Prevalence of Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Planning, and Suicide Attempt and Type of Health Insurance Coverage

The aim of this study was to examine prevalence of suicidal ideation, suicide planning and suicide attempt and type of health insurance, to identify potential behavioural health needs of populations covered by different health plans and issuers of health insurance. For each health insurance and suicide category, states were assigned a numeric rank, based on descending percentages of coverage and suicide-related concerns. Using these rankings, correlations between the prevalence of suicide outcomes and the type of health insurance were explored using Kendall’s tau-b. There were negative correlations between employer-based insurance and adolescent suicide outcomes. There were positive correlations between direct purchase insurance and adult suicide planning, TRICARE insurance and adolescent suicidal ideation and suicide attempt, VA Care and adolescent and adult suicide outcomes, and being uninsured and adolescent suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. There were no correlations between Medicaid and Medicare and adolescent and adult suicide outcomes. Taken together, individuals with public health coverage and uninsured individuals appear to experience a higher prevalence of mental health concerns, which may be attributable in part to geographic region and socioeconomic/sociodemographic characteristics. Prevention initiatives should incorporate complementary resources from multiple sectors to address both behavioural health and non-health needs of publicly insured and uninsured individuals.