Revised Cost Estimates of Medicaid Recipients with Serious Mental Illness and HIV-AIDS

This study of the cost of serious mental illness (SMI) and HIV-AIDS within Medicaid populations found that, in 1996, persons with both illnesses had the highest annual medical and behavioral health expenditures at $20,038 per person.  The cost of care for HIV-AIDS patients regardless of the presence of SMI was $16,253 per person. The authors note that, though the costs were much higher in this study than in their previous work, this study confirms that those with co-occurring illnesses had the highest cost. 

Rothbard, A. B., K. Miller, et al. (2009). Revised cost estimates of Medicaid recipients with serious mental illness and HIV-AIDS. Psychiatric Services, 60(7), 974-7.  DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.60.7.974 http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/60/7/974 

Authors: Aileen B. Rothbard, Kay Miller, Sungeun Lee, Michael Blank.