The mental health epidemic overwhelming our country has affected everyone, but our children have been especially impacted. The transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood can already be overwhelming, but paired with societal pressures, we’ve seen an enormous spike in mental health problems among children—all of which were exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.
In 2021, 42 percent of high school students reported feeling so hopeless or lonely that it disrupted their usual activities. That’s a 16 percent increase from 2009. As this number continues to climb, we must reevaluate how we’re addressing youth mental health problems.
Just last month, the Biden administration announced an investment of $285 million in schools to help hire and train more than 14,000 mental health counselors. This is a remarkable step in the right direction, but there are additional, proven solutions we should also be investing in.
Early detection and treatment are the most important factors in addressing mental health problems among children. This must take place in schools, through mental health counselors, but also through primary care physicians. Oftentimes, these providers are the only provider a child sees regularly and who they count on for any specialized diagnosis.
Like the Biden administration’s investment in schools, we should also prioritize investing in specialized training for primary care physicians. If these individuals are better equipped to accurately identify and even treat mild mental health symptoms, children will receive the care they need earlier on. This will also cut costs for patients by limiting the number of physicians a patient must see before receiving an accurate diagnosis through more integrated care.
We must also address the provider shortage our nation is facing, which is the largest issue contributing to patients’ ability to seek appropriate care. This is a long-term problem that we will not be able to solve overnight. It will require years of partnerships, among the private and public sectors, to establish incentive programs for medical students to enter and providers to stay in the mental health field.
Telehealth is also an avenue of care which has proven vital through the last several years. Allowing patients to access care from the comfort of their home reduces the fear of negative stigma associated with seeking mental health care and increases access to providers who may be located too far away for regular visits.
During the pandemic, temporary rules were put in place to allow flexibility for health plans to offer telehealth services. However, the use of telehealth care has remained consistently high even after the pandemic. Instead of reverting back to pre-pandemic style care, we should continue to bolster support for telehealth providers and address the barriers patients still face in accessing telehealth care.
Recently, the Biden administration announced a proposed rule change to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) aimed at increasing access to mental health care. Unfortunately, the change would not address any of the challenges listed above. Instead, the rule would lower quality standards for mental health providers and actually reduce access to mental health care and substance use disorder support and counselling.
While technically this would increase the number of certified providers, it would do nothing to improve access to care for children or other mental health patients. It may actually extend the period of time patients spend seeking appropriate care, leaving their symptoms untreated for even longer.
The answer to our nation’s mental health crisis is two-fold: we must increase the number of quality providers in the mental health field, and we must better equip providers on the front lines with the tools needed care for patients. The earlier symptoms can be identified and treated, the better care we can provide for children and others facing mental health challenges.
I am encouraged by the Biden administration’s investment in more mental health counselors in schools which often are the frontlines in handling our country’s mental health crisis, but the administration’s recent proposed rule change could stop progress to improve and increase access to care. This rule should be pulled down with focus prioritized on strengthening solutions like expanding telehealth and integration with primary care.
