Overview

• Researchers examined 2022 Medicaid claims data from 44 states and found that 12% of roughly 255,000 pediatric emergency visits for mental health resulted in three to seven days of boarding.
• Boarding incidences were highest among children presenting with suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or severe depression and accounted for over 30,000 extended stays.
• States showed wide variation in boarding rates, spanning from about 2.7% in Arkansas to nearly 27.3% in Iowa.
• A nationwide shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds and limited treatment placements forces emergency departments to act as makeshift mental health wards for Medicaid-enrolled youth.
• Emergency clinicians warn that prolonged stays can worsen mental health outcomes, strain families and staff and violate Joint Commission guidelines advising that pediatric cases leave the ER within four hours.