According to a new RAND Corporation analysis, spending on mental health treatments for children and adolescents has increased by more than 25% since the COVID-19 pandemic began, even as telehealth use plateaued.
A mother looks out for her child’s mental well-being. She makes sure her child receives proper care. (Source: NDTV)
Insurance Companies Spent More to Address Mental Health Treatment Concerns
Many families with employer-provided insurance spent 26% more on mental health for 19-year-olds from March 2020 to August 2022. Mental health care use rose 22% throughout the same period. Telehealth use for pediatric patients soared more than 30-fold in the early months of the pandemic and remained at 23 times normal by August 2022, even as in-person care reached 75% of pre-pandemic levels. The findings appear in JAMA Network Open. According to the study lead author Mariah M. Kalmin, a policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization, the results indicate that during the COVID-19 epidemic, telehealth care for mental health addressed a critical need for young patients and continues to fund a sizable percentage of pediatric mental health care.
Researchers investigated 1.9 million commercial insurance claims for children and adolescents from January 2019 to August 2022 to assess mental health service patterns after the pandemic. The study analyzed the most frequent pediatric mental health diagnoses: anxiety, adjustment, ADHD, major depressive disorder, and conduct disorder. Castlight Health, a health benefit manager for 200 firms in all 50 states, provided the claims data. In the acute phase of the pandemic (March 2020 to December 2020), in-person mental health treatments for pediatric patients dropped 42% while tele-mental health services soared 30-fold. Mental health services were used 13% more overall.
Post-acute spending for in-person and virtual care increased gradually once vaccinations became available in December 2020. In-person psychiatric care for pediatric patients was restored to 75% of pre-pandemic levels by August 2022, while telehealth remained 23 times higher. August 2022 mental health services consumption was 22% greater than pre-pandemic. ADHD, anxiety, and adjustment disorder treatment dominated visits and spending throughout all periods. “As telehealth provides effective mental health treatment for children and youths, these findings have important implications for telehealth sustainability beyond the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kalmin stated. Employers are particularly concerned about the increasing demands of children with mental health disorders due to the stress placed on caregivers and the high cost of care for these dependents, said study co-author and senior scientific advisor Dena Bravata, Apree Health.
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