National Institutes of Health
The $22.3 billion increase in spending for mental care for Americans between 1996 and 2006 outpaced the growth in spending on all other health condition, according to data from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
While total expenditures for heart conditions were the highest overall in both 1996 and 2006, the growth in spending was only $6 billion between those two years. The second-highest increase in condition-specific spending came for trauma-related disorders, which the AHRQ defines as including fractures, spinal cord injuries and strains and sprains.
The other conditions that saw significant rises in treatment expenditures were asthma and cancer.
During the decade studied, the number of U.S. residents seeking mental health care rose from 19.3 million to 36.2 million, far exceeding the growth in patient populations for the other most-expensive conditions. The number of mental health patients and the total cost of their care seems likely to continue growing, especially since mental health parity rules for insurers take full effect next year.
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- Veterans Health Administration: Mental care needs improvement
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