State Rep. John Gaskey (R-2nd Plymouth) said Massachusetts should expand health to inpatient behavioral health.
His comments come after Bay State News reported the Commonwealth ranked 29th among 50 states plus the District of Columbia for the number of psychiatric beds per 100,000 people.
“Without a doubt we should expand access to inpatient mental health care. The money is there,” Gaskey told Plymouth Reporter. “The problem is there is so much waste in the budget, I don’t know if the Speaker and his supporters see it as a priority, but I certainly do.”
“I am not a mental health professional, so I don’t know what would be the best solution, so I lean on the experts’ opinions,” Gaskey said. “However, it does not take an expert to understand that more needs to be done.”
A report released by the Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) found that, “in 2023, Massachusetts had 9.5 psychiatric beds per 100,000 population.”
That number is well below the 40 to 60 beds per 100,000 that TAC said is the “recommended minimum” for states.
Gaskey said he would find funding for behavioral health by “cutting waste.”
“Massachusetts is one of the states hit hardest by the opioid epidemic, and typically substance abuse and mental health goes hand in hand,” said Gaskey. We need this to be a priority.”
The TAC report said psychiatric bed availability has been consistently declining since the 1950s.
“In 1955, the country had 340 psychiatric beds per 100,000 people. By 2016, that number had fallen to 11.7 per 100,000, leaving many individuals with severe mental illness without adequate inpatient care options,” said the report.
Founded in 1998, the TAC is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Va., that focuses on mental health policy and research related to serious mental illness.
A report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum found that Massachusetts has 2,761 licensed psychiatric inpatient beds, serving approximately 74,000 psychiatric inpatient admissions per year. Despite these numbers, the state’s bed-to-population ratio remains insufficient to meet service demands.
Additionally, a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that in 2019, Massachusetts had a state hospital utilization rate of 0.29 per 1,000 population—lower than the national average of 0.41 per 1,000. This suggests that even with a relatively high number of psychiatric beds compared to some other states, Massachusetts still faces challenges in meeting the inpatient mental health care needs of its residents.
The shortage of psychiatric beds contributes to long wait times for mental health treatment, increased reliance on emergency departments for psychiatric crises, and difficulties in ensuring timely care for individuals with severe mental illness.
Gaskey said his message to Massachusetts family struggling to find psychiatric care due to the state’s bed shortage is, “I hear you.”
“Mental health is an issue that our state should prioritize,” he said. “I will fight for this issue, I ask that you please call your Representatives and urge them to do the same. This is not a partisan issue.”
A native of El Paso, Texas, Gaskey served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1989 to 2012, retiring as a Chief Petty Officer. He moved to Carver, Massachusetts, in 2017 and joined the Carver Planning Board. In 2024, he won the Republican primary against incumbent Susan Williams Gifford and was elected as the State Representative for Massachusetts’ 2nd Plymouth District.
Where does Massachusetts rank in psychiatric beds per 100,000 people?
