Monday, August 09, 2004

Mental Health Care Benefits Common, But Often Inadequate
Psychiatric News story - "Although health insurance frequently provides mental health benefits, access to quality care is confounded by many factors. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of the U.S. population in 1999 had mental health benefits as a component of their health insurance plan, according to a report prepared by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. But that relatively positive finding is complicated by other factors, according to researchers Myles Maxfield, Lori Achman, and Anna Cook. The generosity of mental health benefits, for example, is affected by whether their source is private or public insurance and by the laws in the state in which they are offered. In the case of employer-sponsored insurance, the generosity of benefits is related to the size of the firm offering them..." As of today, the report referenced in the story is not available at the Samhsa web site.  
  

Health insurance plan has big year in Illinois
Chicago Tribune story - "In 2003, Illinois enrolled more working parents in a federally subsidized health-insurance program than any other state, Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Thursday. Illinois more than tripled parent enrollment to 41,594, according to a report released last month by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. During the last six months of 2003, more children entered the program in Illinois than any other state except Georgia, the report found..." [Viewing Chicago Tribune resources requires registration, which is free].