Access in Brief: Children’s Use of Behavioral Health Services

Children enrolled in Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are disproportionately affected by behavioral health conditions such as anxiety disorder, depression, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder compared to children who are privately insured. States are required to cover certain behavioral health benefits for children with Medicaid or CHIP coverage, and they have the flexibility to cover additional behavioral health benefits under optional state plan or waiver authorities. As part of MACPAC’s ongoing work examining access to behavioral health care for children, we analyzed data from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to compare demographics, health status, and difficulties accessing care for non-institutionalized youth with Medicaid or CHIP coverage between ages 12-17 to those with private insurance and those who were uninsured.

Findings indicate that across insurance types, 19.3 percent of youth ages 12-17 reported having a major depressive episode, and 14.0 percent of these youth reported having thoughts of suicide in the past year. Among these youth, rates of receiving overnight mental health treatment were similar between youth with Medicaid or CHIP coverage and those who are privately insured.