Sunday, May 01, 2005
Editorial: How to economize on mental illness: Treat it
Virginia and its localities would save money in the long run if they provided enough funds to meet the need for community-based treatment.
From the RoundTable blog
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Not that the Walk for Mental Health in Elmwood Park was unsuccessful. To the contrary, the 300 participants raised at least $40,000 - more than enough to fund the Mental Health Free Clinic for uninsured adults, the Forgotten Victims program for children who've witnessed severe domestic violence, and Visions for Tomorrow, which assists parents of mentally ill children. But the sizable sum walkers and donors provided is a pittance compared with the money such programs help save.
Mental illness is common and treatable. When treated, the vast majority of sufferers resume productive, rewarding lives. Left untreated, it can reduce worker productivity, add to the unemployment rolls, increase demand for public assistance, raise insurance costs and unnecessarily burden hospitals with charity cases and courts and jails with preventable crimes, usually misdemeanors.
The Mental Health Association of the New River Valley estimates that its services save local hospitals $1 million a year by cutting emergency room use by uninsured people suffering mental health crises.
Imagine the savings if the state and Western Virginia localities would do the fiscally responsible thing: Provide adequate government funding for community-based mental health care for the poor, uninsured and underinsured.
Other numbers suggest how much money is not being saved:
Better access to mental health care is typically ranked first or second in the needs of Roanoke Valley residents. In the last quarter of 2004, 35 percent of the calls to the Council of Community Services help line were mental health-related.
The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health reported that 7 percent of prison and jail inmates have a severe mental illness and a "substantially higher" number have a less serious one. In juvenile justice systems the incidence may be far higher: A Chicago study found that 66 percent of boys and 75 percent of girls in detention had at least one psychiatric disorder.
Virginia's public sector has responded to these realities - but only part way. Growing numbers of police in the Roanoke and New River valleys have had crisis intervention training that prepares them to steer mental health-related incidents toward treatment instead of jail. Courts are empowered to divert accused people to clinics and counseling. Jails and prisons may provide some mental health services.
But state and local funding for community mental-health care is usually below even the officially mandated levels. Diversion is of little value if services are unavailable. Treatment for the incarcerated may be wasted if, upon release, they have nowhere to turn for continued help and supervision.
The MHARV walkers did their part for cost-effectiveness. Mental Health Month, which starts today, would be an ideal time for the public sector to start doing the same.
