Four New Commentaries on National Health Reform

BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE
Issue Date: Online Exclusive
Special Online Editorials

Fundamentals of Healthcare Reform

With the onset of healthcare reform and the implementation of the Parity Act close at hand, behavioral health will see change in the forthcoming year. And while both of these continuing efforts are meant to increase the quality of services delivered to behavioral health consumers, it may be hard for providers to keep up with the current debate.

Among the significant questions that behavioral health providers should be asking as they analyze current reforms are:

* Is comparative effectiveness being met—that is, will the proposed policies contain costs while improving quality?
* Are insurance deficits in the un- and underinsured populations being addressed?
* Are we using our extensive knowledge of the benefits of child mental health to provide satisfactory coverage for children?
* Are we addressing disparities in coverage in order to achieve mental health equity?

To help shed light on these issues, Ron Manderscheid, PhD, examines each of these concepts in a series of special online editorials, which you can view by following the links below.

Making Comparative Effectiveness Work for Us
www.behavioral.net/comparativeeffectiveness

Uninsurance and Underinsurance
www.behavioral.net/un-and-underinsured

Telling the Important Story of Child Mental Health
www.behavioral.net/childmentalhealth

From Disparity to Equity
www.behavioral.net/disparitytoequity