Consumers Say Insurers Are Responsible for Access to Mental Healthcare

Most insured Americans stated that their health plans covered their mental healthcare needs completely or partially, with only three percent saying that they had no mental healthcare coverage, according to the results of a survey conducted on behalf of AHIP.

“Mental health affects everyone, and the COVID-19 pandemic made that more true, impacting all of us in different ways,” Matt Eyles, president and chief executive officer of AHIP, said in the press release. 

“We know there are challenges, particularly as more people seek support than ever before. Health insurance providers are working hard on a variety of solutions – including expanding access to telehealth appointments, integrating mental health into primary care visits, and creating innovative programs to increase the number of mental health care practitioners available. We will continue to come together with care professionals, policymakers, and other health care leaders to ensure Americans have affordable access to the high-quality mental health support they deserve.”

The survey covered 500 insured Americans, all of whom had sought out mental healthcare services within the past two years, either for themselves or for individuals in their households. The survey was conducted online from May 12 to May 23, 2022.

Participants received health insurance coverage through public payers like Medicare or Medicaid, the individual health insurance marketplace, Veterans Affairs, or through an employer-sponsored health plan.

Sixty percent of insured Americans reported that their mental healthcare needs were fully covered. Additionally, one-third of the respondents said that their health plans partially covered their mental healthcare needs.

Almost eight in ten respondents (76 percent) stated that health insurers had a big responsibility to ensure access to affordable, high-quality mental healthcare, followed by behavioral healthcare facilities and providers and the federal government.

When asked to rate health plans’ efforts to facilitate access to mental healthcare compared to other stakeholders, consumers rated health insurers as third in their efforts. Forty-six percent of respondents stated that health insurers were doing a “great job” or a “good job” improving access to mental healthcare. 

Doctors, nurses, hospitals and non-behavioral healthcare providers came first (64 percent) and behavioral health practitioners and facilities came second (63 percent). 

For most insured Americans, finding and receiving mental healthcare did not pose a significant challenge. 

A little more than seven out of ten Americans said that it was “somewhat easy” or “very easy” to access mental healthcare. The entire process of identifying a provider and receiving treatment or support lasted one or two weeks to about a month for most respondents (67 percent). For six percent, the process took a year or longer and four percent sought but never accessed care.

Less than ten percent of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction with their mental healthcare treatment. The rest were either “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied.”

The survey paints a picture for insured Americans’ access to mental healthcare treatment and support, but does not address a population of patients with strong need for mental and behavioral healthcare support who do not access it. Over 60 percent of uninsured adults with mental and behavioral healthcare needs are not receiving treatment.

In contrast, as portrayed in the AHIP report, individuals with employer-sponsored health plans often accessed mental healthcare through their primary care providers.

As a nation, however, America is becoming more hospitable to mental healthcare support. CVS Health, for example, found that Americans appreciated talking to friends, family members, clinicians, and others about their mental health conditions.