Medicaid Behavioral Managed Care - The Future

Medicaid behavioral managed care has been around for almost a decade in Michigan and around the United States. By 2012, Medicaid will provide 60 percent of public behavioral health funding and managed care will be the major vehicle to delivering behavioral health services. This study indicates that it will be here for years to come.

Programs that have been implemented into the mainstream have effectively improved clinical and financial outcomes and have been able to be more creative. Programs that have been implemented poorly have shown fragmented care and poorer clinical outcomes. For behavorial managed care programs to be successful, implementation of these programs will require adequate funding, good utilization data, a flexible mindset and an administrator dedicated to continuing to implement managed care cultural change into the mental health systems.