Evaluation of the Medicaid Health Home Option for Beneficiaries with Chronic Conditions: Evaluation of Outcomes of Selected Health Home Programs, Annual Report - Year Five

Medicaid health homes, authorized by Section 1945 of the Social Security Act, allows states to coordinate care and integrate services for Medicaid beneficiaries with multiple chronic physical, mental, or behavioral health conditions. The health home model is similar to the patient-centered medical home model, but targets high cost, high need populations and focuses on providing integrated physical, mental, and behavioral health care services, including links to nonclinical services and supports in the community. The Urban Institute, under the contract from ASPE, has conducted a five-year evaluation of the Medicaid health home option to assess the program implementation and its impacts on utilization and costs. The expectation is that improved access to integrated and coordinated primary and behavioral health care will reduce unnecessary use of costly facility-based care and result in lower spending. This fifth-year and final report presents findings from quantitative analysis of health home outcomes with respect to use of emergency room, inpatient hospital, and other facility-based care and Medicaid spending. The report also includes a brief description of the health home model and background on state programs included in the evaluation, as well as a summary of qualitative findings from previous reports. [76 PDF pages]