Satisfaction with mental health services in older primary care patients.

Objective: This study examines whether older adult primary care patients are satisfied with two intervention models designed to ameliorate their behavioral health problems.

Methods: A total of 1,052 primary care patients aged 65 and older with depression, anxiety, or at-risk drinking were randomly assigned to and participated in either integrated care (IC) or enhanced specialty referral (ESR) model and completed the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) administered at three-month follow-up assessment.

Results: Older adult patients' satisfaction with IC (mean: 3.

Are California's large employers moving to catastrophic health insurance coverage?

Large employers in California are experimenting with new health benefit and insurance options as premium rates continue to escalate. This study examines the offer and penetration rates of catastrophic coverage insurance products, including high-deductible PPO and consumer-driven health plans, among large California employers before the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 was passed. Only a few employers offered these plans, and they did not provide adequate incentives for their workers to accept.

The benefits divide: health care purchasing in retail versus other sectors.

This paper is the first to compare health care purchasing in the retail versus other sectors of the Fortune 500. Employing millions of low-wage workers, the retail sector is the largest employer of uninsured workers in the economy. We found that retail companies are using the same competitive bidding process that other companies use to obtain a given level of coverage for the lowest possible cost.