The Economic Burden of Mental Health Inequities in the United States Report 2022

"Through a comprehensive literature review, analysis of public data sets, and case study examination of state and national policies, the findings of this study demonstrate a relationship between economic status, mental health status, and racial and ethnic status. 

• Between 2016 and 2020, the total number of excess premature mental and behavioral health-related deaths among indigenous populations and racial and ethnic minoritized groups was 116,722. 
• Between 2016 and 2020, the total excess cost burden from premature mental and behavioral-related deaths among indigenous populations and racial and ethnic minoritized groups owing to mental illness, substance use, and suicide by race and ethnicity is $278 billion dollars. 
• The national estimates underrepresent the actual burden of mental and behavioral health conditions: 5.8 million people are excluded from traditional sampling frames and national surveys used for these estimates, including those who live in prison or jail, nursing home residents, residents of assisted living facilities, the unhoused, active military, and people who are institutionalized in psychiatric facilities. The ecological analysis of this excluded group reveals the following: $23 billion annual excess burden in terms of years of life lost among the unhoused, and $63-$92 billion annual excess costs due to mental illness and substance use disorder among incarcerated and unhoused populations."