Costs of Covering Mental Health and Substance Abuse Care at the Same Level as Medical Care in Private Insurance Plans

摘要

The mission of RAND Health is working to improve health and health care systems and advance understanding of how the organization and financing of care affect costs, quality and access. The nation's largest private health-care research organization, RAND Health has helped shape private- and public-sector responses to emerging health care issues for three decades. We pioneered the application of rigorous empirical research designs to health care issues. Our landmark studies of health care financing helped change the way America pays for health care services. We established the scientific basis for determining whether various medical and surgical procedures were being used appropriately. Our assessments of how organization and financing affect costs, quality, and access to care have addressed the population at large, as well as such vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups as the frail elderly, children with special health care needs, substance abusers, and HW-positive individuals. This document presents the written testimony of Roland Sturm, Ph.D., as submitted to the Health Insurance Committee, National Conference of Insurance Legislators on July 13, 2001, in Chicago, Illinois.