Healio (7/17, Miller) reports, “Access to outpatient behavioral health care in at least one metropolitan area was limited after implementation of the Affordable Care Act,” researchers found. For the study, investigators “posed as potential patients with mild-to-moderate depression and used a secret shopper methodology to contact all the behavioral health” professionals “in the Denver Colorado metropolitan area networked through several large insurance companies about the next available appointment date.”
All in all, the study authors “made 1,932 calls from 2014 to 2015.” The study revealed that “a patient in the Denver area would need to call seven to 10 psychiatrists, depending on the insurance company, to find an available appointment.” The findings were published in the July/August issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Related Links:
— “Behavioral health access restricted under Affordable Care Act,” Williams MO, Healio, July 17, 2017.