Mental Illness Costs U.S. Billions in Lost Earnings

THURSDAY, May 8 (HealthDay News) -- Serious mental illness costs Americans at least $193 billion a year in lost earnings alone, a new report shows.

The study broadly defines mood and anxiety disorders that greatly limit a person's ability to function for at least 30 days a year, including instances of any condition linked to suicidal behaviors or frequent violent acts, as serious mental illness (SMI).


"Lost earning potential, costs associated with treating coexisting conditions, Social Security payments, homelessness and incarceration are just some of the indirect costs associated with mental illnesses that have been difficult to quantify," Dr. Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said in a prepared statement. "This study shows us that just one source of these indirect costs is staggeringly high."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080508/hl_hsn/mentalillne...3Mx.bzro_GyZAD2s0NUE

quote:

Serious mental illness costs Americans at least $193 billion a year in lost earnings alone, a new report shows.

That's higher than smoking's lost productivity and health care costs combined.

There are approximately 200 million people people of working age in America. (Actually, taking into account the grey areas, it might even be closer to 193 million.)

http://www2.census.gov/census_2000/datasets/100_and_sam...ted_States/2kh00.pdf

Since 193 million times $1000.00 equals $193 Billion, we can roughly say that the report indicates that every working person in America supposedly costs themselves $1000.00 in lost earnings due to "mental illness", on average.

The snippet says that "mental illness" is "broadly defined". I take this mean that calling in to work is interpreted as being "mentally ill".

The report doesn't say "workers" it says "Americans", so I take it that if you are unemployed, and have no earnings, you're also "broadly defined" as being "mentally ill".

Consider that the report indicates that this is actual cost to individual Americans themselves, not the employer, insurance, the government, or society in general.

Or, what if your "mental illness" keeps you from making more money? If you don't pursue a better paying job, perhaps you're acting irrationally, so, again, you're "mentally ill".

The report is obviously bull.

After I wrote this, I actually clicked the link and read the full article. It's even crazier.

It could also be the lost revenue of the mental health professionals and drug manufactures.

On average each person being treated would be on a medication costing in excess of ten dollars a day. In order to get the medication each patient requires a doctor and tests to determine the proper drug and method of treatment. I shudder to think of the fees involved, as do these professionals. But fees to us are revenue to them.