Rising mental health costs: what are we getting for our money?(HEALTH CARE COSTS)

"For most of the past 20 years, mental health spending has increased at a rate close to that of all health spending, with rates of increase rarely deviating by more than one or two percentage points. Between 1990-91 and 2003, the proportion of the population receiving mental health services, or treated prevalence, rose nearly two-thirds, from 12.2% to 20.1%. This increase was the single largest driver of rising mental health spending during this time period, accounting for nearly 60% of the overall increase between 1987 and 2000. In contrast, increasing treatment rates explained only 19% of the cost increase for hypertension and only 1% of the increase for heart disease during …