Private mental health treatment spending in the U.S. 2009-2020

This statistic describes a projection of the total private spending on mental health treatments in the United States from 2009 to 2020. In 2009, private spending accounted for some 58.9 billion U.S. dollars for the treatment of mental health. Since the 1980s, expenditure on mental health has increased but the slow in growth in recent years may be linked to closures of specialty hospitals.

Expenditures on mental health treatments

Private expenditures in mental health treatments are expected to increase in the United States. Expenditure totaled about 61.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 and is expected to reach 88.9 billion U.S. dollars by 2020. Within these private expenditures, the majority is paid by private insurances but in 2010, about 16.9 billion U.S. dollars was paid directly out-of-pocket. Similarly, public expenditures on these treatments is forecasted to total 149.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2020, with the majority, 72.1 billion U.S. dollars, being paid by Medicaid, and about 35.3 billion U.S. dollars paid through Medicare.

Increased health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will increase the demand for mental health services. The ACA will likely almost double the percentage of U.S. adults with mental health disorders that are covered by Medicaid, where only 12.8 percent of this group was covered by the program before the health reform. As of 2014, Medicaid provided about 29 percent of the nation’s mental health expenditures. Nevertheless, mental health disorders and substance abuse is still prevalent in much of the country’s homeless population and among those still not covered by health insurance. Some provisions under Medicaid and Medicare would make hospital care more accessible to those who are seriously ill.