Using Mental Health Financing to Help Patients Prioritize Treatment

With the popularity of public campaigns like “It’s OK not to be OK” and high-profile public figures sharing their mental health struggles, people are often more aware of mental health issues they or their family members may face.

And it’s just in time because the prevalence of mental health concerns is high. In a 2022 joint KFF and CNN survey, half of young adults and one-third of adults in the United States reported they felt anxious either always or often over the past year. In that same survey, 90% of the public agreed that we are experiencing a mental health crisis.¹

The barriers to mental health care can make it challenging for patients to follow through on treatment. Here, we’ll look more closely at those gaps and how you can help patients overcome them, ensuring they have the support, resources and access needed to prioritize their care.

Examining the Mental Health Gap

According to the joint KFF and CNN survey, around one-third of adults were unable to get the mental health services they needed or wanted, citing the following two barriers as significant: cost (80%), and shame and stigma (62%). The mental health provider shortage was also a contributing factor.¹

Let’s take a closer look at these and other barriers to mental health services.

1. Cost of mental health services

The pressure of financial strain weighs heavily on most people. For those experiencing anxiety, depression or other mental health difficulties, cost presents a huge barrier to mental health treatment.

A 2023 report revealed that cost was the most common barrier to mental health care. Among surveyed individuals with a mental illness who didn’t receive services in the previous year, 59.8% cited affordability as the primary reason.²

2. Insurance coverage concerns

Mental health services are not always covered by insurance, which can present another barrier to care. And only some practices accept insurance, leaving more patients to pay out of pocket, while others opt to go out of network to receive care — where affordable or available providers or practices may be limited.³

According to CareCredit consumer research, acceptance of insurance is what 86% of those surveyed believed to be the most important factor when deciding where to go for treatment of all kinds. Cost of services was second-most important, according to 71% of those surveyed.⁴

3. Provider shortages

Provider shortages present a growing access problem across healthcare sectors, but when it comes to mental health providers, the shortages are even more significant — and prohibit many from accessing care.⁵ According to the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, more than one-third of Americans live in a mental health professional shortage area.⁵ Waiting for an available provider not only increases anxiety but may also lead to additional mental health conditions or exacerbated symptoms.

4. Proximity to providers

For patients needing specialized mental health treatments — such as assessments, intensive outpatient programs or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) —proximity to providers can be a significant barrier. Unlike annual specialist visits, mental health care often requires frequent appointments, sometimes weekly or biweekly.

The challenges of maintaining a consistent schedule when under stress or living with a mental health condition can hinder progress. This can present a barrier for patients in rural areas who would have to travel a distance to receive mental health services, those who do not have access to affordable, reliable transportation and/or those who may not have access to telehealth options.⁶

5. Social and cultural stigmas

Deeply held social and cultural stigmas around mental health services can prevent some individuals from seeking care. While more of today’s younger generations are seeking ways to address their mental health needs, including 49% of Gen Z and 30% of millennials, there are still many who are not.⁷

It’s often more than an age gap — some of the stigmas that delay or prevent someone from seeking care are cultural. These stigmas may include structural (some discriminatory laws and policies may make it difficult for those with mental health conditions to receive care), public (negative attitudes or beliefs often affect those living with mental health conditions) and self-directed (those experiencing mental health difficulties often believe they are flawed or somehow responsible for their condition).⁸

How Mental Health Financing Solutions Can Help

Considering all these barriers, outside factors may feel overwhelming or beyond your control as a mental health provider or in your practice. But when walking alongside patients on their consumer healthcare journey, you can offer them a powerful tool: flexible financing options.

Patient financing solutions are particularly important for mental health services, which often require long-term treatment over months or years. Cost and follow-through often go hand in hand, and flexibility can be helpful in easing financial concerns.

For mental health providers, offering financing solutions can help ease the burden of out-of-pocket costs for patients, allowing them to prioritize their care. Additionally, using third-party financing solutions like CareCredit can help simplify the payment process and reduces the administrative burden of managing accounts receivable. This allows providers to spend less time on billing and more time focusing on patient care. For solo practices or small offices, this time and resource savings can be significant.

CareCredit offers tools and resources that can help streamline the payment process for both your practice and your patients:

• Financing toolkit with materials like QR code signage, buttons and banners for your practice, as well as a custom link patients can use to learn about financing options
• Cost estimator tool to assist them with payment planning and fitting care into their budget

Learn more: Explore more CareCredit tools and resources for health and wellness providers.

Prioritizing Mental Health With Payment Solutions

The challenges of mental health barriers are far-reaching and complex, and they're worth thinking about all-year-long. Empower the patients who walk through your doors with simplified mental health financing that works with their treatment needs and budget, and on a timeline that may help them prioritize that care.

Offer Flexible Financing at Your Practice

If you are looking for a way to connect your patients or clients with flexible financing that empowers them to pay for the care they want and need, consider offering CareCredit as a financing solution. CareCredit allows cardholders to pay for out-of-pocket health and wellness expenses over time while helping enhance the payments process for your practice or business.

When you accept CareCredit, patients or clients can see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score, and those who apply, if approved, can take advantage of special financing on qualifying purchases.* Additionally, you will be paid directly within two business days.

Learn more about the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution or start the provider enrollment process by filling out this form.

Author Bio

Michelle Seitzer is a freelance writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience working for top brands and publications on healthcare, finance and retirement topics. She has written for ADHD Online, First Horizon Bank, The Hartford Extra Mile and more.

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