Southern states ranked with the worst access to mental health care, study finds

The report comes at a time when Americans in general are less positive about their mental health. A recent Gallup poll found Americans are ranking their mental health status as the lowest in more than two decades. The poll from December of 2022 found that Americans calling their mental health “good” or “excellent” was at 75% — the lowest rate on record and 10 points lower than the average over the past 20 years. Gallup found that 17% of U.S. adults describe their mental health as “only fair” and 7% as “poor;” those numbers are the highest rate of dissatisfaction with mental health in recent years.

Mental health benefits are increasingly important to both workers and employers — especially as businesses compete for talent. A recent survey by software provider Calm found that 57% of employees want their companies to help with stress and anxiety.