4147.0: Tuesday, November 14, 2000 - 12:50 PM

Abstract #6626

What the Oregon Health Plan can teach us about Medicaid managed mental health care

Rupert R. Goetz, MD, Office of Mental Health Services, Oregon Mental Health and Developmental Disability Services Division, 2575 Bittern Street, N.E, Salem, OR 97301, 503 945-2989, goetzr@mail.mhd.hr.state.or.us and Bentson H. McFarland, MDPhD, Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health Sciences University, 3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97201.

In the fee for service era, state mental health agencies relied to a large extent on claims data to measure performance of Medicaid funded community mental health programs. The advent of capitation has required funding agencies to develop new approaches for monitoring the provision of mental health services to Medicaid clients. Oregon has used several oversight strategies centered on site-visits to community programs. In addition, the state has collaborated with academic researchers conducting interviews of clients and family members. This presentation will summarize the results of site visits to three Oregon communities that adopted very different approaches to Medicaid managed care. In rural Oregon, some 15 county mental health agencies united to form a public corporation designed to deal with capitation. One urban county maintained a civil service model for provision of Medicaid mental health care but assumed financial risk. Another urban county contracted with a private, not for profit health care system that took responsibility for Medicaid mental health services. Qualitative and quantitative data on these entities and their clients will be presented.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this session the audience will be able to list qualitative approaches available for state mental health agencies to use in evaluating Medicaid managed mental health programs and to compare qualitative with quantitative evaluation methodology

Keywords: Medicaid Managed Care, Mental Health 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.

The 128th Annual Meeting of APHA