I envision Utah as a model for other regions confronting the growing global mental health crisis.
While numerous factors contribute to the rising prevalence of mental health conditions, the most immediate challenge for providers is ensuring that patients can access treatment. This is where we need to create new avenues to accessing care and adopt upstream strategies to address one of the greatest barriers: cost. Through innovative and collaborative efforts, we can unlock timely treatment opportunities for those who need it most.
Delays in accessing mental health care carry significant consequences — not just for individuals, but also for their families and the broader economy.
Although stigma and lack of insurance are often cited as barriers, one of the most pressing issues lies in the limitations of insurance coverage itself. For example, despite Utah having the highest rate of employer-sponsored health insurance in the country, nearly 41% of adults still report experiencing anxiety or depression. This paradox stems from restrictive insurance policies that fail to provide adequate support.
Patients often face the requirement to exhaust conventional treatments before being eligible for more effective, personalized options. In our clinic, we frequently see cases where a patient must fail four different medications before being approved for Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS). The newest medical literature recommends TMS earlier in the treatment algorithm, typically after two trials of antidepressants. I highlight this treatment specifically because Deep TMS has demonstrated clinical success in addressing treatment-resistant depression and is a highly personalized treatment best used in conjunction with therapy and medications. During this prolonged period of trial and error, there is also a significant risk of patients discontinuing treatment, mistakenly believing that no solution will work for them.
Even with insurance, high out-of-pocket costs can cause patients to delay appointments or skip medication, undermining care effectiveness. For some, the financial strain prevents them from seeking treatment altogether, impacting not only the individual but also their loved ones, creating a cycle of untreated mental health issues across generations.
What often goes unnoticed is the economic toll of these delays. Between 2017 and 2023, employee leaves of absence for mental health reasons surged by an extraordinary 300%, highlighting how limited access to care ripples beyond the individual to affect the broader workforce and economy.
