White Paper - Annotated Bibliography

Olivia Burd

Professor Fusilier

Principles of Professional Writing

December 8, 2024

White Paper Deliverable Two: Annotated Bibliography

Insel, Thomas R. “Assessing the Economic Costs of Serious Mental Illness.” American Journal of Psychiatry, 1 June 2008, psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.08030366.

• Summary: Insel describes the indirect effects on the economy that mental health disorders have on the economy. Those indirect effects are things such as homelessness, incarceration, and hospital stays. More importantly, this article has a focus on the costs from loss of earnings. In this part of the article, Insel shares statistics that back up his claims regarding the economic impact of loss of earnings. He continues on to address the total economic burden (317 billion) and what numbers and demographics are included in this number. He explains that this is generous and it could be a much larger number but many groups are left out of this estimate.
• Rationale: I think source is important in bridging the gap between individuals and the greater economic burden. For example, this article leads to discussion about the struggles that these individuals face, such as homelessness, but then it also addresses how homelessness affects the country’s economy indirectly. The quotes I reference below will prove the point that mental illnesses do have a profound effect on the economy.
• Possible Quotes:
  • “estimated that serious mental illness is associated with an annual loss of earnings totaling $193.2 billion” (Insel, 2008, p. 663).
  • “The $317 billion estimated economic burden of serious mental illness in Table 1 excludes costs associated with comorbid conditions, incarceration, homelessness, and early mortality, yet this sum is equivalent to more than $1,000/year for every man,woman, and child in the United States” (Insel, 2008, p. 664).
    • *If this quote is used, the table in the article will be crucial to reference in order for this to make sense*

Lasswell, Sophie. “Financial Inaccessibility of Mental Healthcare in the United States.” Ballard Brief, no. 3, 1 Sept. 2022, https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ballardbrief/vol2022/iss3/7/.

• Summary: In this article Lasswell discusses what makes mental health services so expensive, and what the results are of having these services be inaccessible. She addresses why these services have become increasingly inaccessible, for example, treatments are becoming more advanced and therefore more expensive, however, income is not increasing at the same rate. Lasswell then goes on to explain the results of people going untreated. She addresses the obvious of poorer mental health then she continues on to explain how this financially burdens individuals as well as the country's economy overall. She then explains how all of this impacts work benefits and results in increasing debt, reducing productivity.
• Rationale: This source is important to use because it includes the facts and statistics of what makes mental health services inaccessible. Some of the focus of our white paper is that mental health services are inaccessible because of how much they cost, and this article does a great job at showing just how much these services cost. The use of Logos will really enhance our finished white paper. Another aspect of our white paper topic is the wider economic burden, which is also discussed in this article. She describes exactly how lack of accessibility affects our country’s overall economy. Again, this is important to our white paper topic.
• Possible quotes:
  • “An overview of mental health inpatient treatment centers found that prices for psychiatric residential treatment facilities ranged from $10,000.00-$60,000.00 per month.105 Another report found that the average cost of an inpatient hospital stay was $11,700.00 in 2016 (approximately $13,200.00 in 2021)” (Lasswell, 2022. p. 13).
  • “The US maintains a relatively high suicide rate.112 According to a 2020 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide was the twelfth leading cause of death; there were about twice as many suicides (45,979) in the United States as homicides (24,576) in 2020.” (Lasswell, 2022. p. 14).

Sperling, Jonathan. “Mental Health Is Costing the US Economy Billions — Increasing Access Could Be the Solution | Columbia Business School.” Columbia Business School, 28 Apr. 2024, business.columbia.edu/insights/business-society/mental-health-costing-us-economy-billions-increasing-access-could-be.

• Summary: In this article, Sperling addresses the cost of untreated mental health disorders along with possible ways to solve this problem. He discusses how previous research may not be accurate and up to date and that the costs are probably higher than we think. There is also mention of individual money, which plays a role in the overall economy, people who have mental illnesses are found to make less money than those who don’t suffer from mental illness. Finally the article ends with suggestions for improvement and what others can do to increase the use of mental health services and decrease the economic impact.
• Rationale: As part of the white paper, we hope to address current solutions and recommend solutions. This source will play a key role in addressing what has already been tried and even suggestions for solutions. Sterling covers both of these topics within his article so this will help us develop a further understanding and give some inspiration.
• Possible Quotes:
  • “the cost of mental illness in the United States is a whopping $282 billion annually — an estimate 30 percent higher than that found in previous epidemiological research” (Sperling, 2024).
  • “one solution is to fund community health centers, a policy goal that a few state governments have implemented.” (Sperling, 2024).
  • "A second option is virtual mental health care, where policymakers partner with private organizations or use taxpayer funds to provide mental health treatment through a computer or mobile device.” (Sperling, 2024).