Cost-cutting opportunities through direct contracting.

In summary, high-quality mental health care can be made affordable and obtainable for the average employee or dependent. The goal of ensuring ethical and appropriate mental health and substance abuse services can be achieved. The consequences of inadequate mental health services are higher usage of medical services and lower levels of employee satisfaction and performance. The direct contract approach offers the most viable alternative to achieving a sound, ethical, and cost-effective mental health care benefits program. Finally, in an era of rapid health care reform, it is important to ensure that the contracted provider group keeps fully abreast of and in compliance with emerging regulatory trends.