Little, if anything, is known about the effect of interruptions in Medicaid on the delivery of mental health services once individuals return to Medicaid. When an individual experiences an interruption in Medicaid access to needed services is most likely reduced, adversely affecting mental health status and thus altering the necessary course of treatment as compared to an individual who is continuously enrolled in the Medicaid program. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of interruptions in Medicaid on Medicaid expenditures and use of Medicaid reimbursed mental health services in a population with schizophrenia. This study proposes to answer the following research questions: 1. Do individuals with interruptions in Medicaid have higher Medicaid expenditures over a 49 month period than individuals with continuous Medicaid enrollment? 2. What is the pattern of Medicaid reimbursed outpatient visits for individuals with interruptions in Medicaid coverage? 3. Do individuals with interruptions in Medicaid coverage have a greater number of Medicaid reimbursed inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations than individuals who experienced continuous coverage? 4. Do individuals with interruptions in Medicaid coverage have longer lengths of stays in inpatient psychiatric facilities than individuals with continuous coverage? This study will use Medicaid claims data from the state of Utah and survey data collected as part of the evaluation of the Utah Prepaid Mental Health Plan. The analyses will be performed using multivariate regression, interrupted time series analysis, and logit regression.
| Harman, Jeffrey S; Manning, Willard G; Lurie, Nicole et al. (2003) Association between interruptions in medicaid coverage and use of inpatient psychiatric services. Psychiatr Serv 54:999-1005 |
