PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Magellan Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGLN) today issued the following statement in response to the public health advisory by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy on the urgent need to address the mental health crisis confronting children, adolescents and young adults.
We commend the U.S. Surgeon General for adding his crucial voice and calling attention to the growing mental health crisis that is impacting our nation’s youth. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic started wreaking havoc on our “normal” lives and mental health, 1 in 6 children aged 2-8 years in the U.S. had been diagnosed with a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder.i
During the pandemic, an increasing number of children were seen in emergency departments (EDs) for mental health-related care. From mid-March to October 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 24% increase in mental health-related ED visits among children aged 5-11 years and a 31% increase in youth aged 12-17 years, compared with the same period in 2019.ii
Youth and young adults who started off 2020 without a mental health diagnosis may have ended the year with depression and other mental health conditions, likely caused or exacerbated by the pandemic. A June 2020 CDC report on mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that 26% of young people aged 18-24 seriously contemplated suicide compared to 11% of adults. iii
We are encouraged by the Surgeon General’s Advisory as it calls attention to this urgent public health issue. This action, we hope, will renew our country’s focus on addressing the mental health needs of youth and will also help recognize the continuing importance of mental wellbeing to our overall health. Equally important is the need for our country to address the shortcomings of our mental health system and a commitment to adequately fund the system for all youth, regardless of health insurance type or coverage.
We strongly support the Surgeon General’s recommendations and are committed to addressing this growing crisis by working together with our members and their families, community partners, clinicians, and other healthcare organizations to prioritize improving the mental health system for today’s youth by supporting the following:
- increasing the Federal Medicaid Match (FMAP) for Pediatric Mental Health Care Services;
- strengthening care coordination and integration among all stakeholders and community partners;
- providing investments to support the appropriate treatment, at the appropriate place and time;
- increasing Funding for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant (IECMHC);
- investments in early intervention and screening;
- establishment of core quality standards and financial incentives to improve accountability and outcomes;
- increasing Funding for First Episode Psychosis (FEP) Programs; and
- investments in and support for a pediatric mental health workforce.
This is an unprecedented moment in which our society can no longer afford to be indifferent or silent. As a leader in managing the fastest growing, most complex areas of healthcare, Magellan Health will continue to focus on offering our evidence-based model of care that is built around a compassionate, individualized approach to help those in need achieve resilience and recovery.
About Magellan Health: Magellan Health, Inc. is a leader in managing the fastest growing, most complex areas of health, including special populations, complete pharmacy benefits and other specialty areas of healthcare. Magellan supports innovative ways of accessing better health through technology, while remaining focused on the critical personal relationships that are necessary to achieve a healthy, vibrant life. Magellan's customers include health plans and other managed care organizations, employers, labor unions, various military and governmental agencies and third-party administrators. For more information, visit MagellanHealth.com.
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i https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html
ii https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6945a3.htm
iii https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm
