New research shows mental health insurance claims have remained at staggeringly high levels even after the peak impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mental health claims increased by 56% from 2019 to 2022, according to a report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The demand for virtual mental health services skyrocketed during this period, with telehealth visits for mental health care increasing 84-fold.
“While the exponential rise in mental health claims highlights an alarming trend, issues with access and the historical stigma around these conditions suggest the pandemic’s impact on our nation’s mental health is much larger,” Jonathan Shannon, associate vice president of healthcare strategy at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said in a statement.
The sharp increase in telehealth visits caused by the pandemic only dropped slightly after social distancing recommendations softened. Telehealth for mental health visits only dipped 5% when comparing 2021 to 2022.
Meanwhile, telehealth for other health care specialties fell 18% after the pandemic.
Research has shown telehealth mental health visits are as beneficial as in-person visits. Still, some COVID-era flexibilities that allow mental health providers to offer telehealth may expire at the end of 2024 unless the federal government takes action.
“Coming out of the pandemic, the surge in telehealth utilization has slowed, but it’s clear that telehealth is here to stay,” the report’s authors wrote. “Usage patterns show that telehealth addresses critical challenges around perceived stigmas, especially for mental health, and access in an already understaffed and overburdened care delivery system.”
Within rising mental health claims, some conditions saw more claims increases than others, with anxiety, depression and stress/adjustment disorders experiencing the highest increases.
Anxiety claims increased by 18 million additional claims, depression claims increased by 9.7 million additional claims and stress and adjustment disorders increased by 6.8 million additional claims.
Some age ranges saw higher increases in mental health claims than others. People aged 18 to 44 saw the highest increase, jumping 81% from 2019 to 2022.
Mental health claims also increased notably among children and teens, though to a lesser extent than the 18 to 24 age range.
Among those aged 17 and younger, mental health claims went up 36% overall. The types of claims with the highest increases among children and teens were anxiety, depression and eating disorders, representing 2.8 million, 1.4 million and 169,000 more claims, respectively.