Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1998 Mar-Apr;17(2):53-69.
doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.17.2.53.

Costs and incentives in a behavioral health carve-out

C A Ma  1 , T G McGuire
Affiliations

Costs and incentives in a behavioral health carve-out

C A Ma et al. Health Aff (Millwood). 1998 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

A carve-out of mental health and substance abuse services initiated in 1993 by the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts resulted in changes in the costs of those services. Those changes were related to incentives in the contract between the GIC and its managed behavioral health vendor. Total and plan costs were reduced by 30-40 percent after adjusting for trends. Incentives to produce savings of this magnitude not only were a consequence of the payer/vendor contract but, we speculate, derive from the growth potential facing companies in the managed behavioral health care market.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Mental health care: a commodity?
    McNeill D. McNeill D. Health Aff (Millwood). 1998 Jul-Aug;17(4):241. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.17.4.241. Health Aff (Millwood). 1998. PMID: 9691566 No abstract available.
  • Mental health carve-outs.
    Pomerantz JM. Pomerantz JM. Health Aff (Millwood). 1998 Jul-Aug;17(4):243-4. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.17.4.243-a. Health Aff (Millwood). 1998. PMID: 9691568 No abstract available.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources