BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WOWO) –  Untreated mental illness is not just a problem for the health and well-being of Hoosiers, but is also a financial problem for the state.

The Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health says Indiana spends 4.2-billion-dollars a year to address issues caused by untreated mental illness. That covers a lot of ground and includes costs associated with Medicaid, mental healthcare, covering people who can’t work, and suicide.

“These costs represent a significant public health and financial challenge for our state,” said Heather Taylor, lead author on the study and assistant professor at the Fairbanks School. “When you measure this across the state, every year there is a loss of over $600 for every person, or nearly $1,600 per family. Untreated mental illness is a hugely consequential cost for Hoosiers.”

The Fairbanks School study shows one in five people in Indiana with mental illness do not get the treatment and/or resources they need. That can also lead to developing long term health problems like diabetes.

“Premature mortality” costs Indiana the most money at 1.4-billion-dollars. Basically, that could apply to someone if they committed suicide. The costs associated from that suicide could be medical costs passed on to the family.

This is how the study breaks down the costs, per IU:

$142 million to Medicaid.

$567 million to private insurers.

$106 million to Indiana’s criminal justice system.

$9.9 million to Indiana through homeless supports.

$566 million for caregiving.

$407 million in unemployment for those unable to work.

“Another way to look at this is that, with the average wage in Indiana of $20.05 an hour, the loss of over $4 billion dollars each year represents 100,000 jobs,” Taylor said. “In 2018, the leading agricultural product for Indiana was corn, which had $3.8 billion in sales.”

So, what’s the solution? The Fairbanks study argues Indiana can push for better access and delivery of mental health resources, which was one of the driving forces behind Senate Bill 1. The bill, which passed this spring, helped expand access to mental health centers and created the 988 mental health crisis hotline.

The study was published October 13th in the Journal of the American Medical Association.