Healthcare costs associated with receipt of effective mental healthcare coverage in individuals with moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Background: Effective mental healthcare coverage (EMHC) is an important health system performance indicator of a population's mental healthcare needs. This study aims to assess the factors and healthcare costs associated with the receipt of EMHC for anxiety and depression.

Methods: This study draws on data from participants from Alberta's Tomorrow Project with moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety and depression during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) with available medico-administrative and complete data [n = 720]. EMHC was assessed during the eighteen months as of March 1, 2020, and defined as adequate pharmacotherapy (i.e., antidepressant dispensed, with ≥ 80% proportion of days covered and 4 follow-up medical visits) and/or adequate psychotherapy (≥ 8 physician consultations for psychotherapy) depending on the severity of symptoms. Logistic regression analysis was used to study EMHC as a function of study variables. Regressions with augmented inverse probability weighting were used to estimate the total healthcare costs attributable to receipt of EMHC during the first 18-month period of the pandemic, controlling for confounders. Mean adjusted differences with 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals (CIs) are presented.

Results: The proportion receiving EMHC was 26.7%. Individuals with worse self-rated mental health after the pandemic than before were less likely to receive EMHC. Those with a lifetime diagnosis of depression and anxiety were more likely to receive EMHC. The overall mean adjusted total healthcare costs attributable to receipt of EMHC during the pandemic was $2601 [ - $247, $5694]. The mean adjusted outpatient costs attributable to EMHC was significantly higher and reached $1613 [$873, $2577].

Conclusion: The study's findings highlight the existence of health inequalities and potential unmet mental health needs in individuals with worsening mental health during the pandemic. The receipt of EMHC during the pandemic was not significantly associated with increased total healthcare costs. These findings underscore the need for mental health policies that are aimed at improving timely access to EMHC to address population unmet mental health service needs.