Cost Measurement and Cost Data in Mental Health Settings

Costs play a major role in determining the types of mental health services that are delivered and thus are a key factor in any discussion of the future of mental health services. The author presents some of the available cost data for care provided in three kinds of settings: hospitals; nonhospital settings such as halfway houses, health maintenance organizations, and community mental health centers; and comprehensive community programs. He discusses the methodological and measurement problems in the estimation of costs and the difficulties in comparing costs across settings. He emphasizes the need for cost data that permit accurate and comparable predictions of costs that will assist policymakers in making intelligent choices between types of services.