PSYCHIATRIC-HOSPITAL CARE AND CHANGES IN INSURANCE-COVERAGE STRATEGIES - A NATIONAL STUDY

The 1975, 1980, and 1986 sample surveys from the National Institute of Mental Health were used to predict the type of inpatient psychiatric facility where people were admitted. Predictors used were demographics (age, gender, race, marital status, and education), psychiatric diagn osis, and insurance status (primary payment source). A discriminant an alysis revealed that insurance status was the most important discrimin ator in predicting hospital type. State hospitals were more likely to care for patients with little or no resources, whereas private hospita ls cared for patients with some form of insurance. The authors discuss the implications of insurance status and access to psychiatric treatm ent.