US Mental Health Spending Estimated at $174 Billion Annually in 2021–2023

A cross-sectional study in JAMA Psychiatry examined mental health spending using the 2021–2023 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which represents the civilian noninstitutionalized US population. The analysis included 67,532 person-year observations and identified 15,407 with reported outpatient mental health visits. Investigators estimated overall and population-standardized expenditures by sociodemographic characteristics and diagnostic categories.

Estimated annual mental health expenditures were $174 billion (95% CI, $152–$196 billion), representing 7.0% of the $2.5 trillion in total health care spending measured by the survey. Mean annual mental health spending was $523 per person overall and $2,473 per person with a treated mental health disorder. Mood disorders accounted for $74 billion and anxiety and fear-related disorders for $69 billion. Spending per treated individual was highest for substance use disorders ($9,569), schizophrenia ($9,370), and bipolar disorders ($7,382).

Ambulatory services accounted for $107 billion, medications for $36 billion, home health care for $20 billion, and inpatient treatment for $12 billion. These findings distinguish conditions driving population-level spending from those associated with higher individual treatment expenditures. The authors characterize spending as low relative to the societal burden of mental disorders. However, this cross-sectional analysis does not establish treatment effectiveness or spending adequacy; its noninstitutionalized population and focus on reported outpatient mental health visits also constrain interpretation. Only the abstract was available for review.