How Arizona Medicaid Accelerated the Integration of Physical and Behavioral Health Services.

ISSUE: In most states, one agency has responsibility for Medicaid enrollees' physical health services and at least one other agency has responsibility for their behavioral health services. Apportioning responsibility for the physical and behavioral health of Medicaid beneficiaries into different agencies inevitably leads to different--and sometimes misaligned--policy goals, program priorities, and purchasing strategies, thereby impeding the delivery of integrated care. GOAL: To describe the rationale, process, and impact of Arizona's 2015 consolidation of its physical and behavioral health services agencies into its Medicaid agency.

Costs of enrolling children in Medicaid and SCHIP.

As a way of saving Medicaid dollars, many states are reintroducing administrative hurdles into the enrollment process to deter people from enrolling. This study finds that administrative tasks associated with enrollment absorb sizable amounts of funds. We estimate that it costs approximately dollars 280 to enroll a child in Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in the New York City area.