Pandemic leads to decrease in mental healthcare
over 2020 calendar year for children and older adults, says State
of the Nation’s Mental Health report
While people in America have shared that the pandemic and other
stressors like social injustice, elections, and the economy
negatively impacted their mental health in 2020, there wasn’t a
corresponding increase in people seeking mental health treatment,
according to the inaugural State of the Nation’s Mental Health
report, commissioned by Anthem, Inc., parent company to Anthem Blue
Cross Blue Shield Nevada.
In Nevada, children appeared to have the largest overall
decrease in mental health diagnoses in 2020 compared to 2019.
Younger adults and adolescents also had a decrease in mental health
diagnoses for the full year of 2020. However, diagnoses and
treatment for anxiety and dementia for older adults were among the
few mental health diagnoses that grew in 2020.
“While normally a decline in mental health diagnoses would
signal something positive, we know that given the current
circumstances, the need is there,” said Dr. Jacob Moussai, Medical
Director Behavioral Health Services, West Region, Anthem Blue Cross
Blue Shield. “We’re concerned that there are many people who may
benefit from mental health services, especially children and older
adults, who either aren’t being identified or aren’t reaching out
to get the help they might need.”
These findings, based on national claims data from more than 27
million members in Anthem affiliated health plans in all states,
including 427,108 in Nevada, highlight the pandemic’s impact on
those feeling stressed and depressed and not seeking treatment and
being diagnosed.
Recent studies have shown that many more adults reported
symptoms of anxiety or depression. Further, 42 percent of people
under 30 years old were experiencing anxiety and depression
symptoms, according to a CDC survey from August 2020 through
February 2021.
“This is a call out for all of us. We are working to help others
get the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves from the virus, and
at the same time, we must help people find the mental health
services they need as they cope with the pandemic, which is equally
important to their overall health. This is critical as we work
toward our mission to materially and measurably improve the health
of all Nevadans,” said Moussai.
The results of the study are supported by other Anthem national
data from IngenioRx, its pharmacy benefits manager. While the
overall utilization for medications to treat depression was up in
2020, much of that increase can be attributed to existing users
being more adherent to their dosing regimens, according to
IngenioRx medication adherence data. New users of these medications
increased at the same rate as 2019.
The State of the Nation’s Mental Health report showed the
following drops in 2020 rates for those treated for mental health
diagnoses compared to those treated in 2019 in Nevada:
- 11 percent overall decrease in young children
- 7 percent overall decrease for adolescents
- 15 percent overall decrease for older adults (75+)
- 12 percent decrease for young children diagnosed with ADHD
- 8 percent decrease for adolescents diagnosed with ADHD
- 9 percent decrease for Baby Boomers diagnosed with
depression
- 11 percent decrease for older adults (75+) diagnosed for
depression
“While we don’t know for sure why children and older adults had
fewer diagnoses, we speculate that they weren’t interacting as
often with people in our communities who have increasingly become
the starting point for mental health diagnoses,” said Moussai.
“Children involved in distance learning had less face time with
teachers, who often recommend testing for mental health or
attention concerns, and older adults may not have been able or were
more reluctant to see their primary care provider in 2020, which
may play a role in the decrease in dementia diagnoses, and perhaps,
decreased diagnoses for depression.”
Nearly three out of four mental health specialists and primary
care doctors estimated in an Anthem commissioned national survey
that mental health repercussions from the virus will last up to
three years or longer and almost two-thirds believe their patients’
mental health declined in the second half of the pandemic
(September 2020-February 2021) compared to the first half
(March-August 2020).
“When people encounter more stress, it’s logical to expect
trends for mental health diagnoses to increase. However, for many,
such as children who may be learning virtually and isolated seniors
— that hasn’t been the case,” said Moussai. “This subsequent
‘mental health’ pandemic could have impacts for years to come,
reinforcing the need for mental health and physical health to be
addressed equally and simultaneously.”
On a positive note, nine out of 10 healthcare professionals
surveyed said that COVID-19 has made them more aware of the mental
health conditions their patients are experiencing. Seventy percent
of healthcare professionals said their patients have been more
willing to proactively bring up mental health concerns during
appointments.
A majority of healthcare professionals said that patients who
were already seeking therapy or in a support group prior to the
start of the pandemic have more successfully coped with their
mental health concerns. And, many noted they are seeing an
increased emphasis in patient self-care and better work/life
flexibility.
“People in general and young people in particular should not be
reluctant to seek mental health help when they need it,” said Paul
Gionfriddo, President and CEO of Mental Health America, the
nation’s largest mental health advocacy organization. “We know from
the millions of help-seeking people who have reached out to us this
past year that more people than ever are in need of help, and we
want them to know that it is a show of strength, not weakness, to
seek that help as early as possible, and the first step on the
pathway to recovery.”
Information about how to recognize the signs and symptoms of
mental health conditions is available at the State of the Nation’s
Mental Health report web site and the Mental Health America web
site.
Survey and Claims Methodology
The State of the Nation’s Mental Health report is based on
claims data from 27 million members in Anthem affiliated
individual, employer-sponsored, Medicare and Medicaid health plans
in all states, including 427,108 in Nevada. Prevalence of
behavioral health diagnoses each year (2019 and 2020) was
determined by the number of individuals with at least one claim
containing a behavioral health diagnosis during the calendar year
divided by the number of members enrolled in the plans. The Anthem
online survey was conducted among a national sample consisting of
552 healthcare professionals, broken out into 285 behavioral health
specialists and 267 primary care physicians/general practitioners
living in the United States, with an oversample of 100 rural
healthcare professionals. The sample includes a diverse set of
respondents across key demographics (age, gender, region,
race/ethnicity) and experience as a physician (time spent in
practice, type of practice, size of practice). The margin of error
for the total sample at the 95 percent confidence level is +/- 4
percentage points.
About Anthem, Inc.
Anthem is a leading health benefits company dedicated to
improving lives and communities, and making healthcare simpler.
Through its affiliated companies, Anthem serves more than 116
million people, including more than 43 million within its family of
health plans. We aim to be the most innovative, valuable and
inclusive partner. For more information, please visit
www.antheminc.com or follow @AnthemInc on Twitter.
About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Nevada
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Nevada is the trade name of
Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc. HMO products
underwritten by HMO Colorado, Inc., dba HMO Nevada. Independent
licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Anthem is
a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc.
Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in
Nevada is available at www.anthem.com. Also, follow us on Twitter
and on Facebook.
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Media Contact: Mike Bowman, Anthem Public Relations
Director michael.bowman@anthem.com (916) 584-6043