Providing mental health care to older adults: Unraveling the maze of medicare and managed care

This article reviews fundamental information about mental health bene,fits for older adults. Major systems, including Medicare, Medicaid, and managed care are described. Regulations and policies that influence mental health care for older adults are distinct from those for the general population. In addition, Medicare has adopted managed-care options more recently than the private insurance industry. This relationship between Medicare and managed care is chronicled and future directions are postulated. Finally, we examine several empirical questions that have been raised due to the recent changes in the delivery of mental health care to older adults.