This Article Reprint (PDF) Submit a response to this article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Personal Archive Download to Citation Manager Reprints & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (56) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mechanic, D. Articles by McAlpine, D. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mechanic, D. Articles by McAlpine, D. D. Related Collections Insurance Coverage Legal/Regulatory Issues Managed Care - Mental Health Mental Health/Substance Abuse

Health Affairs, Vol 18, Issue 5, 7-21
Copyright © 1999 by Project HOPE

Journal Article

Mission unfulfilled: potholes on the road to mental health parity

Managed care holds the promise of facilitating parity between general medical care and alcohol, drug, and mental health care by reducing expenditures, even while expanding benefits. Limitations in our knowledge of variations in needs and treatment standards for substance use and psychiatric illnesses make such disorders an easy target for management. Costs for behavioral health care services have been reduced at a faster pace than has been the case for general medical care costs. The most severely ill face the potential burdens of managed care as access and intensity of care become more uniform across patient populations.

                      What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. L. Barry, R. G. Frank, and T. G. McGuire The costs of mental health parity: still an impediment? Health Aff., May 1, 2006; 25(3): 623 - 634. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Tomes The patient as a policy factor: a historical case study of the consumer/survivor movement in mental health. Health Aff., May 1, 2006; 25(3): 720 - 729. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. S. Wang, P. Berglund, M. Olfson, H. A. Pincus, K. B. Wells, and R. C. Kessler Failure and Delay in Initial Treatment Contact After First Onset of Mental Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Arch Gen Psychiatry, June 1, 2005; 62(6): 603 - 613. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. S. Wang, M. Lane, M. Olfson, H. A. Pincus, K. B. Wells, and R. C. Kessler Twelve-Month Use of Mental Health Services in the United States: Results From the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Arch Gen Psychiatry, June 1, 2005; 62(6): 629 - 640. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. C. Kessler, P. Berglund, G. Borges, M. Nock, and P. S. Wang Trends in Suicide Ideation, Plans, Gestures, and Attempts in the United States, 1990-1992 to 2001-2003 JAMA, May 25, 2005; 293(20): 2487 - 2495. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. B. Busch, R. G. Frank, and A. F. Lehman The Effect of a Managed Behavioral Health Carve-Out on Quality of Care for Medicaid Patients Diagnosed as Having Schizophrenia Arch Gen Psychiatry, May 1, 2004; 61(5): 442 - 448. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]