Evaluating the impact of integrated behavioral health intervention: Evidence from Rhode Island

There has been a historic separation between systems that address behavioral health problems and the medical care system that addresses other health issues. Integration of the 2 has the potential to improve care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of Integrated Behavioral Health program on health care utilization and costs. Claims data between 2015 and 2018 from Rhode Island's All Payers Claims Database representing 42,936 continuously enrolled unique patients. Retrospective study based on propensity score–matched difference-in-differences framework. Utilization (emergency department visits, office visits, and hospitalizations) and costs (total, inpatient, outpatient, professional, and pharmacy). Integrated Behavioral Health intervention in Rhode Island was associated with reduction in healthcare utilization. Emergency department visits reduced by 6.4 per 1000 people per month and office visits reduced by 29.8 per 1000 people per month, corresponding to a reduction of 7% and 6%, respectively. No statistically significant association was observed between the intervention and hospitalizations. The evidence was mixed for cost outcomes, with negative association recorded between the intervention and the likelihood of incurring non-zero cost but no significant association was observed between the intervention and the level of costs. This relationship held true for most of the cost measures considered. Integrated Behavioral Health intervention in Rhode Island was associated with significant reductions in emergency department visits and office visits, with no effects on hospitalizations. In terms of the cost outcomes, we found evidence that the intervention negatively affected the likelihood of incurring any non-zero costs but did not affect the level of costs.