One in five Indiana residents with mental illness do not receive the treatment they need, according to a recent study by IU’s Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. This costs the state more than $4 billion each year.
The study found the two main costs attributable to untreated mental illness were premature mortality ($1.4 billion) and a loss of workers ($885 million).
Other costs came from “health care costs, incarceration, homeless shelter costs and caregiving.”
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“When you measure this across the state, every year there is a loss of over $600 for every person, or nearly $1,600 per family," said Heather Taylor, lead author on the study and assistant professor at the Fairbanks School. "Untreated mental illness is a hugely consequential cost for Hoosiers.”
The study was conducted with the help of the Behavioral Health Commission and used to support the Behavioral Health Matters bill.
According to The Impact of Indiana’s Community Mental Health Center, 1.1 million Hoosiers have been diagnosed with mental illness.
The study said the state can reduce the money lost to untreated mental illness by strengthening the mental health provider workforce and improving access to mental health services.
