Last year, Aetna set a goal of significantly reducing suicide attempts among its members.
Since then, the insurer has made notable progress in this initiative among its adult members. However, suicide attempts among teenagers increased substantially, meaning there is a lot of work left to do, Aetna said Thursday.
The company is aiming to reduce the number of suicide attempts by 20% by 2025, and overall saw attempts decrease by 15.7% through March 2022 compared to 2019 baselines. Among adult Aetna members, attempts decreased by 17.5% in 2021 and by 34.1% through March compared to 2019.
Among members aged 13 to 17, suicide attempts increased by 43% in 2021 and by 32% through March 2022 compared to the 2019 baseline rates.
"Our members are not immune to the national suicide crisis reported by the CDC. Though we are on track lowering suicide attempts in adults, our goal will not be reached until we can say the same for adolescents," said Sree Chaguturu, M.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer at CVS Health, Aetna's parent company, in the release. "We are doubling down on efforts to prevent suicide in teens by identifying those most at-risk and in need of intervention, reaching out to those discharged from the ER after a suicide attempt with resources and supporting parents and loved ones in prioritizing the mental health of their kids."
Adolescent mental health concerns have been a significant issue in the industry as the pandemic wanes. Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children's Hospital Association—three of the country's largest pediatric groups—declared a national emergency for child and adolescent mental health, saying the pandemic "has struck at the safety and stability of families."
To better address youth mental health, CVS has put a focus on investing further in resources and outreach. Aetna operates multiple programs aimed at adolescent mental health, including a partnership with Oui Therapeutics and Vita Health that puts young people in contact with youth-nominated support teams and clinical outpatient programs that offer evidence-based therapies and interventions.
In addition, the insurer has an adolescent outreach program that uses self-harm risk modeling to identify and proactively reach out to families where an adolescent is at high risk for a suicide attempt. Aetna also has a program called Caring Contacts, which will reach out to adolescent members after they are discharged from an inpatient facility or emergency department after a suicide attempt with comfort items. The goal is to make them feel valued and make clear that support is available.
The insurer said it also works with providers to enable them to better identify and treat adolescents at risk of a suicide attempt.
"We are implementing evidence-based therapies and outreach programs to prevent suicidal ideation before it starts and get adolescents the clinical care they need when they are at risk," said Cara McNulty, president of behavioral health and mental well-being for CVS Health, in the release. "Every suicide attempt prevented, life saved and mental health resource sought is an important step to reducing death by suicide in the United States."