For those who have had a mental health visit in the past, nearly half of all 2021 Medicaid mental health visits used telehealth, according to a report by Anthem.
At 40 percent of members, Latinos topped telehealth users, followed by white members (34 percent) and Asian members (33 percent).
Latino members adopted telehealth services 8.1 percent more than white members.
The report also highlighted continued health disparities among Black members, who used telehealth the least (28 percent). Black members are also least likely to use any mental healthcare, with only 49 percent using services since the COVID-19 pandemic began — a 7.4 percent difference from white members.
Increasing access to information, targeting social determinants of health and leveraging peer programs were some suggested solutions to bolstering Black mental health telehealth utilization, according to the report.