Some Utahns have rates of mental illness and substance use
disorders that are double the rest of the population. They are also the Utahns living in
the coverage gap.
By Stacy Stanford
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, an issue that is of
particular importance to Utah given that we have the nation’s highest rate of
mental illness, with more than
one-fifth of the population experiencing at least one mental health disorder
in 2014.
With Medicaid expansion still up in the air, there are increasing
numbers of uninsured and impoverished Utahns with mental illness and substance
use disorder that are unable to obtain the treatment they need. A new report
from the American Mental Health Counselors Association, entitled, “Access Denied: Non-Medicaid Expansion
States Blocked Uninsured People with Serious Mental Illness from receiving
Affordable, Needed Treatments,” outlines the consequences of this inaction.
In Utah, the rates of mental illness and substance use disorder among
the Medicaid expansion population—uninsured Utahns who are both ineligible for
Medicaid and subsidized private insurance on Utah’s marketplace—are more than
double the numbers in the rest of the population: 22.4%, versus 47%. There is
no denying the relationship between poverty and mental illness, and without
access to treatment options, the cycle continues.
It is estimated that more than 15,000 adults in Utah would have sought
mental health care last year if the state had provided coverage to the
expansion population. When uninsured persons with mental health and substance
use disorder are forced to forgo treatments due to unaffordable out-of-pocket
costs, there are real consequences for individuals, families, and our community,
including:
- Suicide: untreated mental health conditions greatly heighten the risk of suicide, which is already the third leading cause of death between ages 15-44
- Homelessness: nearly 40% of Utah’s homeless population is mentally ill
- Incarceration: estimates vary, but between 20% to 70% of inmates are mentally ill and/or substance users , according to the US Department of Justice
Thus, failure to act on Medicaid expansion has public health, public
safety, social, and economic repercussions when it comes to addressing substance
use disorder and mental health needs.
Are you concerned about Utah’s dangerous gap in mental an behavioral
health coverage for the uninured?
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Send a persuasive message to your legislators from the Cover the Gap website (link)
- Write a Letter to the Editor (Deseret News or Salt Lake Tribune)
- Share your coverage gap or healthcare story at mystory@healthpolicyproject.org
- Come to our bi-monthly round table meetings (email rylee@healthpolicyproject.org to be added to the mailing list)
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