Oral

Costs, Outcomes, and Financing of Community Mental Health Services: from California to Colorado. Public Mental Health Services are mostly provided at the community level. With limited financial resources at the state and local level, the questions are: (1) how can community mental health care (CMHC) efficiently deliver its services? (2) What are outcomes of alternative payment systems for CMHCs? And (3) what are the incentives for CMHCs to deliver cost/effective mental health services? This presentation will use studies carried out in California and Colorado as examples to address these three questions. The findings indicate that integrated case management and capitation may be an effective service delivery and financing approach to deliver community mental health services.

Session Objectives: Describe examples of how to carry out a cost-outcome study in community mental health services Explain how case management and integrated mental health services are key to deliver community mental health services List alternative methods of financing systems in public mental health services Explain how capitation may be an effective financing approach to contain cost, but it depends on incentives and design of capitation Describe the Obama health care reform bill and implications for community mental health services

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)