Among insured adults who report being in “fair” or “poor” mental health, four in ten (43%) say there was a time in the past year when they did not get mental health services or medication they thought they needed, and a similar share (45%) give their insurance a negative rating when it comes to the availability of mental health providers. One in five of this group (19%) say there was a time in the past year when a particular mental health service or treatment they needed was not covered by their plan. People with Medicare – who are less likely overall to say they are in fair or poor mental health – are also somewhat less likely than adults with other types of insurance to say a needed mental health therapist or treatment was not covered by their insurance. Adults with Marketplace and Medicaid coverage are more likely than those with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) or Medicare to negatively rate their insurance when it comes to the availability of mental health providers.

 About half of adults with Marketplace plans (55%) or ESI (46%) rate their insurance negatively when it comes to premiums, compared to 27% of people with Medicare and 10% of Medicaid enrollees. Four-in-ten insured adults say they skipped or delayed some type of care in the past year due to cost. One in six insured adults (16%), including larger shares of those at lower income levels, say they had problems paying medical bills in the past year.

There is A Better Way