Variations in medicaid mental health service use and cost for children.
Mental health care is a critical component of Medicaid for children. This study used summary tables drawn from the 1999 Medicaid Analytic Extract (MAX) files, the first available Medicaid data for the entire US, to examine fee-for-service Medicaid in 23 selected states. Data show that 9% of children and youth (ages 0-21) had a mental health-related diagnosis on a claim, varying from 5% to 17% across the states. The proportion increased with age, and was higher for boys. Over half of those diagnosed received psychotropic medication, and approximately 7% had an inpatient psychiatric admission during the year. Mental health costs accounted for 26.5% of total fee-for-service Medicaid expenditures, varying from 14% to 61% depending on the state.
Howell
Embry M
EM
Urban Institute, Washington, DC 20037, USA. ehowell@ui.urban.org
Teich
Judith
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019992:Databases as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D001523:Mental Disorders; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States