Provision of Alcohol Services in Private Health Plans

Brandeis University, Waltham MA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Rapid changes in the health care system make it necessary to regularly update our knowledge of how alcohol services are provided. Health plan decisions can influence not only whether there is problem recognition, but also access to care, and the quality and cost of care received. Most people under 65 in the US, who account for the majority of persons with alcohol problems, are covered by employer-based private health insurance which influences how and what services they receive related to alcohol problems. This competitive renewal for Round 3 of our nationally representative survey of private health plans will provide a current picture of the complex and changing organization of behavioral health services in private health plans. It will build on the prior two rounds and continue explore health plan decisions about specific arrangements and to track changes in wide variety of domains. These include administrative factors, e.g., contracting arrparity law; growing role of internet and electronic health records; increased use of incentives for performance and quality; increased recognition of primary care as an essential setting for alcohol services, including brief interventions and referral and the intersection with HIV services; expansion of wellness programs and new medications for alcohol treatment. Our main objective is to further understand how alcohol services are provided in private health plans, building on and comparing with the two prior rounds. The specific aims are: (1) Describe the provision of alcohol services in private health plans for benefit year 2010 in terms of administrative factors and clinical factors. (2) Analyze changes in health plans' provision of alcohol services in the last decade and explore factors that influence these changes. (3) Model contracting arrangements for specialty alcohol services to understand how health plan characteristics and the changing environment of service delivery withinecessary to regularly update our knowledge of how alcohol services are provided. Health plan decisions can influence not only whether there is recognition of a problem, but also patients' access to care, and the quality and cost of care they receive. This competitive renewal for Round 3 of our survey will provide a current picture of the complex and changing organization of behavioral health services in private health plans, which cover the majority of people under 65 in the U.S.