A recent national survey paints a disturbing picture of Americans’ perceptions of our mental health care system in addressing effectiveness, cost, and access to care. According to the survey, 75% of respondents believe that mental health conditions are treated worse than physical health disorders. The survey dramatically highlights that Americans believe mental health issues are given low priority versus general health care matters, or a perceived kind of second-class status in our overall health care system.
According to the survey, only 4% of respondents said mental health conditions are treated “somewhat better,” and 1% said it was “much better.” Over 80% of older adults surveyed said that mental health issues are treated worse than general health issues. Another question that asked Americans to evaluate how well the nation’s health care system deals with mental health conditions found that 1% of respondents gave it an “A” grade.
In “Americans Perceive Gaps in Mental, Physical Healthcare,” Gallup Research-West Health found that affordability and access to mental health providers are the top two barriers to obtaining treatment for a mental health condition. In other words, respondents are not criticizing the care they receive; Americans are complaining there are too many impediments to accessing mental health services.
The survey shows that 51% of Americans experienced a mental health condition in the past 12 months, and over 80% of adults said the prevalence of mental health conditions has increased, including 42% who think mental health disorders have increased “a lot.”
The survey also highlights the long-standing problem of stigma associated with mental health conditions. Seventy percent of respondents said that society views people with mental health conditions “very negatively” or “somewhat negatively.” Over one in four Americans who said they did not have a mental health condition would not seek care due to “shame or embarrassment.” The largest category that cited stigma as a barrier to care were young adults aged 18–29.
The findings show that 53% of adults believe that counseling or therapy is a “very effective” or “effective” treatment. Another 30% of respondents said that counseling is “somewhat effective.”
The implications of the survey highlight the need for continued policy actions by Congress and the states to improve provider reimbursement and offer additional funding to address affordability and access to mental health care services across all age groups. The survey also spotlights the need for more progress and implementation of physical health-mental health care integration in many health care systems, especially in primary care settings. Embedding mental health providers in primary care practices would seamlessly achieve whole-person health through better coordination. In addition, the survey findings should encourage mental health professions to make the necessary investments to promote critical mental health services provided to Americans, highlight the efficacy of evidence-based treatments, and widely communicate the significant progress made by the mental health community since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moreover, we need to achieve parity between mental health and physical health care in order to demonstrate that we are working to break down systemic barriers that people find when trying to access timely and necessary mental health services. Although the survey is silent on the specific reasons Americans are frustrated with access and cost, it appears that many health insurers and employer health benefit plans are not abiding by federal and state parity rules to lower out-of-pocket costs for employees and family members seeking mental health care. Therefore, they may be unable to locate a provider in their community due to tight provider networks and insurance panels that force people to go out-of-network for care, thus incurring higher costs. They may also decide to not seek care at all.
For the complete results of the survey, please click here.
For more information on NBCC’s actions to promote mental health policy improvements and raise the profile of counselors, please visit www.nbcc.org/govtaffairs.
