A shift to value-based payments increased the number of behavioral health visits for patients with depression and bipolar disorder and reduced emergency department visits for these conditions and schizophrenia, a study published Sept. 22 in JAMA Health Forum found.
Researchers compared rates of visits to behavioral health providers among Medicaid beneficiaries in New York from before and after the state implemented value-based payment reforms in 2015.
For patients with depression, value-based payments increased the average number of behavioral health visits by 0.91, and average visits increased by 1.01 for patients with bipolar disorder. Among patients with schizophrenia, value-based payments did not significantly increase behavioral visits but decreased the average number of primary care visits in a year by 1.31.
Emergency department visits decreased slightly among all three conditions when patients were enrolled in value-based Medicaid programs.
"Our findings show that despite patient churn, Medicaid [value-based payments] can change utilization patterns positively for patients with mental illness," the study's authors concluded.
The study was written by researchers at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. Read the full study here.