Approximately two-thirds of Americans with a diagnosed mental health condition were unable to access treatment in 2021, despite having health insurance, according to a recent report from actuary firm Milliman.
The report was commissioned by Inseparable, a mental health advocacy group, and pulled data from the 2021 Milliman Consolidated Health Cost Guidelines Database, CMS 100% Research Identifiable Files for Medicare, and 2021 Transformed Medicaid and CHIP Statistical Information System data.
The report found that only 33% of people with a mental health or addiction diagnosis got connected to a behavioral health specialist, despite roughly half of Americans being covered by commercial insurance.
Meanwhile, people on Medicaid were more likely to have access to mental healthcare providers, with roughly 44% of people on Medicaid receiving mental healthcare. However, only around 15% of those on Medicare received mental healthcare for their diagnoses.