Health Affairs

Health Affairs, 22, no. 1 (2003): 165-172 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.22.1.165 © 2003 by Project HOPE	New Online   Getting Health Reform Done   After the State of the Union   Incremental Reform   E-Health in Developing World   Most-Read Articles in 2009

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What Drove Private Health Insurance Spending On Mental Health And Substance Abuse Care, 1992–1999?

Tami L. Mark and Rosanna M. Coffey

Trends in MH/SA treatment spending from 1992 to 1999 were examined using employer claims data from approximately 1.7 million covered lives in each year. The analysis finds that employer-based private insurance spending on MH/SA treatment did not keep pace with total employer-based private insurance spending or general price inflation. MH/SA spending dropped from 7.2 percent of total private insurance spending in 1992 to 5.1 percent in 1999. The decline was attributable to a dramatic decrease in inpatient MH/SA treatment—specifically, the probability of admissions and average length-of-stay.

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