This article examines the well-being of mentally ill Americans.  The authors find that access to care and financial protections have improved; however, those results have been limited to certain populations.  Access to care for individuals with mental health impairments appears to have been declined.  Additionally, the authors estimate that at least 7 percent of the population with serious and persistent mental illness is incarcerated.

Glied, S. A., & Frank, R. G. (2009). Better but not best: recent trends in the well-being of the mentally ill. Health Affairs, 28(3): 637-48. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.3.637 http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/short/28/3/637 

Authors:  Sherry A. Glied, Richard G. Frank