Citation

Scott MA, Snowden LR, Libby AM. J. Stud. Alcohol 2002; 63(1): 44-48.

Affiliation

Department of Child Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA. scottm@child.cpmc.columbia.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11925057

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examines whether youth with alcohol problems are especially vulnerable to juvenile justice contact when receiving public mental health services in fee-for-service versus capitated managed-care agencies. Capitation is a payment method often accompanying managed care; a fixed fee is paid per person enrolled, for a specific time period and range of services. METHOD: Youth services were studied in a statewide, quasi-experimental design from July 1994 to June 1997; subjects were 13,365 Medicaid-eligible youth (52% female) aged 10-17. Alcohol problems were measured using a clinician-generated psychiatric diagnosis and a subjective indicator of alcohol symptoms obtained from a psychometrically tested mental health treatment intake form. Analysis methods were hazard/survival rates, log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: As measured by the presence of symptoms, alcohol-involved youth in capitated managed care were significantly less likely to have contact with the juvenile justice system, in uncontrolled analysis. In controlled analysis, they were also less likely; however, only at the level of a trend. CONCLUSIONS: Concerns regarding capitated managed mental health care (e.g., substitution of care or "cost-shifting") found no support. There was no evidence of a shifting of alcohol-involved youth receiving mental health services under capitated managed care to the juvenile justice system. If anything, such youth saw their likelihood of juvenile justice involvement decrease.

Language: en