Mental Health in Louisiana. According to Mental Health of America, a nationally recognized mental health advocacy organization, Louisiana is one of four states in the country with the highest prevalence of mental illness and the lowest rates of access to care (Xxxxxx & Counts, 2015). Over 19.28% of adults 18 and older in Louisiana or 649,000 people suffer from “any form of mental illness,” compared to 18.19% nationally (Xxxxxx, et al, 2015). Over 285,000 people or 8.48% of adults in the state, compared to 8.46% nationally, are dependent on or abuse illicit drugs or alcohol (Xxxxxx, et al, 2015). The highest percentages of uninsured adults with mental illness are in the Southern and Western states (Xxxxxx, etal, 2015). Louisiana ranks number 40 among the 50 states in the number of uninsured adults with any mental illness (Xxxxxx, et al, 2015). In March of 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted to provide health care and to expand Medicaid coverage to millions of Americans without coverage. However, many states, particularly in the South, did not expand Medicaid to many Americans who otherwise would have received coverage, and thus many individuals suffering from mental and behavioral health conditions in Louisiana were uninsured. On January 12, 2016, the newly-elected Governor of Louisiana Xxxx Bel Xxxxxxx signed an executive order expanding Medicaid coverage, but prior to this action, over 300,000 citizens in the state were without health care coverage (Xxxxxx, 2016a). In addition to economic barriers to access, Louisianans are faced with barriers resulting from a lack of mental health providers as well. The state is ranked number 45 out of 50 for its lack of mental health provider workforce availability (Xxxxxx, et al, 2015). The term mental health provider includes: psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists and advanced practice nurses specializing in mental health care (MHA, 2016). Nationally, in 2015, there was a ratio of 250 people in the population for every one mental health provider (MHA, 2016). In Louisiana, however, the ratio was 859 citizens for every one mental health provider in xxx xxxxx (XXX, 0000). This means that there is almost four times less access for individuals in Louisiana who need mental health treatment, when compared to the national average (MHA, 2016). Consequently, people with chronic mental illness frequently are forced to seek non-emergency primary care services in emergency rooms...
