Most investors know well that healthcare spending is on the rise. But it’s less well publicized that one of the fastest-growing subsets of healthcare is mental health and addiction treatment, often combined under the umbrella moniker “behavioral health.” Spending on mental health and substance abuse treatment more than doubled over the past 12 years and now represents a $250 billion market in the United States; analysts expect the sector to grow in the high-single-digit percentages for the next several years. One reason is the growing awareness and diagnosis of psychiatric illnesses, along with declining stigma associated with seeking treatment. More… Read More
Most investors know well that healthcare spending is on the rise. But it’s less well publicized that one of the fastest-growing subsets of healthcare is mental health and addiction treatment, often combined under the umbrella moniker “behavioral health.” Spending on mental health and substance abuse treatment more than doubled over the past 12 years and now represents a $250 billion market in the United States; analysts expect the sector to grow in the high-single-digit percentages for the next several years. One reason is the growing awareness and diagnosis of psychiatric illnesses, along with declining stigma associated with seeking treatment. More than 18% of American adults suffer from diagnosable mental illnesses; about 4% have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Depression alone is a $23 billion industry. And four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the United States are mental illnesses. #-ad_banner-#Government policy has also helped the sector grow: in 2008, the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act required insurance companies to cover mental illness and addiction as medical problems. The Affordable Care Act required mental health coverage as part of the new exchange system as well. Substance abuse treatment, while a relatively small part of… Read More