Critical Moment Looms for MAHA Commission, U.S. Mental Health

There is never a wrong time to talk about mental health.

For millions of Americans, the challenge exists daily, shaping how they connect and cope with their surrounding environment. Here in July, the conversation is especially timely: It is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.

Mental health, like other chronic conditions, places a disproportionate burden on historically marginalized communities. Higher rates of trauma, discrimination, and chronic stress compound the prevalence and severity of mental illness. Meanwhile, systemic barriers can delay diagnosis and restrict access to care.

The Make America Healthy Again Commission recently recognized mental health as essential for national health. This is an important distinction to explore. For nearly two decades, the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease has observed how mental health influences outcomes across care. People managing diabetes, heart disease or asthma may struggle more to pursue or adhere to treatment when depression or anxiety is left untreated.

Of course, acknowledgment is not enough.

The MAHA Commission must follow up with recommendations that appropriately recognize high-risk groups.

Young people at large, for example, are subject to immense pressure. School demands, social isolation, and online stress contribute to the crisis. Suicide is one of the three leading causes of death for children, adolescents and adults between ages 10 and 24.

In rural areas, the situation is especially urgent. Rural residents experience higher rates of depression and rates of suicide relative to Americans in urban communities. Limited access to care further exacerbates the issue. Not only do rural areas have 20% fewer primary care providers than urban areas, but 65% of rural counties lack a single psychiatrist and 95% don’t have a pediatric psychiatrist.

Telehealth could help fill the void, but one in three rural homes lacks the requisite internet connection.

Risks are also high for LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color. From 2007 to 2020, the suicide rate among Black youth ages 10 to 17 rose by 144%. Teens who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual are more than three times as likely to consider suicide than their heterosexual peers.

These numbers reflect a system that has failed too many for too long.

PFCD understands the opportunity at hand to share practical recommendations as well as the importance of getting the messaging’s language right.

Some phrasing in the MAHA Report risks reinforcing outdated, harmful myths, such as that therapy “encourages rumination,” the suggestion that parents or schools are to blame, or that medication and counseling are signs of weakness rather than valid treatments.

When mental illness is framed with blame or stigma, people stay quiet.

Likewise, language within the MAHA Report supported the notion that depression and other mental illness is over-treated among adolescents. Research says otherwise.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, only 40.6% of U.S. adolescents with a major depressive episode received treatment — and only 44.2% who suffered a major depressive episode with severe impairment. Given the mental health crisis in youth, our greater concern is under-diagnosis and under-treatment of mental illness, particularly among underserved and marginalized communities. It can be counterproductive to broadly stigmatize treatment for children in need of behavioral and medical intervention, including access to effective medications when appropriate.

Mental health should be embedded in every effort to modernize care. That means better infrastructure, expanded telehealth, more trained providers, and full parity for insurance coverage.

The Commission is on the right track to recognize mental health as a chronic mental condition deserving of parity in care and coverage. PFCD stands ready to help advance the momentum.

There is never a wrong time to talk about mental health.

There is no better time than now to act.