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Statewide Medicaid expansion by 2020 could increase health center funding by $230 million
A recent analysis by researchers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and George Washington University found that, if states adopted Medicaid expansion by 2020, they would receive nearly $230 million in additional revenue during that year.
“Onsite behavioral health services are needed in health centers,” Emily Jones, PhD, MPP, and colleagues wrote in their study abstract. “However, financial constraints might limit the ability of health centers to provide onsite behavioral health services, particularly in states opting out of Medicaid expansion.”
Jones and colleagues examined how state decisions to not expand Medicaid affected the use of behavioral health services by analyzing 2012 Uniform Data System data and the projected health center insurance case mix in 2020, according to the abstract.
They used the estimated percentage of total revenues that supported specialty behavioral treatment services to determine the number of possible encounters with behavioral health specialists if Medicaid were adopted by all states in 2020.
In addition to the additional revenue, Jones and colleagues found that $11.3 million would potentially be used for mental health services, and $1.6 million for substance abuse disorder services.
In a news release, the American Psychiatric Association noted, “The authors … conclude that onsite mental health services are necessary at community health centers and that the financial consequences of opting out of Medicaid will limit the ability to provide these services in states that opt out. The study also highlights an important indirect benefit of Medicaid expansion — that expanding Medicaid would likely result in higher utilization of behavioral health services in health centers.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.