Utilization of substance abuse treatment services under Medicare, 2001–2002

• Published in: Journal of substance abuse treatment Vol. 36; no. 4; pp. 414 - 419
• Main Authors: Vandivort, Rita, M.S.W, Teich, Judith L., M.S.W, Cowell, Alexander J., Ph.D, Chen, Hong, M.S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.06.2009; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Databases, Factual; Desintoxication. Drug withdrawal; Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); Disabled Medicare beneficiares; Disabled Persons; Elderly Medicare beneficiares; Female; Health services utilization; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Medicare; Medicare - statistics & numerical data; Mental Disorders - complications; Mental health; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Older people; Organization of mental health. Health systems; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Substance abuse treatment; Substance Abuse Treatment Centers - utilization; Substance abuse treatment utilization; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - rehabilitation; Substance-Related Disorders - complications; Substance-Related Disorders - rehabilitation; Treatments; United States; United States; North America; America; Disabled Medicare beneficiares; Medicare; Substance abuse treatment utilization; Elderly Medicare beneficiares; Human; Social environment; Health insurance; Senescence; Poverty; Poison withdrawal; Use; Mental health; Substance abuse; Health service; Retrospective; Concomitant disease; Treatment; Young adult; Mental disorder; Adult; Application method; Elderly; Public health; Age
• ISSN: 0740-5472; 1873-6483
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2008.08.007

Abstract In 2006, the Medicare program covered 37 million elderly persons and 7 million persons younger than 65 years, but little is known about substance abuse (SA) service utilization. Using the 5% Sample of Medicare claims data, the study examines individuals who used SA detoxification (“detox”) and/or rehabilitation (“rehab”) services under Medicare in 2001 and 2002. SA claimants less than 65 years of age (disabled) were compared to claimants more than 65 years of age (elderly). The disabled were more likely to have a co-occurring mental disorder than elderly claimants (50% vs. 14%) and more likely to have serious mental illness (21% vs. 2.3%). Disabled claimants were more than three times as likely to receive any detox service as elderly claimants (17% vs. 6%). The rate of claimants receiving rehab services within 30 days of detox is about one third for disabled claimants and one quarter for elderly claimants.