Rates of Choosing Employer Health Insurance No Different for Adults With Mental Disorders

People with mental disorders are no more or less likely than other people to enroll in health insurance plans offered by their employers, a new AHRQ study found. The article and abstract, “The Take-up of Private Health Insurance Among Americans with Mental Disorders: Implications for Health Care Reform,” were published online March 17 in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. Study results suggest that takeup rates in Affordable Care Act marketplaces by those with or without mental disorders may be similar. The study, authored by AHRQ’s Samuel H. Zuvekas, Ph.D., used data from AHRQ’s 2004-2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to examine differences in offers and takeup of employer-sponsored insurance among adults ages 27 to 54. Those with mental disorders were substantially less likely to have access to insurance coverage through an employer, making Affordable Care Act marketplaces particularly important to the large number of Americans with mental disorders who lack access to other coverage, the article noted.

2015 Mar 17. [Epub ahead of print]

The Take-Up of Employer-Sponsored Insurance Among Americans with Mental Disorders: Implications for Health Care Reform.

Zuvekas SH1.

Author information

Abstract

Little is known about how take-up of private health insurance coverage differs between those with and without mental disorders. This study seeks to fill this gap by using data from the 2004-2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to examine differences in offers and take-up of employer-sponsoredinsurance (ESI) among adults aged 27-54. Little evidence that mental disorders are associated with take-up of offers of ESI coverage was found. This suggests that take-up rates in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces by those with and without mental disorders may be similar. The ACA is especially important to Americans with mental disorders, many of whom lack access to ESI coverage to pay for mental health treatment either through their own job or through a spouse's job.