Youth Mental Health Landscape

Trends in Mental Health

Trends and updates on mental health and suicide prevention.

• 988 Hotline Changes: On July 17th, the Trump Administration will discontinue specialized support for LGBTQ+ youth on the 988 National Suicide Prevention Hotline—a group that faces significantly higher suicide rates. The proposed budget would provide the same amount for 988 services as was provided in previous years. The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization, will continue to provide crisis counseling specific to LGBTQ-youth via call, text, or chat.
  
• Youth Mental Health: A recent analysis of commercially insured youth found that rates of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) spiked during the pandemic and remain high, especially among teens. Prevalence was significantly lower in Black and Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander youth compared to White youth, likely reflecting screening disparities. Primary care providers (PCPs) play a key role, diagnosing 41% of new MDD cases in youth.
  
• Care Disparities: A new study in JAMA Network Open found significant racial and ethnic disparities in post-pandemic mental health care for U.S. adolescents, with 31.7% of non-Hispanic white adolescents receiving care compared to 25.6% of Hispanic youth and 21.9% of non-Hispanic Black youth.
• Technology: A snapshot of Mental Health America's (MHA) 2025 report examines the complex link between technology and mental health. MHA finds that mental health strongly influences tech experiences: those with better mental health feel more connected, informed, and productive, while those who are struggling report feeling worthless, addicted, and anxious. A separate study published in JAMA found the addictive use of phones, video games, or social media—rather than screen time alone—significantly increased the risk of suicidal thoughts and self-harm in children.
• Heat and Health: Extreme heat can negatively impact people with mental illness. Experts suggest people taking medications for their mental health speak with their health care provider to see if they are at risk for not being able to regulate their body temperature.

Resources & Initiatives

• Horizon Health News provides valuable information on mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
• A McKinsey & Company report explores the critical role schools can play in providing evidence-based mental health interventions and outlines six actions for states to consider.
• In response to the worsening mental health crisis, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield is offering free community Mental Health First Aid classes. The classes are designed to give participants the skills needed to assist individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
• After Hurricane Helene, a local news outlet highlighted youth-oriented mental health solutions, such as the new CARE4Youth program, a collaboration between Carolina Across 100, UNC’s Child and Adolescent Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
  
• The Texas Tribune shares resources following the catastrophic flooding in the Texas Hill Country, including how to access mental health support.

Health Industry News

Updates on health care projections, pharmaceutical news, and workforce challenges and solutions.

• Health Spending: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predicts that total national health care expenditures will increase 5.8% a year on average from 2024 to 2033, reaching $8.6 trillion in 2033, driven by a rapidly aging population and growing demand for care.
• GLP-1s: Eli Lilly’s new oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug orforglipron performed well in phase 3 clinical trials, with similar weight loss success and side effects compared to injectable GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro. Recently, Amgen’s phase 2 clinical trials for their experimental injectable obesity drug, MariTide, resulted in nausea and vomiting. The company announced it will revise the dosing schedule. A Prime Therapeutics study finds that only 8% of individuals remain on a GLP-1 drug for obesity after three years. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) paper examines the impact of GLP-1 drugs and offers potential market strategies.
• Cell and Gene Therapies: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removes the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) requirements for specific CAR-T cell therapies, hoping to increase cancer treatment access by removing a certification requirement for hospitals and clinics. A new Nature article highlights the neurological complications of CAR-T cell therapy for cancers. Eli Lilly expands their interest in cardiovascular disease (CVD) with a $1.3 billion acquisition of Verve Therapeutics, a gene-editing startup.
• Health Care Workforce: A recent Deloitte survey reveals a shift in focus among health care finance leaders, with concerns increasingly centered on external factors—such as regulatory uncertainty, economic instability, and rising health care costs—while internal issues like workforce, cost reduction, and cybersecurity have become less urgent. To expand the operational skill set of their workforce, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is working with a nonprofit organization to create skills-based volunteer initiatives. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona’s new scholarship is boosting the amount of physicians and physician assistants in Phoenix.

Health Policy Watch

The potential impact of the new White House megabill, policy shifts on pharmaceuticals, care coverage, and protecting older adults.

