Illinois Mental Health Collaborative for Access and Choice Decreases Cost While Increasing Services to Individuals

CHICAGO and NORFOLK, Va., Sept. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past five years, the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health (DMH), in partnership with ValueOptions^®, a health improvement company specializing in mental and emotional wellbeing and recovery, have partnered to successfully decrease system of care costs while increasing the level of services to individuals.

In 2007, ValueOptions partnered with DMH to form the Illinois Mental Health Collaborative for Access and Choice (the Collaborative). They created the Collaborative in compliance with the state's legislative mandate to ensure the appropriateness of community-based mental health services for nearly 170,000 adults and children enrolled in Illinois' Medicaid program.

Since that time, the Collaborative has enjoyed measurable success. The Collaborative recently analyzed claims data from the first three quarters of 2010 and 2011. The data analysis revealed that care management practices effectively reduced the payments for high consumer utilizers by nearly $6,000 because the appropriate service was provided at the appropriate time in the appropriate quantity. In addition to these results, the number of consumers meeting service criteria within the DMH target population increased by 4%. In other words, the Collaborative successfully served more people while reducing statistical outlier cases that cost more money.   

"Around the country, state health agencies are under immense budgetary pressures. In the meantime, the need for quality mental health services continues to grow. We are very proud of the success we have had with this partnership," states John Tadich, President of ValueOptions' Public Sector Division. "By stretching available dollars and serving more individuals while not sacrificing quality of care, the Collaborative is making an important difference for the people of Illinois."

The data analysis showed similar results when comparing the Collaborative's service modalities. In five of the fifteen service modalities the Collaborative saved over $3.6 million. And in four of these service modalities, the number of target consumers increased while the statistical outlier cases decreased.  This was, again, due to the appropriate services being provided at the appropriate times in the appropriate quantities.

For this aggregated data, the Collaborative applied a valid Consumer Price Index extrapolation, which came to 3.7% during this time period. As a result, the analysis identified another $6.5 million in cost savings to the State of Illinois.  In total, the Collaborative saved the State of Illinois $10.3 million over three quarters – about 8% of total spend for the fifteen service modalities.

"The Collaborative is making tremendous progress in applying a more structured approach to the management of behavioral health services, and the efforts are paying off," adds Tadich. "We are committed to the people we serve in Illinois, and to making sure they get the right service, at the right time, in the right setting. And moving forward, we are extremely excited to start the next chapter of this very successful partnership."

The new three-year contract is valued at $25.8 million and runs through June 30, 2015. ValueOptions will continue to act as the state's administrative services organization (ASO) for community-based mental health services. In this capacity, ValueOptions provides the technology, data, and reporting infrastructure for multiple service modalities and will continue to implement authorizations for payment for these service modalities as well as review claims submissions after service delivery.

ValueOptions will also continue to operate the Warm Line – a peer-to-peer support line for consumers requesting additional support in their daily lives. It is a free service to consumers staffed by persons with recovery experiences.

About ValueOptions^®
ValueOptions is a health improvement company that serves more than 32 million individuals. On behalf of employers, health plans and government agencies, we manage innovative programs and solutions that directly address the challenges our health care system faces today. A national leader in the fields of mental and emotional wellbeing, recovery and resilience, employee assistance, and wellness, ValueOptions helps people make the difficult life changes needed to be healthier and more productive. With offices nationwide and a network of more than 130,000 provider locations, ValueOptions helps people take important steps in the right direction. We help them live their lives to the fullest potential. Visit www.valueoptions.com for more information.

SOURCE ValueOptions