New research highlights growing behavioral health diagnoses and medication use, with notable trends for women and children
BOSTON — Today, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) released new research in the latest issue of the HPC DataPoints series, “Meeting the Need, Filling the Script: Increasing Behavioral Health Prescriptions in Massachusetts.” This issue, which examines trends in behavioral health (BH) drug prescribing, found that both BH diagnoses and BH prescriptions increased in Massachusetts from 2019 to 2024.
The percentage of commercially insured members that had at least one claim with a BH diagnosis code during the course of a year increased from 29% in 2019 to 35% in 2024. As of 2024, almost one in four commercial members had at least one claim with a primary diagnosis for a behavioral health condition, indicating that the primary reason for the service was behavioral health-related.
In 2024, 28% of commercially insured members filled at least one BH drug prescription, an increase from about 24% in 2019. All age groups and sexes saw an increase in BH drugs, but female members aged 18 to 49 saw the largest increases in use of psychotropic prescriptions over this time. By 2024, over one in three females were prescribed at least one BH prescription drug.
“These findings confirm a growing need for behavioral health services across all demographics in Massachusetts and highlight the role of behavioral health medications, underscoring the need for continued research in this area to ensure that residents are able to access the care they need,” said HPC Executive Director David Seltz. “The HPC will continue to examine behavioral health care utilization and access through the Behavioral Health Workforce Center, and use this data to inform actionable policy interventions that can bring us closer to a more resilient, equitable, and accessible behavioral health care system for all of our residents.”
Key Findings
- The percentage of commercially insured members with at least one BH diagnosis during the course of a year increased from 29% in 2019 to 35% in 2024.
- There was an increase in the number of individuals with at least one claim for a BH prescription drug across the board, from 24% in 2019 to 28% in 2024, but there was variation by sex and age across commercially insured residents.
- Females aged 18 to 45 and 26 to 49 had the highest percentage point increases in BH prescription utilization from 2019 to 2024 (26.9% to 34.3% for 18-25 year olds, and 31.2% to 38.4% for 26-49 year olds, respectively). Over one in three females were prescribed at least one BH prescription drug in 2024.
- Among children ages 12 to 17, about one in five had at least one BH prescription drug (20.4% of male children and 21.6% of female children). For stimulants, male children between 5 and 11 years of age were twice as likely to be prescribed a stimulant compared to similar-aged female children.
- In 2024, 19.4% of commercially insured members were on at least one antidepressant, with adult females using these drugs at twice the rate of men.
- Most behavioral health prescriptions are generic, accounting for 97% of BH drugs paid for by commercial insurers in 2024.
- There was a small increase in per member per year cost sharing, or out-of-pocket patient spending, associated with increasing psychotropic prescriptions. Cost sharing increased from $34.18 per member in 2019 to $42.33 in 2024.
Explore interactive data and takeaways in the DataPoints issue on the HPC’s website.
