Dive Brief:
- A new report from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the U.S. suicide rate is the highest it's been in 30 years, increasing 24% from 1999 to 2014.
- Middle-aged women between the ages 46 to 64 had the second largest increase in suicides since 1999 at 63% and women in other age groups showed an average increase from 31% to 53%. The suicide rate for men in the same age bracket increased by 43%. Older men aged 75 and above had high suicide rates but only fewer deaths
- Only one group in the U.S. showed a declining suicide rate: African-American men over age 75.
Dive Insight:
The data come after another recent CDC report that showed life expectancy for white, non-Hispanic U.S. women went down by about one month from 2013 to 2014, from 81.2 to 81.1 years. Though the difference for white women is small, such a dip for a major demographic group is rare and troubling, experts said, particularly because of the reasons why: Suicide, drug overdoses, and complications from alcohol and smoking.
A blog on healthinsurance.org in response to the CDC study suggested Medicaid may alleviate the high suicide numbers. The author, Harold Pollack, said many states with the worst public health problems are denying Medicaid coverage to the lowest-income citizens, and in turn, harming their mental health.
Oregon did an insurance study, the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, where Medicaid was allotted by a lottery between treatment and a control group. Those who received Medicaid had large and immediate reductions in depressive symptoms and stress. However, the same experiment showed disappointing results when it came to physical health. The mental health benefits may not have been specifically from improved treatment, the author suggested, but because those with Medicaid had less anxiety over medical bills or their circumstances if they became ill.