Psychiatrists Tough to Find for Seniors in Medicare Advantage Plans
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, July 10, 2023 -- U.S. seniors with mental health needs may not have much access to psychiatrists who could help them, new research shows.
Despite an overall heightened demand for mental health services, nearly two-thirds of Medicare Advantage psychiatrist networks included less than 25% of all psychiatrists in a given service area.
“This means that many people who have coverage through Medicare Advantage plans may not actually have access to psychiatrists, given how few are considered in-network,” said lead study author Dr. Jane Zhu, an assistant professor of medicine in the School of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University.
And that data may not fully reveal the extent of the limitations.
Even when a psychiatrist is in-network, that doesn’t mean they aren’t already fully booked and not taking new patients, Zhu said, since the United States has a shortage of psychiatrists.
“It’s likely a rosier picture than reality,” Zhu said in a university news release. “We know the actual number of psychiatrists available to see patients is much lower.”
In some areas, not even one psychiatrist who accepted Medicare Advantage patients was taking new patients.
The effect on patients is that they may have to pay higher out-of-pocket costs, experience delays in care or not get the care they need at all, Zhu said.
“More than half of the counties for which we had data did not have a single [Medicare Advantage]-participating psychiatrist,” the authors wrote in their study. “Our findings offer upper-bound estimates of network breadth, raising concerns about MA enrollees’ access to mental health services amid the growing prevalence of mental health conditions among older adults.”
Medicare provides health insurance for people 65 and up. Medicare Advantage covers 28 million Americans through private insurance plans backed by Medicare.
These findings suggest it’s necessary for insurers to incentivize more psychiatrists and mental health professionals to accept health insurance, Zhu said. Another option would be to expand coverage of services delivered by other health care professionals such as psychologists, counselors or primary care physicians who provide mental health care.
The findings were published in the July issue of the journal Health Affairs. The research was supported by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Sources
- Oregon Health & Science University, news release, July 5, 2023
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted July 2023
Read this next
In Experiments, Mice Got ill From Raw Milk Carrying Bird Flu Virus
FRIDAY, May 24, 2024 -- Confirming the dangers of drinking raw cow's milk when the H5N1 avian flu virus is circulating in U.S. dairy herds, researchers found that mice fed the...
FDA Panel Gives Nod to Blood Test for Colon Cancer
FRIDAY, May 24, 2024 -- A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday recommended the approval of a new blood test that can spot colon cancer. The panel voted...
New Steps Towards a Male Birth Control Pill
FRIDAY, May 24, 2024 -- For decades, the responsibility for birth control has fallen largely on women, but new research suggests a birth control pill for men might one day become...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.
