Cost sharing and the use of ambulatory mental health services.

Used preliminary data from the Rand Corporation's Health Insurance Study to examine expenditures for ambulatory mental health services (MHSs) based on a sample of 4,444 families (at initial enrollment) of the nonelderly, noninstitutionalized civilian population. Selected findings reveal that reducing the level of cost sharing increases the demand for MHSs; the response to cost sharing is roughly the same for ambulatory medical and MHSs. Small deductibles, followed by free care, do not deter the use of ambulatory MHSs. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)