According to Forbes Advisor’s annual survey, Alabama ranks third in the United States for mental health care challenges. One of the reasons for this ranking is that more than half of residents with mental illness do not receive treatment due to cost. Texas takes the top spot for the second consecutive year, followed by Georgia. The state is not alone in facing mental health care challenges in the South, as six of its neighboring states – including Texas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina – also rank in the top 10 worst states for mental health care.
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. In addition to these factors, Forbes also looked at the percentage of adults with mental illness who are uninsured and those who receive inadequate treatment.
Alabama scored 87.6 out of 100 in the survey. The state has one of the highest percentages 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 one of the fewest number of mental health treatment centers per capita among all states across America.[