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Online ISSN: 1099-176X Print
ISSN: 1091-4358 Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Assessing state parity legislation* |
| Samuel H. Zuvekas, Ph.D. * |
| Center for Cost and Financing Studies, Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality, 2101 E. Jefferson St.-Suite 500, Rockville, MD 20852,
US |
| email: Samuel H. Zuvekas (szuvekas@ahrq.gov) |
*Correspondence to Samuel H. Zuvekas, Center for Cost and Financing Studies, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2101 E. Jefferson St.-Suite 500, Rockville, MD 20852, US.
*The views expressed in this paper are those of the author, and no official endorsement by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the Department of Health and Human Services is intended or should be inferred.
| Abstract |
| The temptation is great, but premature, to conclude from the Sturm study that parity mandates had no effect on access and insurance coverage for the mentally ill. The study lacks statistical power for those directly covered by the mandates, and it is unlikely adequate power exists for those only indirectly affected. The inclusion of the uninsured, Medicaid enrollees, and privately covered individuals not subject to the mandates, and the imprecise outcome measures, increase the likelihood that other factors dominate parity. The timing of implementation in some states is also problematic. But Sturm asks the right questions and future waves of the Healthcare for Communities survey and other data will be better able to address them. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |