Pediatric Behavioral Health Expenditures Nearly Doubled From 2011 to 2022

THURSDAY, Dec. 18, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The proportion of pediatric care expenditures for behavioral health increased from 22.4 to 40.2 percent from 2011 to 2022, according to a study published online Dec. 15 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Ashley A. Foster, M.D., from the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study of U.S. children aged 6 to 17 years using the 2011 to 2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey household component files to quantify U.S. pediatric behavioral health care expenditures.

The researchers found that pediatric behavioral health care expenditures totaled $41.8 billion in 2022. From 2011 to 2022, the proportion of pediatric care expenditures for behavioral health increased from 22.4 to 40.2 percent. There was a simultaneous increase in pediatric behavioral health out-of-pocket spending from $2.1 to $2.9 billion, representing an increase of 6.4 percent annually. For families with at least one child with behavioral health spending, 12.5 and 14.4 percent of out-of-pocket spending among families with high and extreme financial burden were for child behavioral health care. There was an association for having a child with behavioral health spending and high and extreme family financial burden (adjusted odds ratios, 1.60 and 1.42, respectively).

“Many U.S. families are experiencing high and extreme financial burden due to OOP [out-of-pocket] health care costs, and having a child with behavioral health expenditures independently increases a family”s risk of financial burden,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Abbott Laboratories.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)