Capitation of public mental health services in Colorado: a five-year follow-up of system-level effects.

Objective: Capitated Medicaid mental health programs have reduced costs over the short term by lowering the utilization of high-cost inpatient services. This study examined the five-year effects of capitated financing in community mental health centers (CMHCs) by comparing not-for-profit with for-profit programs.

Methods: Data were from the Medicaid billing system in Colorado for the precapitation year (1994) and a shadow billing system for the postcapitation years (1995-1999).

Capitation and racial and ethnic differences in use and cost of public mental health services.

This study investigated racial and ethnic differences in the probability of mental health service use and costs of treatment before and after the implementation of capitated financing. Models were created to test effects on utilization and costs of African American, Latinos, and white mental health consumers. As service use and costs declined under capitation, Latino, and white levels of use and cost tended to converge.

Social networks and their relationship to mental health service use and expenditures among Medicaid beneficiaries.

Objective: This study examined the relationship between social networks and mental health services utilization and expenditures.

Methods: A sample of 522 Medicaid mental health consumers was randomly selected from the administrative records of Colorado's Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. The administrative records contain information on utilization of services and expenditures of Medicaid beneficiaries within Colorado's Mental Health Services.

Use of antipsychotic medications in treating schizophrenia among different financing and delivery systems.

Background: In 1995 in an effort to control costs, the State of Colorado implemented a pilot capitated payment system for individuals eligible for public financing of their mental health services. Contracts were with both Not-For-Profit (NFP) firms and For-Profit (FP) firms; the remainder were in the fee-for-service system (FFS). Pharmaceuticals were not included in the capitation rate.

Public Mental Health Services to Asian American Ethnic Groups in Two California Counties.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this article is to examine the use of public mental health services among Chinese, Filipino, Southeast Asians, Japanese, and other Asian Americans. SEARCH METHODS USED: This article used two data sources from San Francisco City and County and Santa Clara County. By combining data from these two counties, the study had access to information on 3,095 adult Asian users of services.