Factors affecting costs in Medicaid populations with behavioral health disorders.

Background: Persons with behavioral disorders incur higher healthcare costs. Although they utilize behavioral health (BH) services others do not, they also have higher utilization of medical services

Objectives: : To determine the degree to which higher costs for persons with BH disorders are attributable to utilization of BH services, multiple chronic medical conditions (CMCs) or other issues specific to populations with BH disorders.

Research Design: Data base consisted of claims for 63,141 Medicaid beneficiaries, 49% of whom had one of 5 categories of BH disorder.

Low costs of defensive medicine, small savings from tort reform.

In this paper we present the costs of defensive medicine in thirty-five clinical specialties to determine whether malpractice liability reforms would greatly reduce health care costs. Defensive medicine includes tests and procedures ordered by physicians principally to reduce perceived threats of medical malpractice liability. The practice is commonly assumed to increase health care costs.