title: Private health insurance, mental health and service use in Australia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report on the private health insurance (PHI) status of individuals with and without a mental health problem, and examine whether PHI status is associated with access to psychological services.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a descriptive study of nationally representative population-based data collected in 2009 (HILDA) with participants aged 15-93 (n = 13,301). Key measures included: PHI status (categorised as 'hospital cover only', 'extras cover only', or 'both hospital and extras cover'); mental health status (categorised as 'have a mental health problem' or 'do not have a mental health problem' using the mental health index (MHI) of the medical outcomes study short form); mental health service use (access to a mental health professional (psychologist/psychiatrist) in the past 12 months categorised as 'yes' or 'no').
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals with a mental health problem were less likely to have PHI than those without a mental health problem. However, PHI was not associated with access to a mental health professional in the past 12 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that while the discrepancy in PHI status is a marker of inequity between those with and without a mental health problem, it is not a key factor in facilitating access to mental health services.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Liana.Leach@anu.edu.au
authors.forename: Liana S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Leach
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Butterworth
authors.forename: Harvey
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Whiteford
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged