The rate of mental health services for children on Medicaid declined from the average pre-pandemic levels.
In January, children under age 19 received about 23% fewer services for mental health. Children ages 15 to 18 saw substance use disorder (SUD) treatment rates drop by about 24% compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to a preliminary utilization data report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
While CMS did not provide an explanation for the drop in services, this comes at a time when youth mental health appears to be worsening.
Pre-pandemic, about 37% of American high schoolers reported depressive symptoms. That was an increase of about 40% in 2019 compared to 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In March, the CDC reported that 44% persistently felt sad or hopeless during 2021. That’s a 68.6% increase compared to 2009 and a 19.9% increase compared to 2019.
And unlike their adult peers, the dip in rates of mental health and SUD treatment does not appear to be related to an influx in enrollment in Medicaid, according to the preliminary report.
In March 2022, Medicaid and CHIP, the Medicaid program dedicated to children, covered 87.9 million people, 24.3% more than in February 2020. CHIP enrollment has increased by 3.9% while Medicaid enrollment increased by 26.5%, according to the latest enrollment snapshot from CMS.
For children, other primary and preventative care services appear to have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels after taking a dip earlier in the pandemic.
“Although rates rebounded through March 2021 for most primary and preventive care services, millions of services still need to be delivered to make up for those missed between March 2020 and January 2022,” the preliminary report states. “Of all services examined in this analysis, the smallest improvement was for mental health services.”
Governments respond to youth mental crisis
Governments at the state and federal levels have made improving youth mental health a key focus. In June, elected officials at the federal level passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities into law. Meant to address mass gun killings, the bill included a raft of youth mental health initiatives.
Among the states, which have more direct visibility and control over local issues, several laws and directives have gone into effect to impact youth mental health issues. These include efforts to better coordinate scant youth mental health resources, investments in the mental health workforce and building more mental health services in schools.
For months, several congressional committees have heard testimony about the potential of using schools as an anchor in responding to the youth mental health crisis.
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