Surgeon General calls for more funding to help states tackle mental health crisis

Feb. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on Saturday urged state governments to tackle the youth mental crisis by investing in treatment, expanding their mental health work forces and reducing stigma.

Speaking during the National Governors Association's meeting in Washington, D.C., Murthy said that he has never seen more progress in addressing the nation's mental health crisis, noting that many states are partnering with schools and healthcare systems.

"In New York, a number of school systems have paired up so they could get easier access to care and they would not have to wait for months," Murthy said. "That's why it is so important to expand and sustain these efforts to get care to people, because this is about suffering that is taking place right now."

Murthy said the most important thing the federal government could provide is funding to help states set up their own mental health programs, including community health centers.

"We need to be able to learn what's happening in different states and bring that learning together into a community of practice and use it help people across America," he said.

The nation's top doctor also cited the importance of addressing social isolation, which he said increases people's risk of suffering from depression and anxiety.

"Right now nearly a third to a half of Americans are suffering from loneliness and the numbers are highest among children," Murthy said. "We think they are the most connected by technology, but it turns out that is not necessarily the case."

Murthy has voiced concerns said that 13-year-olds are too young to join social media and that being on those platforms does a "disservice" to children.

"Their relationships and the skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children," Murthy told CNN last month.