Services for mental illness.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS

One in 17 Americans lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder or post traumatic stress disorder. Without proper treatment, mental illness can affect both the individual and society, often leading to unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness or incarceration.

Roughly one-third of adult homelessness is associated with serious mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. And approximately 22 percent of incarcerated people have been diagnosed with mental illness, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports untreated mental illness costs the United States more than $100 billion each year in lost productivity. Individuals with serious mental illnesses are also at high risk of additional chronic medical conditions, such as pulmonary disease and diabetes, and on average die 25 years earlier than other Americans.

People with serious mental illnesses, however, can usually be helped with proper treatment, which generally combines medication and psychotherapy. But nearly 80 percent of people with an unmet mental health need cite cost as the reason for not receiving treatment, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

In July 2010, new federal provisions will go into effect that require insurance plans that offer mental health coverage to provide the same financial and treatment coverage they offer for physical illnesses. More than 40 states already had addressed this issue to...