YORK, Pa. — Spending on mental health treatment and services reached $225 billion in 2019, according to an Open Minds Market Intelligence Report.
Alyssa Ott with Keystone Therapy and Trauma says access to care can be expensive, especially when the numbers of people in need are rising.
"Mental health is medical health. There's really no difference," she said.
According to Mental Health America, Pennsylvania is ranked 13th in the nation for access to mental health resources, but Ott says that puts a lot of pressure on providers.
"You're looking at a system of approving more individuals for medical assistance in particular, but then there's not the providers that are needed," she said.
Across the state, the yearly average out-of-pocket costs for adults with mental illness can cost more than $8,400. Ott says without a better structure for people to find and access the care they need, those costs will only increase.
"So the problem will get worse, then what's going to happen?" Ott said. "Then they are going to need a higher level of care because they're not getting the specialized care at the base level to really work through that specific problem...and then the costs add up over time."
A system, in need of reshaping, to provide more cost-effective care for Pennsylvanians.