News-Medical.Net August 25, 2023
Spending on mental health services among Americans with private health insurance has surged since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing to rise even as the use of telehealth has plateaued, according to a new study.
Spending on mental health services rose by 53% from March 2020 to August 2022 among a large group of people with employer-provided insurance, according to researchers from the RAND Corporation and Castlight Health. During the same period, use of mental health services increased by 39%.
The researchers say it is uncertain if the trend will continue since some rules that expanded payment for telehealth services expired when the nation’s public health emergency ended in May. The findings are published by the journal JAMA Health...