Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Patterns in Medicaid Coverage and Service Utilization Among People with Serious Mental Illnesses

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Community Mental Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Disruptions in Medicaid adversely affect service use and outcomes among individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI). A retrospective longitudinal study examined Medicaid coverage and service utilization patterns among individuals with SMI (N = 8358) from 2007 to 2010. Only 36% of participants were continuously enrolled in Medicaid and 20% experienced multiple enrollment disruptions. Mental health diagnosis did not predict continuous coverage; however, individuals with schizophrenia were 19% more likely to have multiple coverage disruptions than those with depression (b = − 0.21; p < 0.01). Single and multiple coverage disruptions were associated with decreased rates of outpatient service days utilized (IRR = 0.77 and 0.65, respectively, p < 0.001) and decreased odds of not using acute care services (OR  0.26 and 0.19, respectively, p < 0.001). Future research should explore mechanisms underlying Medicaid stability and develop interventions that facilitate insurance stability and service utilization.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Download references

Funding

This project was funded by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official view of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy Blank Wilson.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest in the conducting or reporting of this research.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wilson, A.B., Phillips, J., Parisi, A. et al. Patterns in Medicaid Coverage and Service Utilization Among People with Serious Mental Illnesses. Community Ment Health J 58, 729–739 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-021-00878-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-021-00878-7

Keywords

Navigation