Mental Depression Costs Put at $44 Billion a Year : Health: Most of the tab is for treatment, lost job productivity, study says. Findings likely will play role in the debate over Clinton’s reform package.

Mental depression costs the United States nearly $44 billion a year--most of it in treatment costs and lost job productivity--and employers of depressed workers are paying more than half of that total, according to the results of a study released Thursday.

The findings are likely to play a role in the continuing debate over the amount of mental health coverage that should be included in the national health care reform plan that President Clinton has sent to Congress.

Researchers found that 55% of the total costs of depression, or $23.8 billion, are incurred by employers in the form of worker absenteeism and reduced productivity. An estimated $12 billion is spent on direct costs, such as medical and psychiatric services, rehabilitation, counseling and medication for patients, according to the study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

In addition, the study estimated that $7.5 billion in lifetime earnings is lost because of those people who commit suicide because of depression. That cost represents “valuable human resources that are permanently lost to society,” the report said.

Not included in those totals are the costs of depression stemming from alcohol and drug abuse, which the researchers said would have yielded even higher cost figures.

Tipper Gore, former mental health adviser to Clinton’s Health Care Reform Task Force, and other mental health advocates said that they see the study as strong ammunition in their battle to incorporate mental health benefits in health care reform.

“While the nation’s attention is focused on the urgent need for health care reform, this study provides new evidence that employers are carrying the major burden of the costs of depression, whether they realize it or not,” said Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore. “Businesses have much to gain from recognizing clinical depression in the workplace and facilitating treatment for depressed workers.”

The version of the plan the Clinton Administration sent to Congress includes a basic level of mental health coverage that would expand somewhat in future years. But the National Assn. of Manufacturers and others have asked to have mental health benefits removed from the initial package because they are too expensive. Employers spend more than $3,000 on every depressed worker, the study said.

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“If you think putting in mental health coverage will reduce all that dollar for dollar, you’re dead wrong,” said Jerry Jasinowski, president of the manufacturers association. “We support mental health coverage, but somebody’s got to pay for it.”

The study was conducted by a team of researchers and economists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management and the Analysis Group of Boston. It was released at a news conference hosted by the National Mental Health Assn., a voluntary charitable organization that provides patient support services, community outreach programs and public information to draw attention to the seriousness of mental illness.

Other mental health advocates said that the study would help gain greater recognition for the problem of depression in the workplace.