Private insurance plans have historically limited mental health service benefits more aggressively than physical health benefits. In this sample there is some evidence of higher patient cost sharing for mental health care than for physical health care. For example, when looking at the total costs of outpatient mental health services, 54% of total costs for outpatient services were mental health related, yet these visits accounted for 60% of patient out-of-pocket costs. Similarly, 77% of inpatient costs were mental health related, but these accounted for 92% of patient out-of-pocket inpatient costs. Not surprisingly, this relationship was not found with psychotropic medication cost sharing as medications are generally managed separately from mental health benefits.
