This report describes notable variations in how state Medicaid agencies administer and fund Medicaid mental health services. It is based on telephone interviews with all state and District of Columbia Medicaid directors or their designees. Medicaid and mental health agencies are located in the...

There is little national information on the policies and procedures used by states to regulate residential treatment facilities for adults and children with mental illness. As a result, policymakers and program administrators face major difficulties in determining both the effectiveness of...

This article presents estimates of the proportion of the U.S. population that had mental health benefits in 1999, the extent of their coverage, and the proportion enrolled in health plans subject to the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 (MHPA). Over three-quarters (76 percent) had mental health...

Health care reform may provide opportunities to enhance the mental health treatment capacity of primary care, but capitalizing on these opportunities might require bolstering the clinical skills of the primary care team. This article proposes a set of core mental health treatment and...

This study evaluated the outcome of mental health communication training for pediatric primary care providers. Those who used more agenda setting, time, and anger management skills increased “patient centeredness†toward parents, resulting in improvements in child mental health outcomes.

Pediatric primary care providers report a lack of skills and training to treat child mental health problems. Interventions to improve primary care mental health services for children have largely focused on specific disorders. This article reports the outcomes of a brief training program for...

Notes that, in the first year of implementation of a new mental health parity law in California, benefits for mental health services expanded with no apparent effects on the purchase of health insurance. Stakeholders interviewed for the study reported that premiums did not increase substantially...

A new study finds excessive alcohol use causes a large economic burden to states and the District of Columbia. The study found that excessive alcohol use cost states and the District a median of $2.9 billion in 2006, ranging from $420 million in North Dakota to $32 billion in California. This...