Expenditures for Mental Health Services in the Utah Prepaid Mental Health Plan

This article examines the effect of a mental health carve-out, the Utah Prepaid Mental Health Plan (UPMHP), on expenditures for mental health treatment and utilization of mental health services for Medicaid beneficiaries from July 1991 through December 1994. Three Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) provided mental health services to Medicaid beneficiaries in their catchment areas in return for capitated payments. The analysis uses data from Medicaid claims as well as “shadow claims” for UPMHP contracting sites. The analysis is a pre/post comparison of expenditures and utilization rates, with a contemporaneous control group in the Utah catchment areas not in the UPMHP. The results indicate that the UPMHP reduced acute inpatient mental health expenditures and admissions for Medicaid beneficiaries during the first 2½ years of the UPMHP. In contrast, the UPMHP had no statistically significant effect on outpatient mental health expenditures or visits. There was no significant effect of the UPMHP on overall mental health expenditures.