(Aug. 14, 2018) According to new research published in this month's edition of Psychiatric Services, individuals in the United States are willing to pay an annual $50 increase in taxes to improve health care and social services for individuals with serious mental illness.
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The majority of mental health care is publicly-funded and public support is needed for policies to be politically-viable. Therefore, understanding the public's willingness to pay for improving treatment and social services for the most stigmatized of mental illnesses is important, the study's authors argue.
In the August issue of Psychiatric Services, Elizabeth Stone and Emma McGinty, PhD, both from Johns Hopkins University, analyze an online survey they conducted of a nationally-representative sample of 1,010 individuals. The survey consisted of asking participants to respond yes or no to two questions regarding their willingness to pay an increase in taxes of $50, the first to improve health-care services for people with serious mental illness and the second to improve social services such as housing or employment.
Their findings are encouraging for those interested in reforming the mental health treatment system and who understand that lack of funding has been a cause of its inability to provide a continuum of quality care. Sixty percent of respondents to the survey expressed a willingness to pay an increase in taxes to improve health care services and 58% expressed willingness to pay an increase to improve social services for people with serious mental illness.
Unsurprisingly, respondents who align themselves with a Democrat or Independent political party were more likely to pay the increase in taxes compared to those who are Republican.
In addition, respondents who had higher levels of stigma towards individuals with serious mental illness were less likely to be willing to pay the increase in taxes.
The authors point out that this survey was conducted prior to high-profile mass shooting attacks, sparking the public to link mental illness and violence, which may in fact increase the public's willingness to improve services as a way to prevent violence.
The authors finish the article by contrasting the willingness of the majority of Americans to pay an additional $50 in taxes to improve health care and social services for individuals with serious mental illness to the current US federal government's attempts to cut public funding of services to vulnerable populations.
Regardless of politics, there is no question that improvements in the treatment and mental health services available to individuals with serious mental illness is needed. The consequences of lack of treatment are far too great, and include preventable tragedies, increased homelessness and incarceration rates, and skyrocketing administrative costs for local law enforcement, to name a few.
Elizabeth Sinclair
Director of Research
References:
- Stone, E. M. (2018, August). Public willingness to pay to improve services for individuals with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services.