Researchers report that mental illness costs the U.S. economy $282 billion each year, the equivalent of an average economic recession. Photo credit: Adobe Stock/HealthDay News
America's mental health problems are essentially responsible for the country's annual economic downturn, a new study says.
Researchers report that mental illness costs the U.S. economy $282 billion each year, the equivalent of an average economic recession.
The researchers say this estimate represents about 1.7% of annual U.S. spending and is about 30% larger than previous attempts to estimate the total cost of mental illness in the United States.
Researcher and Yale University economics professor Ale Tzybinski says, “Mental illness is changing people's consumption, savings, portfolio choices, and even a country's labor supply, resulting in huge annual costs to the economy.'' I understand,” he said.
According to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, about 1 in 5 adults has a mental illness, and nearly 6% have a serious mental disorder.
Researchers say previous attempts to calculate the economic impact of mental illness have focused on lost income and treatment costs.
This new study took a more nuanced approach, highlighting the many additional economic burdens associated with mental illness.
For example, people with mental illness spend less money and are less likely to invest in assets such as homes or stocks, Tzybinski said. Their disability may also cause them to choose a less demanding job.
In this model, mental illness is a state of negative thinking with uncontrollable, repetitive dark concepts that plague the mind.
People with mental illness are pessimistic about their future, including their careers and investments. You may end up wasting time while ruminating.
As a result, they work, consume, invest less, and neglect treatment. All of this contributes to worsening their mental illness, researchers say.
Researchers analyzed the potential effects of policies to improve treatment of mental illness.
For example, researchers estimate that expanding the availability of mental health services would reduce the cost of mental illness in the United States by more than 3 percent and therefore add more than 1 percent to the national economy in terms of spending.
Additionally, research shows that providing treatment to all 16- to 25-year-olds with mental illness would generate societal benefits equal to 1.7% of annual U.S. spending.
At the same time, researchers found that reducing out-of-pocket costs for mental health services does not substantially reduce the number of people with mental disorders and thus provides only small economic benefits.
That's because the costs of mental health services are relatively low, so cutting costs will not increase the number of people seeking treatment or significantly reduce cases of mental illness.
“Economics and psychiatry have evolved over 50 years, but the two have not had much dialogue,” Tzibinkisi said in a Yale news release. “Here, we have brought them into the conversation in a way that educates both parties and gives them a stronger sense of the social costs of mental illness and what can be gained through policies that aim to expand and improve mental health care. Ta.”
This study was prepared as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper.
For more information
The White House is thinking more closely about the economic burden of mental health issues.
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