Researchers from State University of New York (SUNY) Albany Detail New Studies and Findings in the Area of Mental Health Diseases and Conditions (Age-based Health Insurance Coverage Policies and Mental Health): Mental Health Diseases and Conditions

2024 JUN 04 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in Mental Health Diseases and Conditions. According to news reporting originating from Albany, New York, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “More than 18%\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$18\%$$\end{document} of US adults meet the diagnostic criteria for a mental illness. Yet, many who could benefit from mental health care do not receive any treatment, primarily due to inability to pay for care or lack of health insurance coverage.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the State University of New York (SUNY) Albany, “How does a change in health insurance coverage affect psychological well-being and mental health? We explore this question using age-based health insurance coverage policies in the United States as natural experiments. We provide evidence that losing health insurance coverage at the age 26 due to aging out from dependent coverage is associated with a statistically significant deterioration in certain mental health indicators and psychological well-being among young adults. On the other hand, we find no evidence of an improvement in mental health or psychological well-being among the elderly at the age 65 due to becoming eligible for Medicare.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “These results are robust to potential changes in risk-taking behavior and physical health at the same age cutoffs.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Age-based Health Insurance Coverage Policies and Mental Health. Journal of Population Economics, 2024;37(2). Journal of Population Economics can be contacted at: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States. (Springer - www.springer.com; Journal of Population Economics - http://www.springerlink.com/content/0933-1433/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Baris K. Yoruk, State University of New York (SUNY) Albany, Dept. of Economics, 1400 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12222, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-024-01015-w. 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.

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