The Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) released a new data brief developed with the University of Southern Maine that presents an analysis of barriers to behavioral health care for adults in Maine. Exploring BRFSS data from 2015-2017, the report sheds light on the impact socioeconomic disparities have on Maine people’s ability to obtain and afford timely behavioral health services.
The data show that Maine people with probable depression experience a number of socioeconomic disparities, namely lower incomes, lack of insurance, and lower levels of education. These and other barriers are correlated with nearly half of individuals reporting probable depression not receiving mental health services.
Maine residents with potential substance use disorders also had more limited health care access than those without. Twenty-three percent of individuals who reported prescription drug misuse did not have a usual source of care and 47 percent had not had a check-up in the past year, compared with 11 percent and 27 percent of those who did not report prescription misuse.
To read the full brief, click here.
Contact: Jeb Murphy at 207.240.4897 or jmurphy@mehaf.org.