KHA released a report today on Kentucky’s Persistent Mental Health Crisis. This report begins with an analysis of national mental health data, Kentucky’s persistently higher-than-national rates, and recent improvements.
Kentucky’s hospitals offer crisis treatment and a path to recovery and symptom management. Every year since 2020, emergency departments (EDs) report about 1.1 million diagnoses of either mental illness or substance use disorder. It is also noteworthy that the percentage of children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 with a principal diagnosis of mental health or substance use disorder (SUD) has increased from 9.5 percent in 2021 to 10.7 percent in 2023, an increase of 13 percent. Almost three-quarters of all ED visits with a principal diagnosis of mental health or SUD are for beneficiaries in government insurance programs.
The report is available at the link below or can be found on the Data Reports page under the Data Center at www.kyha.com.
