Use of Outpatient Mental Health Care

Trial of a Prepaid Group Practice Versus Fee-for-Service

Willard G. Manning, Kenneth B. Wells, Bernadette Benjamin

ResearchPublished 1986

The aim of this study was to determine whether a prepaid group practice delivers less outpatient mental health care than fee-for-service when both serve comparable populations. To do this, it used data from the RAND Health Insurance Study, a randomized controlled trial that assigned families to a prepaid group practice — Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHC) — or to fee-for-service insurance plans. The study also contained data on existing GHC enrollees, who served as controls. The study found that when GHC and fee-for-service plans treat comparable groups of patients who face no cost sharing, GHC delivers a much less intensive style of mental health care but treats a comparable fraction of the population. Adding cost sharing to fee-for-service plans reduces mental health expenses, but it also lowers the probability of use even though it does not lower the intensity of care.

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  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 1986
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 114
  • Paperback Price: $30.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-0660-8
  • Document Number: R-3277-NIMH

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Manning, Willard G., Kenneth B. Wells, and Bernadette Benjamin, Use of Outpatient Mental Health Care: Trial of a Prepaid Group Practice Versus Fee-for-Service, RAND Corporation, R-3277-NIMH, 1986. As of October 7, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3277.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Manning, Willard G., Kenneth B. Wells, and Bernadette Benjamin, Use of Outpatient Mental Health Care: Trial of a Prepaid Group Practice Versus Fee-for-Service. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1986. https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3277.html. Also available in print form.
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