Analysis of Proposed Medicaid Policy Changes on People with Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Disorders

This project will inform policymakers about the consequences of changes in Medicaid policies for people serious behavioral health needs and the systems that serve them. Using multiple data sources, researchers will quantify the proportion of people with mental health and substance use disorders at risk of losing coverage or treatment due to
proposed policy changes in the Medicaid program. Results will report health consequences specific to this population (e.g., opioid overdose deaths, suicides, and Hepatitis C infection rates), as well as potential consequences on state budgets that finance behavioral health services. All analyses will reported at the national level, and wherever possible, at the state level. Due to data limitations, state-level data may only be reliably available for 30-35 states.