This study compares adolescents enrolled in Massachusetts Medicaid's managed care behavioral health carve-out program (MBHP) with other publicly funded adolescents not enrolled. Two hundred and eighty-eight adolescents were interviewed as they entered substance abuse treatment and at a 6-month follow-up. Administrative data from MBHP, Medicaid and the state treatment system were merged with the client self-report data. The managed adolescents were slightly less likely to be female (28.9% versus 33.8%, n.s.), younger (15.6 years versus 16.0 years, p<. 05) and slightly more likely to be non-white (23.1% versus 16.9%, n.s.) than their unmanaged counterparts. Preliminary bivariate analyses were performed using the self-reported data. At treatment entry, there were no significant differences in Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) use between the two groups. For the most part, there were also no differences in use of AOD treatment services during the 6-month period prior to the index treatment. AOD use, dependency and abuse declined for both the managed and unmanaged groups at 6-months following the index treatment. The frequency of alcohol use at six months was significantly lower (65.4% versus 87.3%, p<. 01) for the managed group than the unmanaged group. No other AOD use differences were found. There were also no differences between the two groups in self-reported service utilization for the 6-month follow-up period. Final multivariate analyses will use administrative data to more accurately evaluate the patterns of service utilization and describe client outcomes for the managed and unmanaged adolescents.
Learning Objectives: Understand the differences in service use between managed and unmanaged adolescents Describe substance use outcomes for adolescents under managed care
Keywords: Adolescents, Managed Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.