By Jessica Zigmond
Posted: April 14, 2009 - 5:00 pm EDT
Nearly two-thirds of primary-care physicians reported in 2004-05 that they could not get outpatient mental-health services for their patients, which reflects a rate that was at least twice as high as for other services, such as specialist referrals, diagnostic imaging or nonemergency hospital admissions, according to a Web exclusive article in the journal Health Affairs.
Among the primary-care physicians who reported they could not get referrals, 59% cited a lack of or inadequate insurance coverage as a very important reason. A number also cited lack of providers as very important, and 51% said health plan barriers were very important.
“The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 addressed this lack of access by requiring group plans with mental health benefits to provide the same level of coverage as provided for physical health problems,” the study said. “However, shortages of mental health providers in some areas and managed-care restrictions on the use of mental health services have also been mentioned as potential access barriers.”
Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the study included a nationally representative sample of about 6,600 nonfederal physicians who spend at least 20 hours per week in patient care. All interviews were conducted by telephone, and the final response rate was 52% for a total of about 2,900 primary-care physicians in family medicine, general internal medicine and pediatrics.
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