Medical Costs for Kids' Mental Health Jumped 31% in 5 Years
Jim Liebelt
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By Jim Liebelt, Crosswalk.com
The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.
The cost to American families of caring for a child with a mental health condition jumped by almost a third between 2017 and 2021.
It now costs an average $4,361 more per year for a U.S. family to care for a child with a mental health condition, compared to families without such children, a new study has found.
Overall, American families spent an estimated $31 billion in 2021 on child mental health services, which now make up nearly half (about 47%) of all child medical spending, the report found.
The findings “underscore the large financial burden associated with pediatric mental health conditions on the U.S. health care system,” said a team led by Theoren Loo.
The findings were published March 11 in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Network Open.
Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/mental-health/medical-costs-for-kids-mental-health-jumped-31-in-5-years
