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In 2023, 23 percent of adults in the U.S. reported experiencing a mental illness, totaling more than 58 million Americans. Of those 58 million, 46 percent reported not receiving treatment. During the same period, 17 percent of adults across the nation reported experiencing substance use disorder, yet three out of four did not receive treatment. The need for services far outpaces access for the general public, and significant disparities exist in access to treatment and outcomes for certain racial and ethnic groups.
Increasing the quantity of behavioral health services (i.e., number of providers, appointment slots) is key to addressing the nation’s behavioral health crisis. However, it is also critical that both existing and expanded services are high quality, as defined not only by providers and payers, but also by people with lived experience of behavioral health needs. Existing quality measure frameworks have been developed primarily from a payer and provider perspective and have not meaningfully recognized the perspectives of people with lived experience.