Current issues in national insurance for mental health services

The current economic crisis has again placed in jeopardy the inclusion of mental health benefits under national health insurance. The author notes that progress has been made in establishing effective peer review systems and in demonstrating that costs of mental health services are reasonable. Yet the lack of agreement on diagnosis and appropriate treatment, the inadequacy of utilization, cost, and treatment outcome data, and the absence of professional self-regulation remain causes for concern in the effort toward eventual comprehensive coverage for mental disorders.