The Government Accountability Office was asked to provide information about access to behavioral health treatment for low-income, uninsured, and Medicaid-enrolled adults. This report examines: (1) how many low-income, uninsured adults may have a behavioral health condition; (2) options for low-income, uninsured adults to receive behavioral health treatment in selected non-expansion states; and (3) how selected Medicaid expansion states provide behavioral health coverage for newly eligible enrollees, and how enrollment in coverage affects treatment availability. The study found that nationwide estimates using 2008-2013 data indicated that approximately 17 percent of low-income, uninsured adults had a behavioral health condition, defined as a serious mental illness, a substance use condition, or both. Underlying these national estimates is considerable variation at the state level. http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-449
Options for Low-Income Adults to Receive Behavioral health Treatment in Selected States
Year: 2015