Outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia under a prepaid mental health carve-out.

This study examines the impact of a mental health carve-out program in Utah on mental health status of Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia. Three community mental health centers contracted to provide mental health care for all Medicaid beneficiaries in their service areas under managed care arrangements, while beneficiaries in the remainder of the state remained under traditional Medicaid. A pre-post evaluation was utilized, with a contemporaneous control group of Utah Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia under traditional Medicaid. From 1991 to 1994, the average beneficiary's mental health status improved, but the improvement was less under the carve-out program than under traditional fee-for-service Medicaid. The difference was the greatest for beneficiaries with the worst mental health status at baseline, with effects growing over time. Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia experienced less improvement in mental health status under a carve-out arrangement for mental health care compared to what would have happened under traditional Medicaid.

Do vouchers improve breast cancer screening rates? Results from a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of a voucher for free mammography on compliance with recommended mammography screening guidelines. STUDY DESIGN: Vouchers for free mammography distributed to a random sample of women over the age of 50 in two rural southern Minnesota counties. The vouchers were good for one year. Baseline and follow-up data were collected and rates of compliance with current mammography guidelines were observed for the voucher group and a control group of women living in the same counties. METHODS: Logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of the voucher on compliance with mammography guidelines and the impact of factors potentially influencing the effectiveness of the voucher. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The voucher improved mammography rates primarily through increasing screening among women who were out of compliance at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Vouchers, even when distributed randomly within a population of rural Midwestern women, can significantly improve compliance rates. Vouchers are no less effective a means of increasing screening among vulnerable women than among other women.

Utah's Prepaid Mental Health Plan: the first year.

This DataWatch analyzes the effect of the Utah Prepaid Mental Health Plan (UPMHP) on use of mental health services by and mental health treatment expenditures for Medicaid beneficiaries from July 1991 to June 1992. During this period three community mental health centers (CMHCs) provided mental health services to Medicaid beneficiaries in their catchment areas in return for capitated payments. Utilization and expenditure rates per beneficiary per month were analyzed using a "fixed-effects" statistical modeling approach, controlling for categories of beneficiary, time trends, seasonal effects, and CMHC grouping (capitated urban, capitated rural, noncapitated urban, and noncapitated rural). The results of the analysis suggest that the UPMHP reduced admissions for inpatient mental health treatment, inpatient mental health expenditures, and total mental health expenditures for Medicaid beneficiaries. These findings must be regarded as preliminary because of the relatively short time period covered by the data.