The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Sep 2013
The cost of healthcare for children with mental health difficulties.
Childhood mental health difficulties affect one in every seven children in Australia, posing a potential financial burden to society. This paper reports on the early lifetime individual and population non-hospital healthcare costs to the Australian Federal Government for children experiencing mental health difficulties. It also reports on the use and cost of particular categories of service use, including the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) mental health items introduced in 2006. ⋯ Australian healthcare costs for young children with mental health difficulties are substantial and provide further justification for early intervention and prevention. The current provision of Medicare-rebated mental health services does not appear to be reaching young children with mental health difficulties.