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The number of people diagnosed with mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, has risen to new highs during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s inevitably increased the demand for treatment in a health care system that already falls short — particularly when it comes to the mental health of our country’s older adults, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based foundation supporting efforts to provide better access to high-quality health care in the U.S.
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The report, “Comparing Older Adults’ Mental Health Needs and Access to Treatment in the U.S. and Other High-Income Countries,” analyzed results from a survey or more than 18,000 adults age 65 and older in 11 high-income countries, between March and June 2021. Researchers compared Medicare beneficiaries in the United States with older adults in places like the United Kingdom, France and Germany for their mental health and ability to access and afford treatment.
While nearly all U.S. adults over age 65 have some mental health coverage through their enrollment in Medicare, the report suggests that it’s inadequate.
In the U.S., “Medicare beneficiaries are more likely to report emotional distress or be diagnosed with a mental health need, compared to older adults in other high-income countries,” says Munira Gunja, lead report author and senior researcher for the Commonwealth Fund’s International Program in Health Policy and Practice Innovations.
More than a quarter of older adults in the U.S. said they have mental health needs, defined as either a diagnosed condition, such as anxiety or depression, or self-reported emotional distress.
The survey also found that Medicare beneficiaries (26 percent of them) were most likely to report skipping or putting off needed mental health care because of costs, while fewer than 1 in 10 older adults in the U.K., France, Germany and Sweden reported doing so.
“This is a problem that we don’t see in other countries,” Gunja says.
Also concerning: stark disparities in mental health needs and treatment access between ethnic and racial groups. Hispanic Americans are the most likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition and to report emotional distress, with 42 percent of the Hispanics surveyed reporting a need for mental health services.
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