Projections of National Expenditures for Mental Health Services and Substance Abuse Treatment 2004-2014

摘要

By 2014, expenditures on mental health (MH) and substance abuse (SA) treatment are projected to reach $239 billion, up from $42 billion in 1986 and $121 billion in 2003. The pace of growth in spending on MH and SA treatment is anticipated to be slower than for all-health spending over the next decade.1 Because of the slower growth in MHSA spending compared to that for all health, MHSA expenditures are projected to account for progressively smaller shares of all-health expenditures. Although all-health spending growth is forecasted to slow, MH spending is expected to expand at about the same average annual rate during the projection period as it did historically. The growth rate for MH spending will likely be sustained over the next decade by the rapid increase in prescription drug spending that is a higher proportion of MH spending than of all-health spending. There is a continuing shift of treatment to the outpatient setting and is especially noticeable in the growing share of MH spending for prescription drugs.