Women report access and cost barriers to seeking mental healthcare, despite 28% reporting “fair or poor” mental health, a May 6 KFF Health News report found.
KFF analyzed data from its 2024 Women’s Health Survey of 5,055 women ages 18 to 64. The survey was conducted between May 15 and June 18, and asked respondents about reproductive health, well-being and mental health.
Here are eight findings:
1. About 28% of women describe their mental health or emotional well-being as “fair” or “poor.” Younger women ages 18 to 25 reported lower mental health than women 50 to 64, (36% versus 21%, respectively).
2. Women with lower incomes and who identified as LGBTQ+ reported lower rates of mental health status at 38% and 45%, respectively. About 73% of women with a mental health-related disability reported having “fair/poor” mental well-being.
3. Among women, 29% said they received mental health services in the past 12 months, and the proportion was higher among women with “fair” or “poor” mental health at 48%. About 20% of women who have a mental health-related disability said they did not receive care.
4. The most common services used were one-on-one care with a provider, 60% in-person or 55% via telehealth. Prescription medication was the next most common service at 52%, while only 8% said they used in-patient hospitalization or group therapy.
5. Access to mental health services was difficult for 38% of women, with 32% saying they did not get mental health services due to barriers such as cost, stigma or inability to get time off from work.
6. Among women who did get mental healthcare, 50% said they had difficulty accessing services in their state and 55% said they faced barriers during care-seeking. These challenges included 25% reporting difficulty finding a provider who would take new patients and 21% reporting difficulty finding a provider that would take their insurance.
7. About 85% of women said Medicaid covered their mental healthcare visit completely, whereas most women in private insurance had to pay some or all costs out-of-pocket (48% versus 14%, respectively).
8. Cost was the greatest barrier to mental health services, with 13% saying they could not afford it. Twenty-nine percent of women without insurance said cost was a reason they did not seek care.