Millions of individuals and families in the US are trapped in a vicious circle. Financial concerns such as inflation and housing costs harm their mental health and the increasing costs of health care – another one great concern For households – prevents them from receiving the care they need. That makes all their health problems worse, and the cycle keeps running faster and faster.
That was the most important insight of our Recent survey We have carried out mental and financial health with speaker research. About 70% of American adults said that their financial fear is at a record high and that 20% reported a decrease in their mental health in the past year.
If that was not alarming enough, about 30% of people said that their mental health was negatively influenced by the costs of health care, or by the difficulty to gain access to health care for themselves or a loved one. Most discouraging, despite the clear need, only 14% of people currently saw a therapist or psychiatrist. The main reason why people quoted not to get help? Affordability, with a wide margin.
Mental health access barriers
What is the biggest challenge that you prevent professional care from looking for mental health?
Source: Including health / Prater Research (2025)The costs rise
This jumble of financial fear, cost -related access barriers and deteriorating mental health are a crisis for all of us. When people abandon required care or medicines due to costs – if 36% of Americans Recently – their physical and mental health problems tend to get worseAs a result, they end up in the first aid or a hospital bed earlier.
This cycle is a special acute problem in the commercial insurance market, which largely includes that employers for health benefits offer the workforce of America (158 million people). Partially thanks to rising hospital pricesAre health care expenditure per head of the population on the commercial market than in Medicare or Medicaid and the cost trend is alone Become steeper.
Cumulative growth in expenditure per head of the population per insurance type since 2008 
Source: Kff (2025)Employee benefits
The rising costs drip into individuals and families through higher premiums and copays, although employers, to their credit, have Most increases absorbed in recent years. In an attempt to support their workforce and to control the costs, many employers even have their investment increased In a wide range of health benefits, very much or no costs for employees to close gaps in healthcare and to guide their people to high-quality, cost-effective support. These benefits range from apps for mental health, platforms for telehealth and chronic fitness management, navigation services and much, much more.
Although some of these offers help people become healthier and generate cost savings, it is clear that they have not done enough to reverse the wider trend of affordability. How is it?
Involvement is a problem. Too few employees are aware of their benefits, register for them or stay with them long enough to influence their health or financial results. Involvement of employees is always a tough struggle, and the lack of integration into health care only makes it more difficult. Mental, physical and financial health cannot be tackled separately, as the recent findings of the study show. But most tools and services are not connected, making it almost impossible for individuals to experience a seamless journey that supports all their care needs.
A larger, related problem is the payment model for the payment of fee-for service. Involvement alone – people get to use more services – do not improve the results if healthcare is not on time or high quality. On the commercial market, a shift to Value -based care and contracting Helps employers, employees and health care partners to prepare incentives to encourage better clinical and financial results for everyone.
What people really need, what they miss the most is personalized, all-in-one healthcare that offers integrated medical and mental health care, care coordination, benefits guidance and assistance with invoicing and claims, everything connected by empathetic people looking for the whole person. Spirit, body, wallet. Provide one of these dimensions of health – and reducing costs for everyone – requires taking care of all three.
Owen Tripp is co -founder and CEO of supplied health.
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