Managed care, mental illness and African Americans: A prospective analysis of managed care policy in the United States

Abstract

The shift in health care policy towards managed care is designed to decrease costs and increase health security. In this article, managed care policy and processes are analyzed, using a states‐rights framework, to determine the prospective impact on African Americans with mental illness. Historical and current data on the health status of the American population is presented to show the different patterns of help‐seeking, access, and utilization by race. This data suggests that without cultural guidelines, clinical services for African Americans are likely to increase costs. As a result of the incongruence between managed care goals and processes and the service usage patterns of African Americans, it is concluded that managed care organizations may have limited incentives to service this population. To counteract this tendency, managed care organizations need to develop/apply culturally competent guidelines and clinical standards for this population.