From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: COVID-19 and Behavioral Health Description: Americans have reported feeling more isolated and stressed, and many have experienced economic hardship as a result of COVID-19. This has caused an increase in demand for behavioral health services, including those from mental health and substance use. The federal government has provided more than $8 billion for programs to help those experiencing mental health or substance use issues related to the pandemic. We find out more from GAO's Alyssa Hundrup. Related GAO Work: GAO-22-104437, Behavioral Health: Higher-Risk Populations and Related Federal Relief Funding Released: December 2021 [Music:] [Alyssa Hundrup:] I think it's very clear that COVID-19 has had repercussions for the behavioral health of our entire nation. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office--celebrating 100 years of fact-based, nonpartisan government oversight. I'm Holly Hobbs. We've all felt the impacts of COVID-19. People have reported feeling more isolated and stressed, and many have experienced economic hardship. And as you might expect, there has been an increased demand for behavioral health services--including those for mental health and substance use. To help address this demand, the federal government has provided more than $8 billion for programs that help those experiencing behavioral health issues. Today, we'll find out more from Alyssa Hundrup, an expert on public health policy and a director in our Health Care team. Thanks for joining us. [Alyssa Hundrup:] Thanks for having me, Holly. [Holly Hobbs:] So Alyssa, we've all experienced some difficult circumstances during the pandemic, but some folks were especially vulnerable. What can you tell us about those populations? [Alyssa Hundrup:] Yeah, it certainly does seem like there have been repercussions for the entire nation. But based on the extensive research we did, there are a number of populations that are particularly at risk of new or exacerbated behavioral health symptoms related to the pandemic. So six populations in particular were cited time-and-time again. First, certain racial and ethnic groups--particularly like the Black, Hispanic and Native American populations, who have suffered a disparate impact from COVID across the board. Experts are also deeply worried about children and teens, especially when they didn't have access to or connections with their peers or their schools. Health care workers have been particularly affected given the added risks and stress they've experienced. People facing financial stress have also been vulnerable, as not having jobs or concerns about food can certainly take a toll. And, of course, people with preexisting behavioral health conditions, such as those with severe mental illness or substance use disorder. And lastly, young adults. Leading up to the pandemic, there were concerns about higher rates of mental illness and loneliness in this group and I think the pandemic certainly exacerbated those issues. And of course, it's important to mention that these groups are not mutually exclusive. And so you can have one individual who is represented in multiple populations. And then, of course, not everyone in those groups will necessarily develop any symptoms. [Holly Hobbs:] So how do we know that there are more people facing behavioral health issues or that they're more at risk? [Alyssa Hundrup:] Yeah, there's been quite a bit of research related to this. For example, during the pandemic, there have been more reports of anxiety and depression across U.S. adults. Before 2019, about 11% of adults were reporting symptoms of depression or anxiety. Fast forward to April 2020 to September 2021, across that timeframe, up to 43% were reporting those symptoms. So quite a difference. We're also seeing an increase in alcohol and drug use. And unfortunately, drug overdose deaths have increased--I think provisional data recently came out from April 2020 to April 2021, so over one year time frame there was a 29% increase in overdose deaths, and that is predicted to be a record high with over 100,000 lives lost. [Holly Hobbs:] What do we know about how federal funding was used? That $8 billion? [Alyssa Hundrup:] So most of the funding has been used for grant programs, and that money has gone to states and community based providers to provide behavioral health services directly to people in need--so to get those direct services. For example, over $5 billion went to two large block grant programs. And those funds are distributed directly to local governments and nonprofits to provide mental health services and substance use disorder treatment services or recovery programs. {Music} [Holly Hobbs:] So Alyssa just told us that some populations were particularly vulnerable to the behavioral health impacts of the pandemic--including children and young adults, as well as minority communities and those already experiencing behavioral health issues. And that the federal government provided billions in funding to help address the demand for behavioral health services. So Alyssa, the pandemic isn't over yet, and neither are the impacts on individuals? Given this, do we have any future work planned? [Alyssa Hundrup:] Yes, we do. I mean, we have been issuing regular government-wide reports on the federal response to COVID across many topics and we'll continue to monitor behavioral health funding as part of our ongoing oversight. [Holly Hobbs:] And last question, what's the bottom line of this report? [Alyssa Hundrup:] I think it's very clear that COVID-19 has had repercussions for the behavioral health of our entire nation, but there certainly are multiple groups at higher risk. Those include children, adolescents, health care workers, certain racial and ethnic groups, what have you. So I think recognizing this, the federal government has put quite a bit of money, $8 billion, towards this. But looking ahead, it's still so early it's not possible to yet determine the full impact on the behavioral health or the impacts that COVID has had. It will take time to determine both impacts and then how that money is being used and how effective it is in terms of reaching those populations. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Alyssa Hundrup talking about GAO's recent review of COVID-19 and behavioral health. Thanks for your time, Alyssa. [Alyssa Hundrup:] Thanks for having me, Holly. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen and make sure to leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at GAO.gov.