General Medical and Pharmacy Claims Expenditures in Users of Behavioral Health Services

This study aims to quantify the amount of medical and pharmacy claim expenditures to individuals using M/SU services and assess future claims.  The study found that 10.7 percent of enrollees had at least one behavioral health claim and that those individuals accounted for 21.4 percent of expenditures (behavioral, general, and pharmaceutical).  Costs for enrollees using behavioral health services were double those for non-users and almost 80 percent of costs were for general health care and medication (excluding psychotropics).  The authors conclude that majority of expenditures among behavioral health patients are for non-behavioral health services and that these findings ought to inform further research. 

Kathol, R. G., D. McAlpine, et al. (2005). General medical and pharmacy claims expenditures in users of behavioral health services. J Gen Intern Med, 20(2), 160-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2005.40099.x http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1490055 

Authors: Roger G. Kathol, Donna McAlpine, Yasuhiro Kishi, Robert Spies, William Meller, Terence Bernhardt, Steven Eisenberg, Keith Folkert, William Gold.