Medicaid Managed Mental Health Care has been put forth as one solution to the ills of the present system. While the proponents of managed care claim managed care will deliver health as well as mental health services more efficiently and effectively, there are many who believe other approaches will be more advantageous. Since social workers provide most of the mental health services nationally and in New York City, Medicaid Managed Mental Health Care would have a significant impact on them and on the profession as a whole. Managed care will not solve these problems any more than the mental health system alone has been able to do. In New York State, mental health services provided by managed care are not regulated by the Office of Mental Health.
Federal law exempts most managed care companies from state insurance laws.
Managed care eliminates the multiple points of entry into the mental health system. A managed care physician with little or no training in psychiatry is assigned the responsibility of determining the need for mental health services and referring the child or adult for such service. There is no nation-wide data to suggest managed care is less costly than the current system. Confidentiality is seriously undermined as individuals seeking permission for treatment are forced to discuss their problems on the phone with customer satisfaction representatives. The short term two to twelve session model, the preferred approach for cost containment, does not work for everyone.