Potential Negative Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Behavioral Health Services in California

Medicaid expansion improved access to insurance for persons living with HIV yet compromised behavioral health services compared with the care previously available through integrated Ryan White Programs.

In California, expansion of medical insurance access resulted in 53% of low-income people living with HIV transferring from integrated Ryan White Programs into MediCal managed care insurance plans. That transition resulted in newly eligible patients having to interact with a complicated system of services and payers. In a qualitative survey, researchers assessed funding streams for behavioral health services, descriptions of those services, and the level of integration into other healthcare areas.

From April 2015 to June 2016, the researchers conducted structured interviews with 53 public health officials, state and local policy makers, and clinical and behavioral service providers for persons living with HIV in five key California counties,…

Reviewing Author

Keith Henry, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardViiV Advisory Board

Editorial BoardsJAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

Keith Henry, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardViiV Advisory Board

Editorial BoardsJAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

Potential Negative Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Behavioral Health Services in California

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Reviewing Author