A total of 684 primary care physicians in Wisconsin participated in a surve
y designed to explore their experiences of consulting with and referring pa
tients to mental health care professionals. The respondents indicated that
they had only moderate access to mental health;care professionals, and even
less access when a patient was covered by Medicare or Medicaid or had no i
nsurance. Physicians in group practices that included at least one mental h
ealth professional reported having better access to care than those in prac
tices that did not include mental health services. Perceived access to ment
al health care services was not related to community size or to a managed c
are setting.