Idaho Medicaid Managed Behavioral Health Carve-Out Reduced Community-Based Costs

In the two years after the Idaho Medicaid program moved mental health services to managed care under a contract with Optum Idaho,  the program has reduced spending on an annualized basis approximately $28 million. The majority of the savings came from reductions in psychosocial rehabilitation services (PSR). The decrease in spending was not accompanied by cost shifting with increased beneficiary use of other state services.

These findings were reported by the Idaho Office Of Performance Evaluations, in “Report #16-01, Design Of The Idaho Behavioral Health Plan.” The report was presented to the legislature on January 18, 2016. The evaluation . . .