title: Service use and costs of care for depressed adolescents: who uses and who pays?
abstract: Major depressive disorder is common in adolescence and is associated with significant morbidity and family burden. Little is known about service use by depressed adolescents. The purpose of this article is to report the patterns of services use and costs for participants in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study sample during the 3 months before randomization. Costs were assigned across three categories of payors: families, private insurance, and the public sector. We examined whether costs from payors varied by baseline covariates, such as age, gender, insurance status, and family income. The majority (71%) of depressed youth sought services during the 3-month period. Slightly more than one-fifth had contact with a behavioral health specialist. The average participant had just under $300 (SD = $437.67, range = $0-$3,747.71) in treatment-related costs, with most of these costs borne by families and private insurers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7411, USA. domino@unc.edu
authors.forename: Marisa Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Domino
authors.forename: Barbara J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mario
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Reinecke
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vitiello
authors.forename: Elizabeth B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Weller
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kratochvil
authors.forename: Diane E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: Norah C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Feeny
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Robins
authors.forename: Mary J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hallin
authors.forename: Susan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: March
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*