Who Is Paying the Price? Loss of Health Insurance Coverage Early in Psychosis

Tyler J. Dodds, M.D. [email protected], Vivek H. Phutane, M.D. [email protected], B. Jamie Stevens, A.P.R.N., Scott W. Woods, M.D. [email protected], Michael J. Sernyak, M.D. [email protected], and Vinod H. Srihari, M.D. [email protected]Authors Info & Affiliations

Publication: Psychiatric Services

Volume 62, Number 8

https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.62.8.pss6208_0878

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Abstract

Objective:

Discontinuities in health insurance coverage may make it difficult for individuals early in psychosis to receive the services that are critical in determining long-term outcome. This study reports on the rates and continuity of insurance coverage among a cohort of early-psychosis patients enrolled in Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) at the Connecticut Mental Health Center.

Methods:

Insurance status at baseline, six months, and 12 months was collected from 82 participants from a combination of self-reports, clinical chart review, clinician reports, and a database maintained by the state Department of Social Services.

Results:

A total of 34 participants did not know whether they had health insurance or did not appear for follow-up assessments at six and 12 months. Among the remaining 48 participants, at baseline 18 had private insurance, 13 had public insurance, and 16 had no insurance. By the 12-month assessment, 13 (72%) privately insured and five (38%) publicly insured participants had lost coverage; less than one-third of the 48 participants (N=14) maintained continuous coverage.

Conclusions:

Specialty services for individuals experiencing early psychosis should address the difficulty of maintaining health insurance coverage during a period of illness in which continuity of care is critical to recovery. (Psychiatric Services 62:878–881, 2011)

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Figures and Tables

Figure 1 Percentage of participants (N=48) in Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) with uninterrupted health insurance coverage during follow-up

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Cover: The South Gorge, Appeldore, Isles of Shoals, by Childe Hassam. Oil on canvas, 22¼ × 18 inches. Collection of the Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey. Photo credit: the Newark Museum/Art Resource, New York.

Psychiatric Services

Volume 62 • Number 8 • August 2011

Pages: 878 - 881

PubMed: 21807825

History

Published online: 1 August 2011

Published in print: August 2011

Authors

Details

Tyler J. Dodds, M.D. [email protected]

Dr. Dodds, Dr. Phutane, Dr. Woods, Dr. Sernyak, and Dr. Srihari are affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, 300 George St., Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511 (e-mail: [email protected]).

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Vivek H. Phutane, M.D. [email protected]