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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Vanessa Azzone, PhD, Richard G. Frank, PhD, Sharon-Lise Normand, PhD, and Thomas McGuire, PhD. Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, 180 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115, 617-432-2981, azzone@hcp.med.harvard.edu

Parity coverage for substance abuse treatment services has been debated recently at both the state and federal levels of government. Traditionally, insurance coverage for treatment of addictive disorders has been strictly limited under private insurance and even many Medicaid programs. Objections to parity of coverage for substance abuse services at the same level as medical services typically focus on the cost of the policy. In January of 2001, the FEBHP implemented parity for both mental health and substance abuse services within a managed care network or for all indemnity benefits. We used a quasi-experimental design where the FEHB experience before and after the parity policy was compared to a matched set of private insurance comparison plans. We used archival health plan enrollment and claims/encounter data from 6 plans from the FEHB for the period 1999-2002 (2 years before and 2 years after parity implementation). Using a difference-in-differences approach, we estimated logistic regression models of the probability of SA service use and generalized linear models of SA total spending/SA plan spending conditional on use for the 6 FEHB plans (pulled together as they share the same benefit design and belong to the same organization) and a matched set of non-FEHB comparison plans in the same regions. The specific aims of this study are to examine the impact of parity for substance abuse treatment on the cost of substance abuse care and on indicators of the quality of substance abuse treatment.

Learning Objectives:

• To examine the impact of parity for substance abuse treatment on the cost of substance abuse
• care and on indicators of the quality of substance abuse treatment.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered