The downside of managed mental health care

This article provides an analysis of the difficulties caused by an attempt to combine professional and corporate cultural values in managed mental health care. It encourages the reader to think critically about the ethical, administrative, clinical, and practical issues which inevitably arise when these two cultures collide. It further suggests that although utilization review claims to provide cost-containment and consumer protection, in actuality it exists to protect profit for the managed care company by providing disincentives for seeking and accessing necessary treatment. Finally, there is an exploration of the manner in which managed care companies manipulate various segments of the healthcare system against one another in order to maximize profit. An alternative model is suggested.