Working Paper: NBER ID: w12232
Authors: Alison Cuellar; Sara Markowitz
Abstract: In recent years, Medicaid has experienced a dramatic increase in spending on prescription drugs in general and psychotropic medications in particular. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of increased Medicaid spending on psychotropic drugs on improving the mental health and well-being of participants at the population level. Specifically, we study the effect on outcomes that are strongly correlated with mood disorders, including depression, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder, controlling for concomitant increases in Medicaid eligibility thresholds and expansion into managed care for mental health services. Knowledge of the effects of changes in the Medicaid program is crucial to policymakers as they consider implementing and expanding mental health services. Our results show that increased spending on antidepressants and stimulants are associated with improvements in some outcomes, but not in others.
Keywords: Medicaid; Mental Health; Psychotropic Drugs; Health Outcomes
JEL Codes: I0
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Increased spending on older antidepressants (H51) | Decrease in adult suicides (I12) |
| Increased spending on newer antidepressants (H51) | Increase in youth suicides (J13) |
| Increased spending on older antidepressants (H51) | Decrease in violent crimes (K42) |
| Increased spending on older antidepressants (H51) | Decrease in property crimes (K42) |
| Increased spending on stimulants (H51) | Decrease in violent offenses (K42) |
| Increased spending on stimulants (H51) | Decrease in property offenses (K42) |
| Expanded medicaid eligibility (I18) | Positive effect on youth suicides (J13) |
| Managed care penetration (I11) | No significant effect on suicides (I12) |