stic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is that is does not state causations for these disorders.Mental Health Care and Managed CareSince 1960, there have been several attempts to coordinate mental health care. The Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) program was initiated in 1963. The programs purpose was to consolidate community-based mental health services. However, CMHCs were highly ineffective with regards to the severely mentally ill and their ability to work with state mental health hospitals. The Community Support Program (CSP) was then implemented. Its intent was to network mental health and human services agencies to aid in providing for the complex needs of people with severe mental illnesses. The fault of the CSP was that there were no incentives for cooperation and the development of new services. Today, case management is the answer to the coordination of mental health care. The purpose of using case managers is to integrate the efforts of independent specialty provider agencies. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s it became apparent to employers that the cost of mental health care was rising faster than the cost of other health areas. Most insurance companies and businesses started to reduce mental health benefits as an answer to these rising costs. Cuts to mental health benefits were made in various ways by employers and managed care organizations. Deductibles were raised, outpatient visits and hospital days covered were lowered, and the lifetime or annual ceiling limits for benefits were lowered. A typical benefits package under managed care for mental health in the 1990’s covered thirty inpatient days per year and twenty outpatient visits. A $50,000 lifetime ceiling was allotted for mental heal or substance abuse. Some mental health disorders were not even covered. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1981 58 percent of employees who had employer based health benefi...
