The National Institutes of Health
says that three-quarters of mental illnesses begin by age 24, a group that's also traditionally been more at risk for being uninsured. But a
new study [subscription] from Johns Hopksin/Harvard finds that Obamacare is providing both coverage and health care to this group, which can now be covered on their parents' plans. MSNBC has the
top findings from the study.
Two million young people now have health care coverage because of the provision, the study notes, but the biggest shift has been with youth demographics that are most at risk.
Among 18-25 year olds exhibiting signs of mental health or substance abuse problems, 5.3% more received mental health care than a comparable group of 26-35 year olds. […]
The cost of care has decreased, too: Uninsured doctor visits requiring patients to pay out of pocket were down 12.4%, while the number of covered visits rose 12.9%.
Before Obamacare, almost 60 percent of mental health and substance abuse care provided to this group was paid for out-of-pocket, and these services are expensive, prohibitively so for many uninsured. Suicide is the
third leading cause of death in people up to age 24, according to the CDC, making addressing mental health issues in this group particularly important. It's been a priority of the Obama administration since the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The administration issued new rules compelling health care providers to treat mental health problems as they do physical health, and additionally allocated $100 million in federal funding to help address mental health.