This report describes notable variations in how state Medicaid agencies administer and fund Medicaid mental health services. It is based on telephone interviews with all state and District of Columbia Medicaid directors or their designees. Medicaid and mental health agencies are located in the...

A new study finds excessive alcohol use causes a large economic burden to states and the District of Columbia. The study found that excessive alcohol use cost states and the District a median of $2.9 billion in 2006, ranging from $420 million in North Dakota to $32 billion in California. This...

This study examined Medicaid beneficiaries using mental health or substance abuse services in fee-for-service plans in 13 states in 2003, concluding that they entered general hospitals and visited emergency rooms far more frequently than other beneficiaries.

The Affordable Care Act authorized the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to test innovative health care payment and service delivery models with the potential to lower spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s...

This overview of findings shows that access to outpatient mental health services improved, and consumer spending declined. Health plans relied on managed care to contain costs, and spending did not rise substantially.

This overview of findings shows that access to outpatient mental health services improved, and consumer spending declined. Health plans relied on managed care to contain costs, and spending did not rise substantially.

Many of the findings from this analysis of employer responses to the parity law run counter to popular perceptions. Even though many employer organizations are wary of mental health and substance abuse parity, most Vermont employers were satisfied with the parity law overall. Employers did not...

This study looks at the first two to three years of parity for mental health and substance abuse benefits in Vermont and concludes that parity was achieved in the state. Increased use of managed care helped make parity affordable but may have reduced access and utilization for some services and...