The baby boomer generation is facing a severe shortage of mental health professionals available to treat them as they age, a new report by the Institute of Medicine of National Academies indicates.
The report states "millions of baby boomers will likely face difficulties getting diagnoses and treatment for mental health conditions and substance abuse problems unless there is a major effort to significantly boost the number of health professionals and other service providers."
The report adds a major overhaul of both Medicare and Medicaid's payment rules is needed in order to "guarantee coverage of counseling, care management, and other types of services crucial for treating mental health conditions and substance use problems."
Otherwise, clinicians may not be willing or able to provide the care will be needed by so many.
In coming years, this problem will only worsen as the large baby boomer generation continues to age. The number of elderly Americans is thought to double by 2030.
The report estimates at current numbers, "between 5.6 million and 8 million older Americans - 14 percent to 20 percent of the nation's overall elderly population - have one or more mental health conditions or problems stemming from substance misuse or abuse."
The report gave several recommendations including:
- Congress support for loan forgiveness and scholarships for individuals who work with or are preparing to work with older adults with mental health conditions or substance use problems.
- Revamping Health and Human Services programming instead of making cuts in this area, as has been the norm in recent years..
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com