A nationwide study just ranked Wisconsin No. 1 in mental health — a fact that may surprise anyone who has tried to schedule an appointment lately with a therapist.
Despite a shortage of therapists and wait times for mental health providers that can stretch up to and beyond six months, the study, conducted by Mental Heatlh America, found the Badger State still had enough high points to top other states when it comes to tackling its residents’ mental health needs.
Compared to other states, fewer Wisconsin adults are reporting that their mental health needs are going unmet, more adults are seeking treatment and fewer students are being reported for emotional disturbances with their individual education program.
These facts boosted Wisconsin to its top spot nationally.
Another possible reason for its elevated status is the fact Wisconsin has invested in the mental health needs of its residents, industry professionals say.
Receiving such a high mark surprised Martina Gollin-Graves, president and CEO of Mental Health America of Wisconsin, who chalked some of the score up to Gov. Tony Evers’ administration prioritizing mental health and the federal dollars the state recently received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security and American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
But more than that, Gollin-Graves said this speaks to the prevalence of mental health needs in every state across the country — the needs are high everywhere.
“I don’t think that we’re necessarily doing things any better, or that our system has changed,” Gollin-Graves said. “I think the circumstances with the pandemic and the infusion of federal dollars have certainly helped. But … it’s reflective of disparities elsewhere.”
The report, published Thursday, covers a range of measures, including adults with any mental illness, youth with major depressive disorder, and those struggling with mental health conditions who couldn’t receive treatment due to workforce shortages or a lack of insurance coverage.
Wisconsin’s rankings come at a time when, according to the 2023 State of Mental Health in America Report, more than 12 million adults across the United States reported thoughts of suicide, 16% of all youth have reported having at least one major depressive disorder and nearly every adult experiencing substance use disorder reported they didn’t receive treatment.
The numbers in Wisconsin tell a similar story: nearly 5% of residents, or 219,000 people, have reported serious thoughts of suicide, which is slightly higher than the national percentage. Fewer Wisconsin youths, at 14%, reported having at least one major depressive disorder than the national percentage.
Nearly 22% of Wisconsin adults reported having any mental illness, against the national percentage of 21%.
In a press call organized by Mental Health America on Wednesday, Maddy Reinert, senior director of population health for Mental Heatlh America, said the data have obvious policy implications.
“Based on these findings, it is clear that we need to invest in that public mental health approach, including policies that address the social determinants in mental health and infusing mental health promotion in all policies so we can reduce the prevalence of mental health challenges within the US,” Reinert said.
The effects of the pandemic, said Schroeder Stribling, Mental Health America president and CEO, have only increased mental health disorders.
“We know that rates of deaths, of despair, substance use, opioid overdose, alcohol-related deaths, (and) suicides have all increased during this time,” Stribling said Wednesday. “And that’s not specifically from this report, but it is something that we want to reinforce because it adds to the sense of urgency of this moment.”
Equity issues and workforce shortages are at the heart of Wisconsin’s mental health crisis
At the Mental Health America of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee clinic, federal dollars from the pandemic have allowed the small clinic to see more clients. Gollin-Graves suspects that the report’s measurements have more to do with the infusion of dollars than a true reflection of access to care, Gollin-Graves said.
Wisconsin is suffering from shortages in the workforce “like never before,” according to Gollin-Graves, much of which is the result of organizations not being able to keep up with the growing demand for salary.
The report showed that for every mental health provider in the state, there’s 440 consumers with potential needs. To put this into perspective, the national average is one mental health provider per 350 consumers.
“At first we thought it would get better, but the problem is only increasing,” Gollin-Graves said. “We can’t keep up.”
Despite the No. 1 slot, a smattering of issues makes Wisconsin’s mental health crisis unique, said Gollin-Graves. A dearth of prescribers afflicts providers and consumers at the state and national levels.
“Especially now that telehealth is an option, more and more people have access to mental health services, but access to a prescriber in a timely manner — that’s one of our big problems,” Gollin-Graves said.
But in the advent of telehealth, Wisconsinites with limited broadband access, particularly in rural communities, are falling behind, which adds to the ever-growing equity concerns around mental health.
Those equity issues range from technology to a lack of culturally competent counselors. Not all Wisconsin communities have equal stressors, Gollin-Graves said, adding that people of color in Wisconsin are both less likely to seek out treatment and more likely to die by suicide.
Financial barriers also prevent vulnerable populations from obtaining treatment. According to the Mental Health America report, Hispanic adults with mental illness in the U.S. were the least likely to have health insurance, with 19% being uninsured. The uninsured rate among Hispanic adults boomed from 2017 to 2020, with Hispanic adults more likely to delay mental health treatment during COVID-19.
Those barriers funnel into new data on Hispanic young adults from the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health, which found that 52% of Hispanic young adults in Wisconsin suffer from poor mental health and 51% of Hispanic youth living in low-income families.
Reinert, senior director of population health with Mental Health America, said expanding Medicaid has been found to diminish racial disparities in health care coverage, and this is especially true for Black and Hispanic adults.
“Medicaid expansion … is associated with significant reductions in the percentage of adults with depression who are uninsured and who delay mental health care because of costs,” Reinert said. “That’s millions of adults reporting in the U.S.”
Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for USA TODAY NETWORK-Central Wisconsin. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at neilbert@gannett.com or view her Twitter profile at @natalie_eilbert. If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text “Hopeline” to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
