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Substance Use Treatment Provider Behavior and Healthcare Reform: Evidence from Massachusetts
Author(s) -
Maclean Johanna Catherine,
Saloner Brendan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
health economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1099-1050
pISSN - 1057-9230
DOI - 10.1002/hec.3484
Subject(s) - specialty , health care , reform act , drug treatment , actuarial science , public economics , substance use , health reform , treatment and control groups , business , health insurance , medicine , economics , family medicine , public administration , economic growth , psychiatry , political science , pathology
We examine the impact of the 2006 Massachusetts healthcare reform on substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities' provision of care. We test the impact of the reform on treatment quantity and access. We couple data on the near universe of specialty SUD treatment providers in the USA with a synthetic control method approach. We find little evidence that the reform lead to changes in treatment quantity or access. Reform effects were similar among for‐profit and non‐profit facilities. In an extension, we show that the reform altered the setting in which treatment is received, the number of offered services, and the number of programs for special populations. These findings may be useful in predicting the implications of major health insurance expansions on the provision of SUD treatment. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.