Forbes Advisor has ranked Alabama as the third worst state in the United States for mental health, following Texas and Georgia. One of the main reasons for this ranking is that over half of Alabama residents with mental illness do not receive treatment due to cost. This issue is not unique to Alabama, 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.
According to Mental Health America, 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. 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.
Texas took the top spot for the second consecutive year, followed by Georgia. Alabama scored 87.6 out of 100 in the survey, with the state having 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, with only 12.46 per 10,000 businesses.