Policy makers have grown concerned about the number of people with serious mental illness being detained in jail. Some have even alleged that the detention rate has increased over time as managed care cost pressures have grown. However, there are virtually no population-based studies to support this claim. Is this concern warranted or is it an urban myth? We will answer this question through an analysis of data from King County (Seattle) Washington from July 1, 1993 (22 months pre) to December 31, 1998 (44 months post) the implementation of Medicaid managed care for outpatient mental health services on April 1, 1995. We will combine county jail detention records with outpatient mental health records. We will determine how frequently Medicaid-eligible individuals use both jail and outpatient mental health systems, and how this rate has changed over time. We will compare these trends to those for: non-Medicaid/uninsured persons and Medicaid/not mentally ill persons who have records of jail use during this period. Pre-post comparisons across groups will enable us to assess the impact of managed care and other service trends. Implications for mental health policy and practice will be highlighted along with directions for further research.
Learning Objectives: Particpants will be able to answer the following questions: 1) What is the detention rate people with a treatment history for a serious mental illness? 2) Has this rate changed over time? 3) Has the detention rate for persons with serious mental illness changed differently from detention rates for other indigent county residents, or county residents with other types of medical conditions? 4) Do changes in rates over time coincide with changes in jail capacity or mental health managed care policy?
Keywords: Managed Care, Jails and Prisons
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.