Since the first NAMHC report on parity to the Senate Appropriations Committee, a substantial body of research knowledge has developed concerning the impact of parity on mental health care and its costs. However, many gaps in knowledge remain as the focus of inquiry shifts from the cost of parity to its short-term and long-term effects--in combination with managed care. These include:
- What is the long-term effect on continued access to appropriate mental health services?
- What is the impact on particularly vulnerable populations, such as children and adolescents, the elderly, the severely mentally ill, and traditionally underserved populations?
- What is the effect on disability and work productivity in insured populations?
- How is the quality of treatment affected?
- What is the long-term impact on public mental health?
- How do health care systems respond to parity?
- What is the impact on the types of co-morbid problems seen in the general health care sector?
Both the implementation of a parity-level benefit in the Federal Employees Health Benefit plan in 2001 and the implementation of parity in 31 States offer unique opportunities to study many of these issues and build on a strong foundation of baseline data.
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This page was last updated: November 1, 2000.