• A New Health Care Landscape: President Trump’s tax and spending bill, signed on July 4th, has many implications for health care costs and access nationwide. Experts are weighing in on key elements of the bill and how it will likely impact the health care industry and consumers. The issues to watch include: changes to Medicaid and significant challenges for rural hospitals as new policies are implemented.
• CMMI Tests New Model for Medicare Prior Authorization: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation have developed the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) program, a new model to assess prior authorization requirements. The policy comes as insurers, across markets, including those for people with commercial coverage, have taken action to simplify and improve the prior approval process, which may make navigating coverage easier for approximately 257 million people.

• Supreme Court Decision Protects ACA Preventive Care Provision: In a June 27th, decision, the Supreme Court ruled that benefits recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) can remain in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) free preventive services package. The USPSTF recommendations determine what screenings are covered by insurance, including tests for cancer and diabetes.

• FDA to Speed Drug Approvals: FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has introduced a National Priority Voucher Program to accelerate the approval of drugs. The new process would shorten FDA review time from about 10-12 months to 1-2 months for drugs that address national health priorities, such as a U.S. health crisis, delivering innovative cures, meeting unmet public health needs, or increasing domestic manufacturing to enhance national security.
• Increased Screening for Elder Abuse: The USPSTF expanded existing recommendations on intimate partner violence to include increased attention to caregiver abuse of older or vulnerable adults. The Task Force also noted the lack of effective screening tools and interventions for this population. More than 1 in 10 older adults experience some form of abuse each year, according to the Social Security Administration.

Infectious Disease Update

• COVID-19: A new COVID-19 variant is spreading and causing painful sore throat symptoms. However, the public’s risk remains low. Researchers have also learned more about unique long COVID symptoms. A new study reveals surveillance of airborne fungal spores could be an early indicator of future surges of both COVID-19 and the flu. A Kidney Medicine study suggests vaccinated COVID-19 patients with acute kidney injuries are less likely to require dialysis.
• Measles: As of July 8, 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 1,288 confirmed measles cases, the most cases in a single year since the disease was declared eliminated. Georgia and Iowa report new measles cases. North Carolina and Oregon report their first cases of measles for the year. California reports a new total for measles cases, surpassing their 2024 total.
  
• Testing: A new Yale study finds that using a nasal swab to detect an antiviral protein can be an effective method for ruling out respiratory infections, reducing the need for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and lowering costs.

Health Care Prevention

Updates on health screenings, the impact of fluoride, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug development.

• New Research on Health Screenings: People with a history of smoking are recommended to start lung cancer screenings at age 50, but a new study shows most wait until age 65, when they become eligible for Medicare.

• HIV Prevention: The Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead Science’s Yeztugo (generic name lenacapavir), a new HIV drug that nearly eliminated HIV’s spread among people given an injection every six months during clinical trials. Tradeoffs, a weekly health care podcast and NIHCM-grantee, examines the implication of federal cuts on the HIV epidemic.

• Oral Health: Mass General Brigham’s modeling study estimates a national fluoride ban would cost an additional $9.8 billion in dental care costs over 5 years, adding 25.4 million more teeth with tooth decay. New research on school-based dental programs reports that administering two topical dental treatments are effective at reducing the severity of cavities. A JAMA study published earlier this year shows nearly 1.7 million people lack access to a dental clinic within a 30-min drive.
• State Health: The Commonwealth Fund released their annual state health scorecard, assessing states on 50 performance measures including health care access, affordability, prevention, costs, health outcomes, and income disparity.

Resources & Initiatives

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina prioritizes prevention through local partnerships focused on Food is Medicine initiatives.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas awards $2 million in community grants to supporting health care access and addressing social factors, with some grantees prioritizing nutrition-focused initiatives.
• A joint program between Independence Blue Cross (IBX) and Penn Medicine has helped patients get care and diagnoses faster while saving providers and IBX time on prior authorization for outpatient scans, leading IBX to expand the program to other health plan partners.
• Premera Blue Cross provides tips on detecting early colorectal cancer.
• The Washington Post provides information on what people should know about the new HIV prevention shot.
• The Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina Foundation is supporting preventive care programs such as the Reach Out and Read—Oral Health Model, Head Start Expansion, and a School-Based Oral Health Initiative, which focuses on reducing dental caries in children.
  
• The Journalist’s Resource shares tips for journalists reporting on fluoride’s use in water systems.
• The Conversation provides guidance on how parents can protect children’s teeth from cavities.