Behavioral-health prescriptions have climbed across Massachusetts from 2019 to 2024, and women - especially those in their late teens through their 40s - are leading the trend. The increase tracks with rising diagnoses and broader medication use among commercially insured residents, and experts say it is putting more pressure on a system that was already stretched thin.
As Eagle-Tribune coverage noted, the findings come from a new DataPoints analysis that breaks out psychotropic and substance-use disorder medications by age group, using the state all-payer claims database and drawing quick reaction from health-policy officials.
According to a report released Thursday by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, the share of commercially insured members with at least one behavioral-health diagnosis rose from 29% in 2019 to 35% in 2024. In 2024, 28% of members filled at least one behavioral-health prescription, up from about 24% in 2019. Female members aged 18 to 49 saw the biggest percentage-point jumps, and by 2024 more than one in three women had at least one behavioral-health medication on their pharmacy record. The report also finds that 19.4% of commercially insured members were taking an antidepressant in 2024 and that most behavioral-health prescriptions were filled as generics.
Where The Pressure Shows Up
The prescription surge is landing on a system that is already struggling to keep up. Axios reports that 37.5% of people who went to the emergency room for mental-health reasons in 2024 waited 12 hours or more, contributing to long boarding times at some hospitals. Stakeholders told the outlet that a shortage of inpatient beds, long waits for clinical assessment and complex discharge needs are driving much of the logjam.
Why Women Saw Bigger Increases
The commission’s analysis shows adult women used antidepressants at roughly twice the rate of men in 2024, and younger adult women logged the sharpest rises in psychotropic prescriptions - a pattern the HPC highlighted as a signal of growing need. National surveys have long found higher rates of depression and greater antidepressant use among women, which may reflect both higher diagnosed need and greater willingness to seek help. A PLOS ONE analysis of NHANES data details that gender gap.
The commission also flagged a modest uptick in what patients are paying out of pocket for behavioral-health drugs. Average cost-sharing rose from about $34.18 per member in 2019 to $42.33 in 2024, a shift that could shape how willing people are to start or stay on medications.
State officials say the new numbers should help steer investments into therapy, workforce expansion and community-based services so that medication is not the only practical option on the table. The Health Policy Commission plans to keep tracking prescribing trends and to use research from its Behavioral Health Workforce Center to guide policy choices as Massachusetts tries to sort out whether rising prescriptions reflect better access to care, or reveal lingering gaps in nonpharmacologic treatment.
