Science News
Having health insurance in America doesn't mean you can actually use it. Researchers posing as patients called 5,822 in-network mental health providers: most calls hit voicemails, over half the listings were wrong, and just 24% of real calls ended with an…
🩺 Study found that even with commercial insurance, getting a mental health appointment is difficult for Americans. Researchers acted as "secret shoppers" and called 5,822 providers, only securing an appointment 24% of the time.
📞 Of the calls where a person was reached (2,252 calls), 56% showed inaccurate provider directory information. An additional 22% of calls failed to result in an appointment due to capacity issues like providers not accepting new patients.
⏳ Callers faced an average wait time of 20.5 days for care, with longer waits for psychiatry compared to psychology.
#MentalHealth #HealthcareAccess #Insurance
📞 Of the calls where a person was reached (2,252 calls), 56% showed inaccurate provider directory information. An additional 22% of calls failed to result in an appointment due to capacity issues like providers not accepting new patients.
⏳ Callers faced an average wait time of 20.5 days for care, with longer waits for psychiatry compared to psychology.
#MentalHealth #HealthcareAccess #Insurance
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