Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Failing at Mental Health
This shouldn't come as any real surprise, though I would have guessed that the United States might at least get a C. Instead, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has given the U.S. a D for its mental health care system for adults. Three years ago, NAMI also gave the US a D for the poor job it was doing then of serving the mentally ill population. This year's report card notes only marginal progress -- not enough to
warrant a better grade.
California didn't improve its grade (a C) either, though we did get a B for health promotion and measurement (worth 25%). As the report card notes, "It is uncertain whether meaningful progress can occur in years ahead in the face of the state budget crisis."
According to NAMI (as reported in this CNN story), "One in four Americans experience mental illness at some point in their lives, and it is the greatest cause of disability in the nation (my emphasis added)." The greatest casue of disability in the nation and we are failing to deal with it. What does that mean for our future health?