Spending on mental health treatment and services reached $225 billion in 2019, according to an Open Minds Market Intelligence Report. That number, which is up 52% since 2009, includes spending on things like therapy and prescription medications as well as stays in psychiatric or substance abuse rehabilitation facilities.
And access to care can prohibitively expensive even more so than physical health costs. An hour-long traditional therapy session can range from $65 to $250 for those without insurance, according to therapist directory GoodTherapy.org.
A more severe diagnosis, of course, carries heavier lifetime cost burdens. A patient with major depression can spend an average of $10,836 a year on health costs. Meanwhile, a person with diabetes taking insulin can spend $4,8000 to manage their condition.
File Photo: UK HealthCare employee receives the COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 17, 2020. Mark Cornelison l UK Photo
The University of Kentucky Public Relations & Strategic Communications Office provides a weekly health column available for use and reprint by news media. This week s column is by Tukea Talbert, chief diversity officer at UK HealthCare.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 4, 2021) Underrepresented populations in the United States have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic. They are contracting, being hospitalized and dying from the virus at higher rates than white Americans.
According to the National Institutes of Health, Latinos, African Americans and American Indians make up more than half of all coronavirus-related cases, despite being only a third of the population.
Background
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth suffer disproportionately from suicide. Compared to youth from other ethnic groups, AI/AN youth suicide rates are amongst the highest – it is the second leading cause of death for youth and young adults aged 10-34 years.
However, not all AI/AN communities experience the same challenges with suicide. Rates can vary considerably among communities, even within the same region. While the causes for this variation are poorly understood, suggested explanations for resilience in certain individuals and communities include increased adherence to cultural spirituality, meaningful community participation, and participation in traditional practices. Culturally sensitive, public health approaches to suicide prevention have yielded some successes; however, a systematic review of the literature concluded there is insufficient evidence to know which strategies are most effective in preventing suicide among indigenous populations. To add
An increase in poor mental health days also occurs when national interest surrounding the events is higher.
Previous research has shown that experiencing racism, even vicariously, can harm the mental and physical health of others of the same racial group.
The new study, published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to examine how police killings and other violent, racial incidents with large media coverage affect Black Americans’ mental health on a national scale.
The study is particularly timely as the public attention has been turned to the murder trial of Derek Chauvin and suggests that the verdict in the case will likely reverberate far beyond Minneapolis.
UCLA RESEARCH BRIEF
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Under the Affordable Care Act, the secretary of health and human services is authorized to prohibit payment for services given a “D” rating by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the researchers say. Enrique Rivero |
FINDINGS
A UCLA-led study shows that physicians frequently order preventive medical services for adult Medicare beneficiaries that are considered unnecessary and of “low value” by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force at a cost of $478 million per year.
The researchers analyzed national survey data over a 10-year period, looking specifically at seven preventive services given a “D” rating by the task force, and discovered that these services were ordered more than 31 million times annually.