National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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Search All Research Studies
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 12 of 12 Research Studies DisplayedMaclean JC, McClellan C, Pesko MF
AHRQ Author: McClellan C
Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care services and behavioral health outcomes.
This AHRQ-authored research studied the effects of changing Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care services on behavioral health outcomes-defined here as mental illness and substance use disorders. The authors applied two-way fixed-effects regressions to survey data specifically designed to measure behavioral health outcomes over the period 2010-2016. They found that higher primary care reimbursement rates reduce mental illness and substance use disorders among non-elderly adult Medicaid enrollees, although they interpreted findings for substance use disorders with some caution as they may be vulnerable to differential pre-trends. Overall, their findings suggest positive spillovers from a policy designed to target primary care services to behavioral health outcomes.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Maclean JC, McClellan C, Pesko MF .
Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care services and behavioral health outcomes.
Health Econ 2023 Jan 6;32(4):873-909. doi: 10.1002/hec.4646.
Keywords: Medicaid, Payment, Primary Care, Behavioral Health, Outcomes, Access to Care, Substance Abuse, Health Insurance
Grove LR, Rao N, Domino ME
Are North Carolina clinicians delivering opioid use disorder treatment to Medicaid beneficiaries?
This study’s goal was to inform efforts to increase prescriptions of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) among Medicaid beneficiaries. A retrospective study of North Carolina licensed physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners was conducted to estimate Medicaid participation prevalence among clinicians authorized to prescribe buprenorphine and to estimate the association between clinician characteristics and OUD care delivery to Medicaid beneficiaries. Outcomes looked for were indicators of any Medicaid professional claims and Medicaid claims data for buprenorphine and naltrexone. Licensure data from 2018 was merged with 2019 US Drug Enforcement Administration to identify clinicians who used the DEA waiver required to prescribe buprenorphine (n = 1714). Services by waivered clinicians to Medicare beneficiaries ranged from 67% of behavioral health clinicians to 82.9% of specialist physicians. Prevalence of prescribing buprenorphine to Medicaid beneficiaries ranged from 30.3% among specialist physicians to 51.6% among behavioral health clinicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Grove LR, Rao N, Domino ME .
Are North Carolina clinicians delivering opioid use disorder treatment to Medicaid beneficiaries?
Addiction 2022 Nov;117(11):2855-63. doi: 10.1111/add.15854..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Vulnerable Populations, Medication, Access to Care, Medicaid
Wyse JJ, Mackey K, Lovejoy TI
Expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder through locally-initiated implementation.
The purpose of this study was to identify and describe locally- and internally-developed approaches to improve patient access to medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD). The researchers utilized the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to guide qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations to examine the planning, design, and implementation of a locally-initiated process to expand access to MOUD. The study found that a self-appointed local team successfully developed and implemented a Primary Care-based Buprenorphine Clinic and E-Consult Service to expand access to MOUD to patients across the health care system, including national and local policy changes, identifying appropriate and widely supported models of care delivery and consultation, and increasing staff investment in the efforts by including them in collaborative planning and problem-solving. The study concluded that a local team can plan, develop and build new processes of care that are customized to meet local needs and contribute to long-term sustainability in the community.
AHRQ-funded; HS026370.
Citation: Wyse JJ, Mackey K, Lovejoy TI .
Expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder through locally-initiated implementation.
Addict Sci Clin Pract 2022 Jun 20;17(1):32. doi: 10.1186/s13722-022-00312-7..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Medication, Access to Care, Practice Patterns, Implementation
Meiselbach MK, Drake C, Saloner B
Medicaid managed care: access to primary care providers who prescribe buprenorphine.
This study examined variation in access to in-network buprenorphine-prescribing primary care providers that can treat opioid use disorder among Medicaid managed care enrollees. Approximately 32.2% of Medicaid enrollees had fewer than one in-network network buprenorphine-prescribing primary care providers per 100,000 county residents. There was on average a greater number of in-network buprenorphine-prescribing primary care providers in states with higher compared with lower overdose death rates, but most enrollees lived in areas with a shortage of these providers. The authors found that a 25 percent higher network participation rate by prescribers compared with nonprescribers could improve the probability that enrollees see a prescriber by approximately 25 percent.
AHRQ-funded; HS000029.
Citation: Meiselbach MK, Drake C, Saloner B .
Medicaid managed care: access to primary care providers who prescribe buprenorphine.
Health Aff 2022 Jun;41(6):901-10. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01719..
Keywords: Medicaid, Primary Care, Access to Care, Medication, Care Management, Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health
Salvador JG, Bhatt SR, Jacobsohn VC
Feasibility and acceptability of an online ECHO intervention to expand access to medications for treatment of opioid use disorder, psychosocial treatments and supports.
This study examined acceptability and feasibility of an online Extensions for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model intervention developed to support rural primary care clinics to expand treatment and is part of a larger study tracking the impact of participation in this ECHO on expansion of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in rural primary care. Using qualitative interviews and post-session questionnaires across 27 rural clinics in New Mexico, findings suggested evidence of feasibility and acceptability of MOUD ECHO to support expansion of this treatment.
AHRQ-funded; HS025345.
Citation: Salvador JG, Bhatt SR, Jacobsohn VC .
Feasibility and acceptability of an online ECHO intervention to expand access to medications for treatment of opioid use disorder, psychosocial treatments and supports.
Subst Abus 2021;42(4):610-17. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2020.1806184..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Medication, Access to Care, Rural Health, Primary Care, Patient-Centered Healthcare
Yang J, Landrum MB, Zhou L
Disparities in outpatient visits for mental health and/or substance use disorders during the COVID surge and partial reopening in Massachusetts.
