment, we get a return of $12,” said Rep. David Trone (D-Maryland). “So we are underinvesting in our most precious resource, our children. »

“This is what we are all here for, the next generation,” he added.

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) advocated for more funding for programs such as education and prison reform to ensure Americans can address the root of the problem.

“We need to funnel more money,” McClain said, adding “whether you look at the prison system or the drug system. If you peel that onion, it comes down to mental health.

The two lawmakers, who co-chair the bipartisan House Task Force on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, said mental health is an issue most members of Congress can agree on .

Through their work on the task force, 26 mental health bills have been signed into law in the past year. The Senate also took inspiration from his work, they said, referring to Tuesday’s launch of the bipartisan mental health caucus.

Panelists explained Wednesday that mental health affects people on both sides of the aisle.

“Mental health doesn’t look Republican, it doesn’t look Democratic, it doesn’t look independent, it looks like all of us,” Daniel Gillison, CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Trone and McClain say rural communities in their two districts have seen improvements in their resources since before the COVID-19 pandemic — which exposed a gap in mental health resources.

“I have a lot of rural communities in my district and we’ve done a lot of telehealth,” McClain said, referring to the pandemic era. “Mental health was a big positive because before you had to drive two hours if you could afford it, but now you can go online and have a Zoom meeting about mental health.”

“I understand it’s not perfect and it’s not as good as sitting down one-on-one, but it’s much better,” she added, noting that telehealth not only had an influence in changing people’s minds, “but also in getting [to] people from rural communities like I represent.

Trone agreed, calling telemental health a “game changer,” especially in rural areas where the main problem is addiction.

Other panelists agreed that the U.S. healthcare system needs to be improved to address the mental health issues Americans face daily.

“The best of the best was offered to me, but it was woefully inadequate,” said Gabe Howard, author and mental health advocate. “You can only imagine rural areas, without health insurance, without protective factors. »

Now 46, Howard was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 26.

During his first 26 years of life, those around him – including his parents – thought he had behavioral problems and never thought he suffered from mental illness. Howard said he had suicidal thoughts regularly and even accepted them as normal.

This disorder was only diagnosed after he was treated in a psychiatric hospital.

“It amounts to a massive restructuring,” Howard said.

Gurley said another factor preventing Americans from getting proper care is the shortage of mental health workers.

She encouraged lawmakers to address the shortage when developing mental health policy. While breaking the stigma around mental health is important, unless improvement is made, the conversation can be “meaningless”, Gurley concluded.

If people finally accept that they need help and seek out a therapist but there isn’t one, it can lead to an even worse mental health situation for the individual, she added .