Health plans continue to limit mental health benefits, study finds

More employer-sponsored health-care plans are limiting the number of psychotherapy sessions patients can have, as well as the number of days patients can be hospitalized for mental illnesses, according to a study by the Hay Group, an actuarial and benefits consulting firm in Arlington, Va.

The report also finds that more employers are imposing separate annual deductibles and per-visit co-payments for mental health benefits rather than providing these benefits under the general medical plan.

"Health Care Plan Design and Cost Trends: 1988 through 1998" builds on a report released last year by the Hay Group that found health-insurance companies were using managed care to cut behavioral health-care benefits substantially more than other health-care benefits. Last year's study found that many health-insurance companies had cut the value of behavioral health-care benefit in half from $154.08 per covered individual in 1988 to $69.61 in 1997. This year's study finds the value of behavioral health-care benefits decreased an additional 1.5 percent from 1997 to 1998.

"The updated report reinforces our belief that market-driven health care doesn't work," says C. Henry Engleka, assistant executive director of marketing for APA's Practice Directorate. "The industry needs legal and legislative safeguards in place to protect patients and their access to needed services, in addition to marketplace changes."

More health plans are taking steps to restrict patient access to mental health services. For example: