New Mental Health Diseases and Conditions Study Findings Have Been Reported by Investigators at Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Perinatal Psychotherapy Use and Costs Before and After Federally Mandated Health Insurance Coverage): Mental Health Diseases and Conditions

Health Policy and Law Daily

2024 AUG 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Investigators publish new report on Mental Health Diseases and Conditions. According to news reporting originating in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Importanc eInsurance coverage affects health care access for many delivering women diagnosed with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs). The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA; passed in 2008) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; passed in 2010) aimed to improve health care access.”

Financial support for this research came from National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA.

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Veterans Affairs Medical Center, “To assess associations between MHPAEA and ACA implementation and psychotherapy use and costs among delivering women overall and with PMADs. Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study conducted interrupted time series analyses of private insurance data from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2019, for delivering women aged 15 to 44 years, including those with PMADs, to assess changes in psychotherapy visits in the year before and the year after delivery. It estimated changes in any psychotherapy use and per-visit out-of-pocket costs (OOPCs) for psychotherapy associated with MHPAEA (January 2010) and ACA (January 2014) implementation. Data analyses were performed from August 2022 to May 2023. Exposures Implementation of the MHPAEA and ACA. Main Outcomes and MeasuresAny psychotherapy use and per-visit OOPCs for psychotherapy standardized to 2019 dollars. The study included 837 316 overall deliveries among 716 052 women (mean [SD] age, 31.2 [5.4] years; 7.6% Asian, 8.8% Black, 12.8% Hispanic, 64.1% White, and 6.7% unknown race and ethnicity). In the overall cohort, a nonsignificant step change was found in the delivering women who received psychotherapy after MHPAEA implementation of 0.09% (95% CI, -0.04% to 0.21%; P = .16) and a nonsignificant slope change of delivering women who received psychotherapy of 0.00% per month (95% CI, -0.02% to 0.01%; P = .69). A nonsignificant step change was found in delivering individuals who received psychotherapy after ACA implementation of 0.11% (95% CI, -0.01% to 0.22%; P = .07) and a significantly increased slope change of delivering individuals who received psychotherapy of 0.03% per month (95% CI, 0.00% to 0.05%; P = .02). Among those with PMADs, the MHPAEA was associated with an immediate increase (0.72%; 95% CI, 0.26% to 1.18%; P = .002) then sustained decrease (-0.05%; -0.09% to -0.02%; P = .001) in psychotherapy receipt; the ACA was associated with immediate (0.77%; 95% CI, 0.26% to 1.27%; P = .003) and sustained (0.07%; 95% CI, 0.02% to 0.12%; P = .005) monthly increases. In both populations, per-visit monthly psychotherapy OOPCs decreased (-$0.15; 95% CI, -$0.24 to -$0.07; P< .001 for overall and -$0.22; -$0.32 to -$0.12; P< .001 for the PMAD population) after MHPAEA passage with an immediate increase ($3.14 [95% CI, $1.56-$4.73]; P< .001 and $2.54 [95% CI, $0.54-$4.54]; P = .01) and steady monthly increase ($0.07 [95% CI, $0.02-$0.12]; P = .006 and $0.10 [95% CI, $0.03-$0.17]; P = .004) after ACA passage. Conclusions and Relevance This study found complementary and complex associations between passage of the MHPAEA and ACA and access to psychotherapy among delivering individuals.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “These findings indicate the value of continuing efforts to improve access to mental health treatment for this population.”

For more information on this research see: Perinatal Psychotherapy Use and Costs Before and After Federally Mandated Health Insurance Coverage. JAMA Network Open, 2024;7(8). JAMA Network Open can be contacted at: Amer Medical Assoc, 330 N Wabash Ave, Ste 39300, Chicago, IL 60611-5885, USA.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Kara Zivin, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Center for Clinical Management Research, Ann Arbor, MI, United States. Additional authors for this research include Stephanie V. Hall, Xiaosong Zhang, Anca Tilea, Lindsay K. Admon, Vanessa K. Dalton and Ashlee J. Vance.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.26802. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.