Staggering Costs of Mental Illness
thestar.com – Toronto, December 10, 2008
Summary: In a recent article in the Toronto Star, Jim McCarter was quoted as saying that the estimated total economic costs to Ontario attributable to mental illness was about $22 billion a year. He said, “Addressing the needs of people with mental illness is a pressing issue for Ontario’s health-care system and society as a whole.” Alcohol and drug abuse alone are estimated to cost the province $8 billion annually in health care, law enforcement, motor vehicle accidents, crime and indirect costs resulting from lost productivity.