Volume 16, Number 4 (Fall) 1981
McGuire, Thomas G. 1981. "Financing and Demand for mental Health Services." Journal of Human Resources 16(4):501-522.
This paper surveys the emerging literature on financing and demand for mental health services. Most studies at present simply report the cost experience of members of an insurance pool, and research on demand behavior has been very limited. Nevertheless, some conclusions are possible. First, the responsiveness of demand for outpatient mental health care is greater than the responsiveness of demand for general medical services. Second, demand for mental health services grows over time among members of an insurance pool, even as coverage remains stable. Third, demand of lower income groups is more responsive to insurance than is demand of upper income groups. New research should focus on the effect of financing policy on the choice of setting for care.
The author is Assistant Professor of Economics, Boston University.
* This paper is a revision of one presented at the Conference on Economics and
Mental Health, December 13 and 14, 1979, in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the
National Institute of Mental Health. I would like to thank Jeff Harris, Stanley
Masters, Anne Rosenfeld, Gerald Rosenthal, and Carl Taube for helpful comments.
© 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
US ISSN 0022-166X