Cost-related issues among older adults with mental health needs worldwide 2021

In 2021, Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. were most likely to report having cost-related problems to accessing mental health services compared to older adults of other high income countries. These older adults with mental health needs were likely to not visit a doctor, skip a test or treatment, or not fill out a prescription due to cost. This was despite mental health generally being covered under Medicare. This statistic presents the percentage of adults aged 65 and older with a mental health need who reported any cost-related access problem in 2021 worldwide.

Percentage of adults aged 65 and older with a mental health need who reported any cost-related access problem in 2021 worldwide

Characteristic	Percentage of older adults
United States	26%
Switzerland	14%
New Zealand	11%
Canada	11%
Australia	10%
Netherlands	10%
France	8%
United Kingdom	8%
Sweden	6%
Germany	6%

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Release date

January 2022

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

March 1 to June 14, 2021

Number of respondents

18,477 respondents

Age group

65 years and older

Special properties

Only among respondents with a mental health need. US adults are limited to those enrolled in Medicare.

Method of interview

Telephone interviews and online survey

Supplementary notes

+Cost-related access problem — Respondents either 1) had a medical problem but did not consult with or visit a doctor because of the cost, 2) skipped a medical test, treatment, or follow-up that was recommended by a doctor because of the cost, or 3) did not fill or collect a prescription for medicine or skipped doses of their medicine because of the cost.
+Mental health need — Respondents reported they had ever been told they had depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions, or respondent experienced emotional distress such as anxiety or great sadness they felt difficult to cope with by themselves in the past 12 months.

All respondents: 18,477 adults age 65 and older across 11 countries: Australia (501), Canada (4,332), France (1,751), Germany (1,163), Netherlands (630), New Zealand (500), Norway (500), Sweden (3,018), Switzerland (2,597), United Kingdom (1,876), United States (1,609).
Sample size for Norway was <100, and therefore results are not shown here.

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