US Mental Healthcare System Gets Mostly Ds and Fs
Americans cite cost and lack of providers as barriers to treatment, while the majority of people in need go untreated
You’d have to have your head in the sand to not realize the crisis in mental healthcare that’s developed in recent years. Whatever the reasons — and there are many — Americans are frustrated with the lack of help, as a severe shortage of therapists leaves many people with no obvious treatment options.
In a new survey of US adults, three-fourths say the mental healthcare system is worse than the physical healthcare system.
That’s a bit like saying rotten apples are worse than rotten oranges, in a country that ranks pitifully in healthcare effectiveness compared to other advanced nations and has the lowest life expectancy among comparable countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Japan and the UK.
It’s gotten so bad that more than half of respondents graded the US healthcare system’s handling of mental health conditions with a D or an F, according the survey by Gallup for the West Health Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for better healthcare for aging Americans.
“Many Americans struggle with mental and behavioral health conditions that often go unaddressed…
