title: Episodes of mental health and substance abuse treatment under a managed behavioral health care carve-out.
abstract: Little is known about the effect of a managed behavioral health care (MBHC) carve-out on treatment episodes for a mental health/substance abuse (MHSA) condition. This study found adoption of a carve-out for Massachusetts state employees associated with a dramatic drop in total MHSA costs per episode (particularly for individuals with certain severe MHSA conditions). The carve-out also was associated with a shift away from the use of facility care toward the use of outpatient care for enrollees with a diagnosis of unipolar depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115-5899, USA.
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Huskamp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017050:Episode of Care; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007342:Insurance Benefits; D007345:Insurance Claim Review; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008404:Massachusetts; D001523:Mental Disorders; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015397:Program Evaluation; D020414:Risk Sharing, Financial; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000379:methods