When former U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) hears the Trump administration’s goal to “Make America Healthy Again,” he wants the make sure that includes America’s mental health.
“You can say you can have a mental health problem and the issue, and if properly dealt with, you can do very demanding things, even dangerous things,” Blunt said during a recent policy call hosted by ACG Analytics in Washington, DC.
The call was hosted by ACGA’s Managing Partner David Metzner, who began by noting that “One out of every five Americans will encounter a challenge in the mental health space.” His group recently released a report on the disturbing data regarding America’s mental health and why it should be a priority for the Trump administration.
An estimated 60 million Americans have a diagnosed mental health condition. A Gallup survey reported 53 percent of Americans know a family member with a mental disorder. Among adolescents, mental health diagnoses are surging. The National Alliance on Mental Illness says 1 in 6 are diagnosed with a mental condition each year.
One of the most common mental illnesses in the U.S. is major depressive disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimated 21 million adult Americans had at least one major depressive episode in 2021. That represented 8.3 percent of the population.
The numbers are larger among adolescents. NIMH said 20.1 percent reported at least one major depressive episode in 2021.
Blunt put the nation’s mental health care issues into context by pointing out that the last bill signed into law by President John F. Kennedy was the Community Mental Health Act.
“The purpose of that bill was to close the asylum-style institutions and release those with high-quality, community-based mental health facilities where people could live and work in their communities and be close to the behavioral health help they needed,” Blunt said.
But that community care never met the level of need. Instead, Blunt said, hospital emergency departments and police became the mental health delivery system for the country.
“It’s time to do something about that,” Blunt said.
In particular, Blunt encouraged the federal government to permanently expand telehealth options for mental health treatment.
The use of telehealth expanded dramatically during the COVID pandemic. It’s become more accepted and even popular, particularly with younger Americans. A 2021 poll by the American Psychiatric Association found 66 percent of those 18 to 29 see telehealth as a better option. Overall, 43 percent of American adults wanted telehealth services to continue.
Blunt said the technology encourages people to be open about how they’re feeling, as they would any other health issue.
It’s also a lot easier to attend a telehealth appointment versus one at a doctor’s office. That makes people more productive at work and society, observed Blunt.
“You don’t have to drive two hours, wait in the waiting room, and miss a day’s work to get either of those problems dealt with,” he said.
While the federal government has taken some steps to keep telehealth available, restrictions are expected to return later this fall. A plan to include telehealth expansion in a government funding bill last year failed.
What troubles mental health advocates most is the number of Americans with a diagnosed mental illness not seeking treatment. In 2022, only half of Americans with a diagnosed mental health condition sought treatment, according to the NIMH. This included 49 percent of young adults 18 to 25 years old and 52.7 percent of people over the age of 52.
Another issue: America has fewer than 11 psychiatric care beds per 100,000 people, far below the 50 per 100,000 recommended by experts.
The issue hits particularly hard in rural states, as state-run and nonprofit hospitals have shuttered psychiatric units. Iowa has just two beds per 100,000 residents, according to ACG Analytics – the lowest in the country.
Industrialized states also have issues. A RAND Corporation report noted California has a 7,700 psychiatric bed shortage for patients. That’s expected to grow in the next few years.
For-profit healthcare systems have stepped up, accounting for 50 percent of inpatient psychiatric beds according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But that’s only in the 35 largest hospitals systems in the country.
Blunt remains optimistic that Congress and the Trump administration will make moves to expand mental health access. He said senators from both parties — including Republican Sens. Katie Britt and John Cornyn of Texas and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Patty Murray of Washington — have made mental health care a priority.
That makes it a rare bipartisan issue in Congress. One that could benefit all Americans, Blunt said.
