USA Today--October 6, 2003
Access to mental health care varies widely by
state, according to a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, USA
Today reports. In the study, the first to examine geographic differences in
children's mental health treatment, Roland Sturm, a senior economist at RAND,
and colleagues surveyed parents of 40,112 children in 13 states. According to
the report, Colorado, Minnesota and Massachusetts are the best at meeting
children's needs for mental health treatment, while Florida, California and
Texas offer the least help to children in need of mental health services. In
states such as Alabama and Mississippi that offer good pediatric mental health
treatment, children in families with low annual incomes are more likely to
receive health care than children in wealthier families. In states like Texas
and California, which have poor records of mental health care for children,
children in wealthier families are more likely to get treatment. The geographic
differences are likely related to disparities in public and private health plan
coverage for mental health care, as well as cultural differences among states,
USA Today reports. Richard Dougherty, a consultant on mental health services
from Lexington, Mass., said that Medicaid mental health coverage varies
"greatly" by state, USA Today reports. Stephen Mayberg, director of the
California Department of Mental Health, added that in areas with large
foreign-born populations, like California, Texas and Florida, immigrants are
"not sure of the value of mental health services, and many are in low-paying
jobs with no insurance" (Elias, USA Today,
10/6).