MACPAC report examines Medicaid's role in providing behavioral health services

One in five Medicaid beneficiaries had a behavioral health condition in 2011, and these individuals accounted for almost half of total Medicaid expenditures, according to a report released to Congress today by the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. Among other issues, the report looks at the use of Medicaid services by beneficiaries with behavioral health conditions, including the program’s role in covering care for neglected and abused children and the extent to which program beneficiaries are being prescribed psychotropic medications.  The analyses represents MACPAC’s “first step in an extended inquiry into how to better manage and improve care for an especially at risk group of Medicaid beneficiaries,” said MACPAC Chair Diane Rowland. According to the report, more than 40% of children in foster care had mental health diagnoses in 2011, compared to 11% of other children with Medicaid. Nearly one-quarter of children enrolled in Medicaid based on child welfare assistance used a psychotropic medication, almost five times the share of other non-disabled children, the commission said. The report also looks at Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment programs, and Medicaid coverage of dental services for low-income adults.