By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    December 22, 2021
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    April 6, 2022
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    August 30, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    health suppliments
    Experience Life in a Better Way by Experimenting with Supplements!
    November 15, 2022
    Are There Differences in Medicare Spending Across States?
    September 9, 2017
    Obama: Ryan’s Ideas Are Too Radical Unless They’re Also My Ideas
    April 21, 2011
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: How Budget Cuts are Affecting Mental Health Care
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > How Budget Cuts are Affecting Mental Health Care
eHealthFinanceHospital AdministrationTechnologyWellness

How Budget Cuts are Affecting Mental Health Care

Sarah Daren
Sarah Daren
Share
5 Min Read
Image
SHARE

Recent budget cuts have left mental health professionals scrambling to keep up with the influx of patients who have been displaced from outpatient treatment centers, hospitals, and other mental health facilities. September is Suicide Prevention Month, and the industry is fighting to raise awareness about how budget cuts affect everyone who is affected by mental health crises.

Prevention is Key to Saving Lives

Recent budget cuts have left mental health professionals scrambling to keep up with the influx of patients who have been displaced from outpatient treatment centers, hospitals, and other mental health facilities. September is Suicide Prevention Month, and the industry is fighting to raise awareness about how budget cuts affect everyone who is affected by mental health crises.

Prevention is Key to Saving Lives

More Read

4 Proven Lead Generation Strategies For Your Medical Practice
How Parents Can Protect Kids From Unhealthy Food Marketing
Regulate Supplements
Using Social Media, Digital Resources and Health 2.0
The Art of Strategic Communications Planning and Content Marketing

Nearly one in four adults in the United States will suffer through a mental health crisis this year. Of that number, only a small fraction will seek professional medical help, and even fewer will follow through with a treatment program that will ensure lifelong management of the condition. Between 2009 and 2012, states cut more than $5 billion in funding for mental health treatment facilities, outpatient programs, and mental health practitioners.

The most severely ill suffer the most. Between 2005 and 2010, the number of beds in psychiatric facilities decreased by 14 percent, leaving many former patients without adequate care facilities. Mental health professionals feel that these cuts represent a public health crisis that requires immediate action.

Mental Health Budget Cuts Create Public Health Hazards

With nowhere to go, many of the mentally ill end up in hospital emergency rooms where they get little care for their illnesses. Because hospital emergency rooms are equipped to deal with general health crises, many lack the staff on hand to adequately deal with mental health emergencies. The average person who visits an emergency room in the midst of a mental health crisis spends less than five minutes in a treatment room with a physician.

Many of these sufferers are uninsured, costing hospitals nearly $40 billion in fees. The United States spends nearly $444 billion on mental health care, a number that is steadily increasing each year.

The Link Between Mental Health, Crime, and Homelessness

With nowhere to turn for help, many of the mentally ill end up homeless. This homelessness leads to petty crime and substance abuse, increasing the need for police and eventually emergency room services. Sadly, many of the mentally ill who are released from crowded emergency rooms will go on to commit suicide this year.

Innovative Solutions are Making a Difference

Many states are testing pilot programs that are decreasing the burden on hospitals and increasing the number of people getting long-term help for their mental health issues. Many hospitals are creating standalone psychiatric emergency rooms that are equipped to provide special treatment to those in crisis. Other states provide a teleconferencing option that allows sufferers waiting in an emergency room to talk to a mental health professional remotely, decreasing the need for medical care by on-site physicians. Still, other states are instituting programs that provide emergency psychiatric care in outpatient centers.

Suicide is one of the most preventable consequences of untreated mental illness, yet budget cuts mean that the rate of suicide will continue to increase. With innovative new programs helping to decrease the number of patients visiting emergency rooms, there is hope. During the month of September, mental health professionals work to make mental illness suicide a thing of the past. To learn more about these effects, check out the infographic below created by Cummings Institute.

Image

TAGGED:budget cutsinfographicmental health
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025
engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Brain for Better Mental Health
Mental Health

How to Rewire Your Brain for Better Mental Health

August 12, 2024
Doctor on Computer ID-10035343
Social Media

Doctors and Social Media: Personal vs. Professional Online Content

February 7, 2013

Social Media and Public Health: Using Facebook to Monitor Obesity Prevalence

June 3, 2013

Wonder What Would Happen If A Hospital Near You Closed? Read This.

June 16, 2015
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?