According to Forbes Advisor, Alabama is the third worst state in the United States for mental health. One of the factors contributing to this ranking is that over half of Alabama residents with mental illness do not receive treatment due to cost. Texas takes the top spot for the second consecutive year, followed by Georgia, according to Forbes Advisor’s annual survey. The state is not alone in facing mental health care challenges in the South, as six of its neighboring states – Texas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina – also rank in the top 10 worst states for mental health care.
One in five American adults experience a mental health condition each year, but three-fourths of them are dissatisfied with the state of mental health treatment and over half receive no treatment at all, according to Mental Health America. To determine state rankings, Forbes Advisor considered seven metrics including percentages of adults with mental illness receiving no treatment, inability to access a doctor due to cost, lack of services for youth with depression, and insufficient insurance coverage for mental health issues.
Alabama scored 87.6 out of 100 in the survey. The state has the third highest percentage of adults with mental illness who are uninsured at 17.9%. Additionally, Alabama ranks fourth in the percentage of adults with mental illness not receiving any treatment (62.4%) and fifth in the percentage of adults receiving inadequate treatment (35.4%). The state also places sixth for youth with private health insurance that does not cover mental and emotional problems and eighth in the percentage of adults with mental health disorders unable to see a doctor due to cost. Lastly, Alabama has the eighth fewest mental health treatment centers per capita than other states across America