Are mental health services losing out in the US under managed care?

Managed care in its various forms has become a dominating force in US healthcare. For people who have long term serious mental illnesses, this trend has had undesirable consequences. In the US, states that have adopted managed-care systems such as New Mexico, Tennessee and Texas have been harder hit than states that have not chosen managed care. Funds available for services have been reduced, hospital bed days have been shortened, formularies have been limited and number of treatment sessions reduced. A basic problem is that for-profit managed care is more interested in profits than in quality of services.