The effect of enrollment in a prepaid health plan on utilization of a community crisis intervention center by chronically mentally ill individuals

• Published in: Community mental health journal Vol. 26; no. 2; p. 129
• Main Authors: Dobmeyer, T W, McKee, P A, Miller, R D, Westcott, J S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.04.1990
• Subjects: Adult; Chronic Disease; Community Mental Health Centers - utilization; Crisis Intervention; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Maintenance Organizations - utilization; Humans; Incidence; Male; Medicaid - organization & administration; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - therapy; Minnesota - epidemiology; Referral and Consultation; Statistics as Topic; United States; United States; Minnesota
• ISSN: 0010-3853
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00752390

When a prepaid Medicaid Demonstration Project was initiated in Hennepin County, Minnesota, concerns were raised that the new system might place an additional service burden on County-funded mental health agencies responding to underprovision of mental health services by prepaid health plans. This study examined the use of a single County mental health services agency, the Crisis Intervention Center, by a group of vulnerable and frequent users, the chronically mentally ill. The study found that use of the Center by persons enrolled in a prepaid plan declined after enrollment and was different and lower for the prepaid group than for a comparison group of fee-for-service system users during the same time periods. The difference did not meet conventional levels of statistical significance. This finding is nonetheless important since it may be an indication of successful case management by prepaid health plans in serving chronically mentally ill individuals.