Helping Mentally Ill People Find Jobs Could Save Federal Government $368 Million A Year

Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 20 May 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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A national program to help mentally ill people on Social Security disability programs find jobs could spur greater independence while saving the federal government $368 million annually, according to a study by Robert Drake of Dartmouth Medical School and colleagues in the May-June 2009 issue of Health Affairs.

Approximately 27 percent of people who are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are mentally ill. Surveys show that up to 70 percent of people with mental illnesses want to work. Drake and his coauthors say that a national "supported employment" program would help these people, as well as those with mental illnesses who qualify for the separate Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, to earn incomes that could total up to $1.6 billion a year.

The May-June issue of Health Affairs -- Mental Health Care: Better, Not Best - is a thematic volume on mental health funded by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation. The issue was released at a May 5 briefing in Washington, D.C. Video and PowerPoints from that briefing are available on the Health Affairs Web site.

Source
Health Affairs

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