Blended Payment Models and Care Transitions: Analysis of a Statewide Payment Reform's Impact on Transitions in Care and Care Termination From Outpatient Substance Use Treatment.
Saved in:
| Title: | Blended Payment Models and Care Transitions: Analysis of a Statewide Payment Reform's Impact on Transitions in Care and Care Termination From Outpatient Substance Use Treatment. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Baslock, Daniel (AUTHOR), Hu, Yuanyuan (AUTHOR), del Giudice-Walsh, Patrick (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Substance Use & Misuse. 2026, Vol. 61 Issue 5, p682-687. 6p. |
| Subjects: | Substance abuse treatment, Substance abuse, Prospective payment systems, Research funding, Mental health, Termination of treatment, Logistic regression analysis, Evaluation of human services programs, Descriptive statistics, Continuum of care, Transitional care, Health care reform, Odds ratio, Research methodology, Health behavior, Medicaid, Data analysis software, Medical care costs |
| Geographic Terms: | Vermont |
| Abstract: | Background: Blended payment models have been hypothesized as one approach to incentivizing service delivery that reduces premature termination of healthcare. In 2019, Vermont implemented a blended fee-for-service and capitated Medicaid payment structure for mental health and substance use treatment provided by community mental health centers. This study assesses the blended payment model's impact on the odds of premature termination and transitions in care for Medicaid recipients in Vermont's substance use disorder treatment system. Methods: This study employs a difference-in-differences design with a generalized two-way fixed effects model using Vermont-specific Treatment Episode Data Set-Discharges data for 2017 through 2019. Treatment episodes of adult Medicaid utilizers were compared to episodes of adult non-Medicaid utilizers pre-and-post implementation of the blended payment model. Results: The odds ratio for termination from intensive outpatient and outpatient programs for Medicaid utilizers post-intervention was OR = 0.730 (p < 0.010). Treatment episodes also had higher odds transfer of care for Medicaid utilizers post-blended payment implementation (OR = 1.45; p < 0.001). Conclusions and implications: These results provide evidence that incentivizing co-occurring care through blended payment models may increase the availability of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder treatment within community mental health centers. This increase in availability may also enable transfers of care from the rest of the substance use disorder treatment system while reducing premature termination from care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Substance Use & Misuse is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | Background: Blended payment models have been hypothesized as one approach to incentivizing service delivery that reduces premature termination of healthcare. In 2019, Vermont implemented a blended fee-for-service and capitated Medicaid payment structure for mental health and substance use treatment provided by community mental health centers. This study assesses the blended payment model's impact on the odds of premature termination and transitions in care for Medicaid recipients in Vermont's substance use disorder treatment system. Methods: This study employs a difference-in-differences design with a generalized two-way fixed effects model using Vermont-specific Treatment Episode Data Set-Discharges data for 2017 through 2019. Treatment episodes of adult Medicaid utilizers were compared to episodes of adult non-Medicaid utilizers pre-and-post implementation of the blended payment model. Results: The odds ratio for termination from intensive outpatient and outpatient programs for Medicaid utilizers post-intervention was OR = 0.730 (p < 0.010). Treatment episodes also had higher odds transfer of care for Medicaid utilizers post-blended payment implementation (OR = 1.45; p < 0.001). Conclusions and implications: These results provide evidence that incentivizing co-occurring care through blended payment models may increase the availability of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder treatment within community mental health centers. This increase in availability may also enable transfers of care from the rest of the substance use disorder treatment system while reducing premature termination from care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 10826084 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/10826084.2025.2571844 |
