Original ArticlesBehavioral Health Screening among Massachusetts Children Receiving Medicaid
Section snippets
Methods
A repeated cross-sectional design examined standardized screenings, screening results, referral rates, and service utilization. Our baseline study,35 using fiscal year (FY) 2007 data, guided the current study of 2 follow-up periods spanning the implementation of the CBHI: FYs 2010 (July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010) and 2012 (July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012). Similar to the baseline study, medical record data were obtained to assess screenings, screening results, and service referrals. We used MassHealth
Results
Baseline data collected in FY2007 (prepolicy mandate) indicated few providers used formal screening tools, although informal screening was common.35 Among those with formal screens, 11.8% received BH services, 87.5% of which were provided in the outpatient setting. Among those formally screening positive, 40.0% received BH services, all in the outpatient setting. Among those informally screened, 20.1% received BH services with 87.9% of services provided in the outpatient setting. Lastly, among
Discussion
BH screening practices and subsequent BH service utilization changed dramatically after the 2008 implementation of the CBHI. Child health providers in Massachusetts now routinely screen a majority of children/adolescents for BH conditions using standardized tools. BH service utilization during the 6-month period after a WCV dramatically increased compared with pre-CBHI baseline data, and the use of ED/inpatient BH services decreased substantially.35, 36 Although the increase in service
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Funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, which approved this manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Portions of the study were presented at the following meetings: Children's Mental Health Research and Policy Conference, Tampa, FL, March 2-6, 2014; Pediatric Academic Societies, Vancouver, BC, May 3-6, 2014; and AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, San Diego, CA, June 8-10, 2014.