Mental Health Care Utilization Following Eviction Moratorium Expirations

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Mental Health Services

Background:

• Housing instability is linked to poor mental health and increased healthcare utilization.
• Eviction risk policies may influence mental health care use.
• COVID-19 eviction moratoria offered a unique opportunity to study these effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between the lifting of eviction moratoria and changes in mental health care utilization during the pandemic.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a synthetic difference-in-differences approach with nationwide, all-payer records from March-August 2020 and June-December 2021.
• Analyzed two phases of eviction moratorium expirations: state-level (March-August 2020) and federal (August 2021).
• Examined weekly counts of patients with mental health diagnoses, psychotropic medication prescriptions, and specific visit types (mood disorders, SMI, suicide-related).

Main Results:

• Expiration of eviction moratoria was linked to significant increases in weekly psychotropic medication prescriptions (+0.57% in Phase 1, +1.17% in Phase 2).
• Outpatient visits for serious mental illness (SMI) also increased significantly post-moratoria expiration (+3.42% in Phase 1, +3.13% in Phase 2).
• No significant changes were observed in overall mental health outpatient visits, mood disorder visits, or suicide-related visits.

Conclusions:

• The lifting of eviction moratoria was associated with increased psychotropic medication use and outpatient care for serious mental illness.
• These findings highlight the critical role of housing stability in accessing and maintaining psychiatric treatment.
• Housing policy decisions have significant implications for broader healthcare utilization and mental health outcomes.