Four studies involving Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, Arkansas BCBS and Independence Blue Cross identified total cost savings through psychiatric collaborative care models, according to reports from the Mental Health Treatment and Research Institute, and the Bowman Family Foundation.
Health plan members with mental health and substance abuse disorders can have three to six times higher total healthcare costs, a November report said. However, with these models, savings can become pronounced in as early as six months.
Here is what each study determined:
- One study that included Kaiser Permanente found total cost savings could amount to six times the model’s cost over four years.
- Another Kaiser Permanente study found 13% total cost savings per member per month in one year.
- An Arkansas BCBS study showed total cost savings of $340 per member in six months.
- A Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania and Independence Blue Cross study found $29.35 per member per month in savings in a single year.
Across the country, the number of commercially insured collaborative care model patients increased fortyfold between 2018 and 2024. The use rate has grown twenty-sixfold in that same time period, a February report noted.
