Bitter pills: the impact of medicare on mental health

Medicare shifted the emphasis for mental health care into outpatient psychiatric wings connected to general hospitals and away from large custodial facilities that had been at the centre of the mental health system for decades. The shift to care in the community expanded the patient population, and arguably improved mental health care for many individuals who could now seek a variety of outpatient services rather than succumb to long-stay institutionalization. However, this shift also introduced new challenges as patients were increasingly expected to take responsibility for their own health care plans, whether that involved doctors’ appointments, drug regimens, or the need to find sheltered employment, safe housing and a social support network. Analysing first-hand experiences suggests that despite the need for clinical care at times, the major challenges to independence are political and economic. In this paper, I examine some of these tradeoffs and consider some of the historical lessons for continued discussions on public policy in the mental health care arena.