Hoosier State Today

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) has released new data indicating that nearly one-third of adults in Indiana experience mental health disorders. However, the Courier and Press reports that the state provides only 11.9 psychiatric beds per 100,000 people, which is significantly below the recommended 50 beds.

According to the report, substance use and suicide rates have increased sharply in Indiana. The state's drug overdose death rate rose from 15.3 to 43 per 100,000 people between 2011 and 2021, primarily due to opioids, which accounted for 78% of overdose deaths in 2021. Suicide remains a significant concern, particularly among youth and in firearm-related cases, with Indiana's firearm suicide rate at 9.9 per 100,000—above the national average. Despite efforts to expand care, the state continues to face a mental health workforce shortage, meeting only 31.1% of the need. Barriers such as limited provider access, out-of-network costs, and low Medicaid service utilization continue to delay timely treatment for both adults and children.

Hoosier State Today reports that Indiana ranked 18th nationally in psychiatric bed availability in 2023, with just 11.9 state hospital beds per 100,000 residents—well below the Treatment Advocacy Center’s recommended minimum of 40 to 60 beds. Despite having 815 adult beds statewide, significant gaps remain in mental health treatment; only 41.5% of Indiana’s approximately 180,889 adults with severe mental illness receive care. A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 2022 cited a "grossly insufficient" number of beds, leaving some defendants jailed without treatment. The psychiatric bed shortage cost Indiana an estimated $4.2 billion in economic losses in 2019. In Marion County alone, nearly 26,000 adults went untreated for serious mental illness according to a study conducted by Indiana University in 2023.

KFF is a national nonprofit and nonpartisan public charity that conducts comprehensive health policy research, polling, and journalism aimed at informing both the public and policymakers. Headquartered in San Francisco with an office in Washington D.C., KFF operates independently and is widely recognized as a trusted source for health policy insights.