Mental healthcare pricing and socioeconomic inequities in access to care

Funding agency

Australian Research Council

Project period

2026–2029

Summary

Early access to needed mental health care is crucial for both individual well-being and economic productivity. However, half of Australians experiencing mental disorders do not receive professional care, with cost being a major barrier to timely access.

This research aims to understand the supply-side drivers of patient fees for mental health services and their impact on socioeconomic inequities in access to care. It will use econometric methods and population-wide administrative records on the supply of mental health workers and mental healthcare services delivered over time. The expected outcomes of this project include new evidence on how the market structure and behaviour of mental health professionals impact prices and access to mental healthcare.

Researchers

Leave this here so that Accordion nested does not detect this CT as not existing.

Advisory group

  • Professor Emily Lancsar, Chief Health Economist, Department of Health Disability and Ageing
  • Dr Angela Jackson, Commissioner, Productivity Commission
  • Professor Ron Ben-David, NDIS Independent Pricing Committee member,  professorial fellow Monash Business School
  • Ms Bronwyn Morris-Donovan, CEO and Company Secretary, Allied Health Professions Australia
  • Dr Elizabeth Deveny, CEO Consumers Health Forum of Australia