Medicaid Policy Changes in Mental Health Care and Their Effect on Mental Health Outcomes / Alison Cuellar, Sara Markowitz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cuellar, Alison.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Markowitz, Sara.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w12232.

NBER working paper series no. w12232

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2006.

Summary:

In recent years, Medicaid has experienced a dramatic increase in spending on prescription drugs in general and psychotropic medications in particular. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of increased Medicaid spending on psychotropic drugs on improving the mental health and well-being of participants at the population level. Specifically, we study the effect on outcomes that are strongly correlated with mood disorders, including depression, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder, controlling for concomitant increases in Medicaid eligibility thresholds and expansion into managed care for mental health services. Knowledge of the effects of changes in the Medicaid program is crucial to policymakers as they consider implementing and expanding mental health services. Our results show that increased spending on antidepressants and stimulants are associated with improvements in some outcomes, but not in others.

Notes:

Print version record

May 2006.