Mental health visits and spending dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to a new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers for the RAND Corporation analyzed 7 million patient records with employer-funded health insurance and found that overall rates of mental health visits increased by 38.8% from before March 2020 to August 2022, with spending on mental healthcare increasing by 53.7% during the same time frame.
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During the initial phase of the pandemic from March to December 2020, telehealth appointments for mental health conditions increased by 1019.3%, with in-person visits dropping by nearly 40%. Even with the drop in in-person visits, however, the demand for mental health services increased overall by 22.3%, representing a 29.5% increase in spending per capita, during the first nine months of the pandemic.
Overall spending on mental healthcare increased by $1.2 million per 10,000 patients per month, totaling $3.5 million monthly after the pandemic.
Anxiety and major depressive disorders led to the majority of both in-person and telehealth appointments across all three time periods examined.
Partially in response to increased demand, the Biden-Harris administration has redoubled its efforts to increase access to mental health treatment.
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would be awarding more than $64 million in block grants to states and local communities to strengthen mental health services.
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President Joe Biden last month also announced new guidance from HHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that increase the requirements for health insurance companies to cover mental health treatments.
"I don't know what the difference between breaking your arm and having a mental breakdown is. It's health," Biden said in announcing the new rules.