In 2008, Congress passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA), in part to help improve access to outpatient mental health services. The legislation reduced Part B co-insurance rates for outpatient mental health services to be the same as the coinsurance rates for physical health rates. MIPPA gradually reduced cost-sharing rates over a 5-year period. In this study, we used a quasi-experimental regression analysis to estimate the associated impact of MIPPA on utilization and spending among older adult Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries who had a mental health disorder.
This research was conducted under contract between HHS/ASPE’s Office of Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy (BHDAP) and RTI International. Additional research in this area is available at the ASPE Aging & Disability page, the ASPE Behavioral Health page, and the ASPE Policy & Regulation page.
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