Capitation and Racial and Ethnic Differences in Use and Cost of Public Mental Health Services

Abstract

This study investigated racial and ethnic differences in the probability of mental health service use and costs of treatment before and after the implementation of capitated financing. Models were created to test effects on utilization and costs of African American, Latinos, and white mental health consumers. As service use and costs declined under capitation, Latino, and white levels of use and cost tended to converge. African American utilization patterns in the capitated areas tended to parallel their white counterparts. Differential rejection by, or exclusion of, African American and Latino consumers did not appear to occur in response to capitation.