title: New evidence on the effects of state mental health mandates.
abstract: State mental health parity laws improve equity in private insurance coverage for mental and physical health services, but prior research shows no effect on service use. We study whether state parity differentially affects individuals by employer size since large firms are often exempt from state health mandates due to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. We also examine whether state parity laws differentially affect use among individuals with low incomes or in poor mental health. We find that individuals in smaller firms are more likely to use services post-parity implementation and that this effect is concentrated among low-income individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. susan.busch@yale.edu
authors.forename: Susan H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.forename: Colleen L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Barry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017047:Cost Sharing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019461:Employee Retirement Income Security Act / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult