Details:

Alternative Title:
Am J Prev Med
Publisher's site:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.01.022
Personal Author:
Sipe, Theresa Ann ; Finnie, Ramona K.C. ; Knopf, John A. ; Qu, Shuli ; Reynolds, Jeffrey A. ; ... More +
Sipe, Theresa Ann ; Finnie, Ramona K.C. ; Knopf, John A. ; Qu, Shuli ; Reynolds, Jeffrey A. ; Thota, Anilkrishna B. ; Hahn, Robert A. ; Goetzel, Ron Z. ; Hennessy, Kevin D. ; McKnight-Eily, Lela R. ; Chapman, Daniel P. ; Anderson, Clinton W. ; Azrin, Susan ; Abraido-Lanza, Ana F. ; Gelenberg, Alan J. ; Vernon-Smiley, Mary E. ; Nease, Donald E. Less -
Corporate Authors:
The Community Preventive Services Task Force
Description:
Context

Health insurance benefits for mental health services typically have paid less than benefits for physical health services, resulting in potential underutilization or financial burden for people with mental health conditions. Mental health benefits legislation was introduced to improve financial protection (i.e., decrease financial burden) and to increase access to, and use of, mental health services. This systematic review was conducted to determine the effectiveness of mental health benefits legislation, including executive orders, in improving mental health.

Evidence acquisition

Methods developed for the Guide to Community Preventive Services were used to identify, evaluate, and analyze available evidence. The evidence included studies published or reported from 1965 to March 2011 with at least one of the following outcomes: access to care, financial protection, appropriate utilization, quality of care, diagnosis of mental illness, morbidity and mortality, and quality of life. Analyses were conducted in 2012.

Evidence synthesis

Thirty eligible studies were identified in 37 papers. Implementation of mental health benefits legislation was associated with financial protection (decreased out-of-pocket costs) and appropriate utilization of services. Among studies examining the impact of legislation strength, most found larger positive effects for comprehensive parity legislation or policies than for less-comprehensive ones. Few studies assessed other mental health outcomes.

Conclusions

Evidence indicates that mental health benefits legislation, particularly comprehensive parity legislation, is effective in improving financial protection and increasing appropriate utilization of mental health services for people with mental health conditions. Evidence is limited for other mental health outcomes.


Subject:
[+]
Article
Community Health Services
Female
Health Expenditures
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Insurance, Health
Mental Disorders
Mental Health Services
Pregnancy
Quality Of Health Care

Source:
Am J Prev Med. 48(6):755-766
Pubmed ID:
25998926
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC4700502
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:616c26f294dc65d1fa52c1eb2f98470b87a8775b9eec6ac44c41e3dec9d88164
File Type:

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