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May 10 (UPI) -- More than half of young adults in the United States diagnosed with depression skip treatment due to cost concerns, a study published Tuesday found. Based on survey responses from nearly 1,600 people ages 18 to 25 years from across the country, 55% cited cost as a reason for avoiding treatment for depression, data published Tuesday by JAMA Network Open showed.
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In addition, 38% said they did not know where to go for treatment services, the researchers said.
Another 23% were reluctant to become dependent on medications to treat their depression, while the 30% believed they could manage their symptoms without treatment, according to researchers.
"Many young adults with depression depend on referrals from primary care for mental health services, but physicians offer struggle to find mental health clinicians to refer to," study co-author Wenhua Lu told UPI in an email.
Also, "many psychiatrists accept only a very limited set of insurance plans, making it extremely difficult for young adults with depression to find suitable, in-network referrals," said Lu, an assistant medical professor of community health and social medicine at the City College of New York.
The stigma surrounding depression and mental healthcare in general may also discourage young adults from seeking needed care, particularly among college students and young men, she said.
The findings are based on an analysis of responses to a national survey of adults ages 18 to 25 years over a 10-year period, Lu and her colleagues said.
Recent research suggests that depression may be on the rise in this age group, due at least in part to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
About one in five people ages 18 to 25 years in the United States experiences symptoms of depression, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
More survey respondents -- 55% -- indicated that cost of care prevented them from receiving treatment for depression in 2019 than in 2011, when 51% cited it as a concern, the data showed.
This is despite the fact that the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, took effect in 2014 and was designed to expand Medicaid and make private health insurance less expensive, the researchers said.
However, to date, only 39 of the 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., have adopted the Medicaid expansion provision of the ACA, meaning people living in the 11 remaining states may not benefit from the law's provisions, they said.
"To improve young adults' access to mental healthcare, immediate policy actions are needed to close the Medicaid coverage gap," Lu said.
"Continued efforts at all levels are needed to address barriers to treatment access as perceived by young adults and improve their mental health service use," she said.