The purpose of this study was to examine changes in outpatient visits for mental health and/or substance use disorders (MH/SUD) in an integrated healthcare organization during the initial Massachusetts COVID-19 surge and partial state reopening. The investigators concluded that MH/SUD visit volume increased during the COVID surge and was supported by rapidly-scaled telemedicine.
AHRQ-funded; HS025375.
Citation: Yang J, Landrum MB, Zhou L .
Disparities in outpatient visits for mental health and/or substance use disorders during the COVID surge and partial reopening in Massachusetts.
Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2020 Nov-Dec;67:100-06. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2020.09.004..
Keywords: Behavioral Health, Substance Abuse, COVID-19, Disparities, Access to Care, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Peterson E, Busch S
Achieving mental health and substance use disorder treatment parity: a quarter century of policy making and research.
This article reviews the history and measures benefits from the 2008 passing of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). It led to significant improvements in mental health care coverage. Directions for future research are also discussed.
AHRQ-funded; HS017589.
Citation: Peterson E, Busch S .
Achieving mental health and substance use disorder treatment parity: a quarter century of policy making and research.
Annu Rev Public Health 2018 Apr 1;39:421-35. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040617-013603..
Keywords: Access to Care, Behavioral Health, Disparities, Health Insurance, Policy, Substance Abuse
Aggarwal R, Pham M, Dillingham R
Expanded HIV clinic-based mental health care services: association with viral suppression.
This study compared two cohorts of people living with HIV (PLWH) who were receiving clinic-based mental health services. Cohort A received the services before or during 2012, and Cohort B from 2013-2014. Cohort A had three times as many participants with a CD4 count <200. Cohort B were more likely to also have a substance abuse diagnosis. The researchers concluded that the later cohort may not have as much benefit from increased access to co-located mental health services and substance use services.
AHRQ-funded; HS024196.
Citation: Aggarwal R, Pham M, Dillingham R .
Expanded HIV clinic-based mental health care services: association with viral suppression.
Open Forum Infect Dis 2019 Apr;6(4):ofz146. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofz146..
Keywords: Access to Care, Behavioral Health, Community-Based Practice, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Substance Abuse
Andrews CM, Grogan CM, Smith BT
Medicaid benefits for addiction treatment expanded after implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
This study looked at the effects the Affordable Care Act (ACA) had on Medicaid benefits for addiction treatment. The ACA established a minimum standard of benefits and required state Medicaid programs to make changes to their treatment benefits. Researchers surveyed all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2014 and 2017 when the ACA requirements came into effect. There was a substantial increase in benefits with a decrease in annual service limits of over 50 percent. There was a large reduction in preauthorization requirements for medications to treat opioid use disorder as well as other reductions in preauthorizations.
AHRQ-funded; HS000084.
Citation: Andrews CM, Grogan CM, Smith BT .
Medicaid benefits for addiction treatment expanded after implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Health Aff 2018 Aug;37(8):1216-22. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0272..
Keywords: Access to Care, Behavioral Health, Health Insurance, Medicaid, Policy, Substance Abuse
Creedon TB, Cook BL
Access to mental health care increased but not for substance use, while disparities remain.
The researchers assessed whether early implementation of Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion and state health insurance exchanges increased access to mental health and substance use treatment among those in need and whether these changes differed by racial/ethnic group. They found that mental health treatment rates increased significantly but found no evidence of a reduction in the wide racial/ethnic disparities in mental health treatment that preceded ACA expansion from 2005 to 2013.
AHRQ-funded; HS021486.
Citation: Creedon TB, Cook BL .
Access to mental health care increased but not for substance use, while disparities remain.
Health Aff 2016 Jun;35(6):1017-21. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0098.
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Keywords: Access to Care, Disparities, Health Insurance, Policy, Medicaid, Behavioral Health, Substance Abuse
Davis MM, Spurlock M, Dulacki K
Disparities in alcohol, drug use, and mental health condition prevalence and access to care in rural, isolated, and reservation areas: Findings from the South Dakota Health Survey.
The authors studied alcohol, drug use, and mental health (ADM) condition prevalence and access to care across diverse geographies in a predominantly rural state. They concluded that geographic disparities in ADM conditions are related to differences in access as opposed to prevalence, particularly for individuals in isolated and reservation areas.
AHRQ-funded; HS022981.
Citation: Davis MM, Spurlock M, Dulacki K .
Disparities in alcohol, drug use, and mental health condition prevalence and access to care in rural, isolated, and reservation areas: Findings from the South Dakota Health Survey.
J Rural Health 2016 Jun;32(3):287-302. doi: 10.1111/jrh.12157.
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Keywords: Disparities, Behavioral Health, Rural Health, Access to Care, Substance Abuse
Saloner B, Le Cook B
An ACA provision increased treatment for young adults with possible mental illnesses relative to comparison group.
The researchers examined the impact of the ACA dependent coverage provision on people ages 18-25 with possible mental health or substance use disorders. They found that after implementation of the ACA provision, among people ages 18-25 with possible mental health disorders, mental health treatment increased by 5.3 percentage points relative to a comparison group of similar people ages 26-35. For those using mental health treatment, uninsured visits declined by 12.4 percentage points, and visits paid by private insurance increased by 12.9 percentage points.
AHRQ-funded; HS021486.
Citation: Saloner B, Le Cook B .
An ACA provision increased treatment for young adults with possible mental illnesses relative to comparison group.
Health Aff 2014 Aug;33(8):1425-34. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0214.
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Keywords: Access to Care, Health Insurance, Behavioral Health, Substance Abuse, Young Adults