Behavioral Health Management articles from March 1996

Behavioral Health Management archives from March 1996

Managing Medicaid.(Editorial)
March 1, 1996... Managed care models for behavioral health were previously the exclusive domain of private payers and private health plans. Over the last four years, an increasing number of states have adopted managed behavioral health program models for state...

Feds finally taking an interest in families?
March 1, 1996... Regardless of who wins the White House in November, it is a safe bet that family-centered counseling and treatment will be major themes in national behavioral health policy planning. These can be expected to have significant spillover into...

Merit Behavioral Care in Iowa: a case study.(Cover Story)
March 1, 1996... Expanded depth and complexity of services and of an alternative network to provide them were the first steps toward success In 1993, Iowa projected spending $58 million on mental health services for Medicaid recipients. The state had previously...

Gearing up for managed Medicaid: an interview with Dennis Mohatt, MA, Medicaid Managed Care Director, State of Nebraska.(Cover Story)(Interview)
March 1, 1996... How does it feel to be a provider of child psychological services one day and State Medicaid Managed Care Director the next? Dennis Mohatt, MA, recently had that experience, having accepted directorship of the Nebraska Medicaid program in...

Missouri Medicaid: partnering with beneficiaries. (solving the Medicaid enrollment problem in managed care)(Cover Story)
March 1, 1996... In attempting to control its Medicaid costs, each state must choose from a limited list of options: more restrictive eligibility, increased recipient copayments, reduced coverage, more stringent access, discounted provider fees and more...

Managed Medicaid: the Massachusetts experience.(Cover Story)
March 1, 1996... Having played a prominent role in one revolution some 220 years ago, Massachusetts can lay claim to having led another: managed Medicaid for behavioral health services. Starting in 1992, the State contracted with Mental Health Management of...

Customized care can be cost-effective: this corporation learned that cost-effective managed care lies somewhere between indemnity and managed cost.
March 1, 1996... Care for mental health and substance abuse now accounts for approximately 10% of employer health costs, and annual increases in recent years have outpaced growth rates in overall medical costs. Mental health care expenses in the United States now...

What is a "good" behavioral benefit?
March 1, 1996... Measuring the value (i.e., cost/benefit) of mental health benefits has always been problematic. This is basically because of the inherently subjective nature of the field. There is lack of conceptual agreement even among experts about what value...

Behavioral management of computer-resistant providers. (treatment guidelines for network providers)
March 1, 1996... Early on a Monday morning, Susan Smythe stood by the coffee machine in the lounge area, taking in a megadose of caffeine - the traditional drug of choice for computer "techies". Susan was in charge of implementing a new, computerized practice...

The changing face of addictions treatment: with society's help, the field is reinventing itself to meet today's needs.
March 1, 1996... As with so many aspects of behavioral health treatment, treatment of substance abuse disorders is undergoing basic change. What is intensifying this change are evolving client needs and programmatic priorities. Clinical practices are being...