Monday, August 29, 2022 | The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
Dear John,
Health Affairs is hosting a live informational session about the Health Equity Fellowship for Trainees (HEFT) on Wednesday, August 31, at 4:00 PM Eastern. Register now to learn more about the fellowship.
ACOs And Serious Mental Illness
In the Medicare population, nearly 23 percent of enrollees have a serious mental illness—a notably higher
proportion than in the general population.
The Medicare accountable care organization (ACO) model is one strategy for addressing mental health among Medicare beneficiaries.
Looking at national Medicare data from five years after the launch of the Medicare Shared Savings Program, José Figueroa and coauthors evaluate changes in spending and use associated with enrollment in the program among beneficiaries with serious mental illness (SMI).
"The Medicare Shared Savings Program between 2013 and 2017 was associated with small savings among those with SMI, including schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder," the authors report.
The authors find that savings were driven by reductions in acute and postacute care for medical conditions and not reductions in the treatment of mental health disorders.
Figueroa and coauthors suggest that ACOs may need to implement other strategies to reduce potentially unnecessary care related to mental health
disorders.
Today in Health Affairs
Forefront, Kathleen Noonan describes how the Camden Coalition is taking an iterative and long-term approach to building ecosystems of care in partnership with community residents and community-based organizations.
If you missed our newsletter last Friday, then we recommend checking out our most recent episode of the Health Affairs This Weekpodcast,
where we discuss how the CDC is reshaping itself from lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you like the work we publish on Forefront and our podcasts, you can show your support by becoming a Health Affairs Insider, and
as an added bonus, you'll get a free gift for joining.
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