PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Samuel H. Zuvekas

Publications and source records attributed to Samuel H. Zuvekas.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Assessing state parity legislation*

The temptation is great, but premature, to conclude from the Sturm study that parity mandates had no effect on access and insurance coverage for the mentally ill. The study lacks statistical power for those directly covered by the mandates, and it is unlikely adequate power exists for those only indirectly affected. The inclusion of the uninsured, Medicaid enrollees, and privately covered individuals not subject to the mandates, and the imprecise outcome measures, increase the likelihood that other factors dominate parity. The timing of implementation in some states is also problematic. But Sturm asks the right questions and future waves of the Healthcare for Communities survey and other data will be better able to address them.arkets and policies.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Income and employment among homeless people: the role of mental health, health and substance abuse.

BACKGROUND: The homeless population is among the poorest of the poor in the United States. Employment and government programs are potential sources of income, but many homeless people face potential barriers to work: many have serious mental and physical disabilities, and many more have alcohol and drug disorders. As a result, most homeless who work do so either for a few hours per day or only some days, which provides little income. General Assistance, a public program of last resort, also provides a low level of income support. More income might be gained through higher levels of work or participation in income support programs for people with disabilities. AIMS OF THE STUDY: To investigate the characteristics of homeless people that impede them in the labor market and in government program participation, paying particular attention to their mental and physical health, as well as their alcohol and drug problems. DATA: Data are from a survey of the homeless population in Alameda County, California, conducted from 1991 to 1993. Our sample is 471 homeless adults randomly selected from area shelters and meal providers, who were reinterviewed approximately 6 months later, regardless of domiciliary status. Mental health and substance use problems were assessed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, a structured, psychiatric interview that uses criteria based on the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 3rd edn (revised). Employment between the first and second interview is categorized as none, low level (less than 6 hours a day or fewer than half the days between interviews) or higher level (at least 6 hours a day for at least half the days). ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES: The models of employment status and program participation are recursive in that homelessness at the first wave of the survey is treated as given. Thus we explore whether, given their initial homelessness, persons can gain or maintain access to income between the two interviews, conditional on the sample member's homelessness, health and disability at the first interview. Using maximum-likelihood methods, we estimate a generalized ordered logit model of whether the person works not at all, at a low level or at a higher level. Participation in disability programs and GA are estimated as probit models over the subsamples of potentially eligible participants. RESULTS: While a surprisingly large number of homeless people work, few homeless persons are able to generate significant earnings from employment alone. Physical health problems that limit work or daily activities, in particular, are barriers to employment. Drug and alcohol abuse and dependence are positively associated with lower work level but are negatively related to higher work level. Program participation is quite low relative to eligibility. Those with physical health problems are substantially more likely than those with mental health problems to be in the more generous disability programs. Substance use disorders are also a barrier to participation in disability programs. DISCUSSION: Mental health, health and disability play a large role in the employment and program participation of the homeless and persons at risk for homelessness. Physical disabilities are a barrier to employment, and those with substance use disorders are most likely to work at lower levels that provide less income. Rates of participation in government programs are low, and people with major mental disorders have especially low participation rate in disability programs. The low rates of participation, particularly in the disability programs, suggest the need for continued research in improving access to income support programs among eligible homeless populations.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Mental health parity: what are the gaps in coverage?

BACKGROUND: Mental health benefits in private health insurance plans in the United States are typically less generous than benefits for physical health care services, driving reform efforts to achieve parity in coverage. While there is growing evidence about the effects such legislation would have on the utilization and cost of mental health services, less is known about the impact parity would have on reducing the risk of large out-of-pocket expenses that families would face in the event of mental illness. AIMS OF THE STUDY: We seek to understand the impact that mental health parity would have on the out-of-pocket burden that families would face in the event of mental illness. We focus in particular on variations in coverage across the privately insured population. METHODS: We compare out-of-pocket spending for hypothetical episodes of mental health treatment, first under current insurance coverage in the United States and then under a reform policy of full mental health parity. We exploit detailed informtion on actual health plan benefits using a nationally-representative sample of the privately insured population under age 65 from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) that has been carefully aged and reweighted to represent 1995 population and benefit characteristics. RESULTS: Our results show that existing benefits of the U.S. privately insured population under age 65 leave most people at risk of high out-of-pocket costs in the event of a serious mental illness. Moreover, the generosity of existing mental health benefits varies widely across subgroups, particularly across firm size. We find significantly lower out-of-pocket costs when simulating full parity coverage. However, our results show those with less generous mental health coverage tend to have less generous physical health coverage, as well. CONCLUSIONS: Parity would substantially increase generosity of mental health coverage for most of the privately insured population. The wide variation in the generosity of existing mental health benefits suggests that there are likely to be differential impacts from a parity mandate. Those with limited physical health coverage would still be at significant financial risk for catastrophic mental illness.

Journal Article↗