Access to Mental Health Care Has Increased Under Affordable Care Act
People with mental illness reported that they were more likely to be insured and thus better able to access health and mental health services following implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a new study published online today in Psychiatric Services in Advance. Effects were seen in states that had expanded Medicaid and in states that did not.
Researchers lead by
After implementation, people with mental health conditions were more likely to be insured (5 percent uninsured versus 13 percent). They were also less likely to report the cost of mental health care as the reason for not getting needed care (17 percent versus 21 percent). They were also more likely to report a having usual source of care (82 percent versus 76 percent). These effects were experienced in states with Medicaid expansion and those without. The increased access to care in non-expansion states may have resulted from improved coverage of mental health services and services to help with daily living skills (such as occupational and physical therapy) under the ACA, the authors suggest.
The authors conclude that the findings "highlight important improvements in health insurance coverage and access to care achieved through ACA reforms for people with mental health conditions." The gains in both non-expansion and expansion states "underscores the importance of improvements in the quality of health insurance coverage, such as mental health parity."
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