It's the third time that Mental Health America is making public its annual State of Mental Health Report, ranking the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia according to various mental health and access measures.
The report depicts a more insured country, but one that still fails to meet the needs of the people who require mental health assistance and guidance.
The report reveals that there is a reduced rate of uninsured adults with mental health issues, more than 40 million U.S. citizens experience mental health concerns and more than 1.2 million people with mental health problems reside in prisons, lacking any type of required access to health care depending on their problems.
More than 50 percent of the country's adult population don't receive treatment for their mental problems. In addition, youth mental health concerns are increasing substantially, as six out of 10 young people who suffer major depression symptoms have had no access to medication or any form of assistance. This situation is all the more dire, as states where the workforce is low only have one professional per 1,000 people, including all the medical assistance staff combined.
This year, Connecticut is the top state for mental health. Nevada ranks last, which means in terms of mental illness, the state has the highest prevalence and the lowest rate of access to care.
"Mental illness touches everyone. We must improve access to care and treatments, and we need to put a premium on early identification and early intervention for everyone with mental health concerns," noted Paul Gionfriddo, MHA president and CEO.
The ranks were given taking into consideration 15 separate measures, among which are mental illnesses in adults, serious depressive episodes in young people and mental specialists available in each state.
"This is ultimately about the policy decisions we make," Gionfriddo said. "It isn't just about what states are red and what states are blue ... But political environments in states do seem to matter. Those that invest more in mental health clearly have to throw away less money on jails and prisons," he concluded.
While more American citizens have access to services, one in five adults still suffers from a mental health condition, more than half of whom never received any medical care. The workforce shortage may be one of the responsible factors for this issue, especially in the less developed states.
Additionally, there is a difference between the citizens' insurance in states that expanded Medicaid (13 percent) and the ones from states that did not expand Medicaid (19 percent).
Some of the states with the lowest access to care also have high imprisonment rates. In Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama alone there are 57,000 people who need mental health care and are jailed.
