University of georgia college of public health, Public university in Atlanta, Georgia

According to a new study, substance abuse, access to mental health care and costs remain a burden for people living in rural areas, even if they have private insurance.The study has been published in the 'Journal of Rural Health'.The study, led by Zhuo "Adam" Chen at the University of Georgia College of Public Health, examined over 10 years of insurance claims data from 2005 to 2018, detailing how adults with employer-based, private insurance used and paid for mental health care services in urban and rural areas.The researchers found that overall, urban enrollees used more mental health care than rural ones. And although the usage gap narrowed from 2005 to 2018, the quality and cost of care weren't equitable, even for privately insured patients."Rural enrollees have a higher share of copays, and they are relying on primary care physicians and nurses much more than the urban area enrollees," said Chen.Rural patients also paid higher out-of-pocket costs for mental health care, according to the study.The reason for this is unclear from this analysis, but it's likely, said Chen, that rural enrollees had to use providers outside of their insurance networks more often due to a lack of specialists in their areas, which would mean paying more for those services.The study showed urban enrollees had higher rates of depression, but Chen said the data is tricky to interpret because it's unclear whether more city dwellers were struggling with depression or just had better access to care.But, claims data underscored the rise of substance abuse in rural communities observed in the last decade."Even among those in better economic conditions - they have a job and they have health insurance - I do think that this highlights the burden of substance abuse in rural areas," said Chen.Geography continues to play an outsized role in a person's ability to access mental health care, mostly because the availability of specialists in rural areas is dwindling as demand for mental health services is increasing.The authors offered two policy recommendations to better connect patients with mental health services: incentivize mental health providers to practice in rural areas and expand telemedicine.Chen said that more work is needed to understand how provider shortages, geography and insurance networks overlap to contribute to the gaps they observed in this study.( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

University Of Georgia College Of Public HealthFOLLOW

University of georgia college of public health, Latest News

At least one bus passenger was fatally shot after a bus hijacking that prompted a police chase through two ... ...

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has announced new visa restriction policy for those responsible for undermining democracy ... ...

A woman in Florida checked out of a private hotel and told staff that she was going on a ... ...

Washington [US], June 17 : With the rise in the usage of artificial intelligence systems, health problems have also ... ...

Washington [US], June 12 : According to a study released by the American Psychological Association, employees who often engage ... ...

Washington [US], June 12 : Nutrition is an essential component of every elite athlete's training programme. A recent study ... ...

It is common for humans to get stressed about the smallest of things. According to a new study led by researchers at Georgia State University, being stressed about doing well on a test might not be limited to humans. ...

According to a new study, substance abuse, access to mental health care and costs remain a burden for people living in rural areas, even if they have private insurance. ...