Benefit Design effects on Mental Health Utilization

Ever since the RAND Corporation conducted its landmark experiment from 1971 to 1982, about the effects of free medical services on the utilization of services, the healthcare industry has attempted to control costs through various avenues. Mental Health Services have been pulled along with medical services and treated as though control was absolutely necessary to intervene in providers inflating the utilization and need for increasing therapy sessions. With an increasing interest in reducing healthcare costs, the question of eliminating restrictions on mental health therapy session was seen as a sure method of increasing utilization of existing treatment as well as encouraging access for new patients. The research conducted and reported in this book provides information that will assist the reader in drawing conclusions concerning the provision of unlimited therapy sessions as well as attempts to control utilization by increasing patient participation in the costs of each session.