True “Cost” of Mental Health Inequities

What is the toll of systemic health inequity? One way to count it is the 117,000 unnecessary deaths among indigenous populations and racial and ethnic minoritized groups in five years — owing to barriers to mental health and substance use treatment.

“Investing in mental healthcare saves lives and dollars — we have known this for decades, but until now did not fully understand the monumental impacts of neglecting to act. For the first time, there is tangible evidence demonstrating how decades of systemic health inequities have yielded significantly worse outcomes for racial and ethnic minoritized, marginalized, and under-resourced populations.”  (Daniel  E. Dawes, JD)

This important report from Satcher Health Leadership Institute documents these premature deaths, as well as the cost burden that results from underfunding communities that have long been underserved.