Effect of eliminating behavioral health benefits for selected medicaid enrollees.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which the elimination of behavioral health benefits for selected beneficiaries of Oregon's Medicaid program affected general medical expenditures among enrollees using outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment services. DATA SOURCE/STUDY SETTING: Twelve months of claims before and 12 months following a 2003 policy change, which included the elimination of the behavioral health benefit for selected Oregon Medicaid enrollees. STUDY DESIGN: We use a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the change in general medical expenditures following the 2003 policy change. We compare two methodological approaches: regression with propensity score weighting; and one-to-one covariate matching. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Enrollees who had accessed the substance abuse treatment benefit demonstrated substantial and statistically significant increases in expenditures. Individuals who accessed the outpatient mental health benefit demonstrated a decrease or no change in expenditures, depending on model specification. CONCLUSIONS: Elimination of the substance abuse benefit led to increased medical expenditures, although this offset was still smaller than the total cost of the benefit. In contrast, individuals who accessed the outpatient mental health benefit did not exhibit a similar increase, although these individuals did not include a portion of the Medicaid population with severe mental illnesses.

Impact of Medicaid cutbacks on emergency department use: the Oregon experience.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Federal policy changes and tightened state budgets may reduce Medicaid enrollment in many states. In March 2003, the Oregon Health Plan (Oregon's Medicaid expansion program) made substantial changes in its benefit package that resulted in the disenrollment of more than 50,000 beneficiaries. We sought to study the impact of these Oregon Health Plan policy changes on statewide emergency department (ED) use. METHODS: In this observational study, hospital billing data on 2,680,954 visits to 26 Oregon EDs were obtained, sampled up to 24 months before and 24 months after the cutbacks. These visits represent approximately 62% of all visits to Oregon's 58 EDs. We ascertained counts of ED visits by payer group before and after the Oregon Health Plan cutback date, plus hospital admissions from the ED as a measure of acuity. RESULTS: After the Oregon Health Plan policy changes, ED visits by the uninsured underwent an abrupt and sustained increase, from 6,682 per month in 2002 to 9,058 per month in 2004. Oregon Health Plan-sponsored and commercially insured visits decreased, resulting in a slight decrease in overall ED visits. Multivariable models adjusting for secular trends and seasonality showed a 20% (95% confidence interval 13% to 28%) increase in uninsured ED visits, whereas the adjusted number of Oregon Health Plan-sponsored visits decreased. The proportion of uninsured ED visits resulting in hospital admission increased (odds ratio 1.50; 95% confidence interval 1.39 to 1.62). CONCLUSION: Oregon's Medicaid cutbacks were followed by increases in ED use and hospitalizations by the uninsured. Recent federal legislation facilitating similar Medicaid changes in other states may lead to replication of these events elsewhere.

How effective are copayments in reducing expenditures for low-income adult Medicaid beneficiaries? Experience from the Oregon health plan.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of introducing copayments on medical care use and expenditures for low-income, adult Medicaid beneficiaries. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: The Oregon Health Plan (OHP) implemented copayments and other benefit changes for some adult beneficiaries in February 2003. STUDY DESIGN: Copayment effects were measured as the "difference-in-difference" in average monthly service use and expenditures among cohorts of OHP Standard (intervention) and Plus (comparison) beneficiaries. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: There were 10,176 OHP Standard and 10,319 Plus propensity score-matched subjects enrolled during November 2001-October 2002 and May 2003-April 2004 that were selected and assigned to 59 primary care-based service areas with aggregate outcomes calculated in six month intervals yielding 472 observations. RESULTS: Total expenditures per person remained unchanged (+2.2 percent, p=.47) despite reductions in use (-2.7 percent, p<.001). Use and expenditures per person decreased for pharmacy (-2.2 percent, p<.001; -10.5 percent, p<.001) but increased for inpatient (+27.3 percent, p<.001; +20.1 percent, p=.03) and hospital outpatient services (+13.5 percent, p<.001; +19.7 percent, p<.001). Ambulatory professional (-7.7 percent, p<.001) and emergency department (-7.9 percent, p=.03) use decreased, yet expenditures remained unchanged (-1.5 percent, p=.75; -2.0 percent, p=.68, respectively) as expenditures per service user rose (+6.6 percent, p=.13; +7.9 percent, p=.03, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In the Oregon Medicaid program applying copayments shifted treatment patterns but did not provide expected savings. Policy makers should use caution in applying copayments to low-income Medicaid beneficiaries.