With increasing talk about a growing sense of anxiety and fragile mental well-being, it makes sense that some Ohioans are seeking needed mental health care. For most of them, finding timely care is a challenge.

Health Policy Institute of Ohio says 75 of the state’s 88 counties are mental health shortage areas, according to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal.

“We also did some focus groups with parents and caregivers of children needing mental health services and just asked about their experiences and some of them talked about wait lists two years long to get into a certain provider,” said Becky Carroll, author of the study and director of policy research and analysis for the institute. “It’s problematic, and it’s widespread.”

Only 11 facilities in Ohio offer youth inpatient services, the study found. The only counties that are not mental health shortage areas are Hancock, Marion, Delaware, Montgomery, Butler, Clermont, Lorain, Ashland, Lake, Geauga, Portage, Trumbull and Mahoning.

Fifty-three counties do not have a child psychiatrist, and only seven counties have more than ten.

At the same time, the Ohio Council of Behavioral Health and Family Services Providers says there was a 353% surge in demand for behavioral health services between 2013 and 2019. Anecdotal evidence suggests that demand has continued to increase.

“We just simply don’t have enough people to provide care for the people that need care,” said council CEO Teresa Lampl, according to the Capital Journal. “When people have to wait, they do deteriorate. Sometimes they end up in the hospital. Sometimes they need a higher level of care, and then we end up treating them maybe longer.”

There aren’t enough facilities or practitioners, there is a problem with mental health care reimbursement rates and — what might come as a surprise — there is an “insurance parity” issue.

“It’s much harder if you have private insurance than it is if you have Medicaid, because Medicaid recognizes a wider range of professionals and recognizes a wider range of services,” Lampl said.

She called the situation a “math problem,” but it is one policymakers and health care companies will have to work quickly to address. The last thing Ohio can afford is for supply to diminish as demand for mental and behavioral health care only continues to increase.