Cost Sharing and the Use of Ambulatory Mental Health Services
Published in: American Psychologist, v. 39, no. 10, Oct. 1984, p. 1077-1089
Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 1984
Used preliminary data from the Rand Corporation's Health Insurance Study to examine expenditures for ambulatory mental health services (MHSs) based on a sample of 4,444 families (at initial enrollment) of the nonelderly, noninstitutionalized civilian population. Selected findings reveal that reducing the level of cost sharing increases the demand for MHSs; the response to cost sharing is roughly the same for ambulatory medical and MHSs. Small deductibles, followed by free care, do not deter the use of ambulatory MHSs. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)
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