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Mental health and substance use disorder spending in the Department of Veterans Affairs, fiscal years 2000-2007.
Psychiatr Serv. 2011 Apr; 62(4):389-95.PS

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

This study analyzed spending for treatment of mental health and substance use disorders in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in fiscal years (FYs) 2000 through 2007.

METHODS

VA spending as reported in the VA Decision Support System was linked to patient utilization data as reported in the Patient Treatment Files, the National Patient Care Database, and the VA Fee Basis files. All care and costs from FY 2000 to FY 2007 were analyzed.

RESULTS

Over the study period the number of veterans treated at the VA increased from 3.7 million to over 5.1 million (an average increase of 4.9% per year), and costs increased .7% per person per year. For mental health and substance use disorder treatment, the volume of inpatient care decreased markedly, residential care increased, and spending decreased on average 2% per year (from $668 in FY 2000 to $578 per person in FY 2007). FY 2007 saw large increases in mental health spending, bucking the trend from FY 2000 through FY 2006.

CONCLUSIONS

VA's continued emphasis on outpatient and residential care was evident through 2007. This trend in spending might be unimpressive if VA were enrolling healthier Veterans, but the opposite seems to be true: over this time period the prevalence of most chronic conditions, including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, increased. VA spending on mental health care grew rapidly in 2007, and given current military activities, this trend is likely to increase.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors+Show Affiliations

Wagner TH
Health Economics Resource Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Healthcare System, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. todd.wagner@va.gov
Sinnott P
No affiliation info available
Siroka AM
No affiliation info available

MeSH

Databases, FactualHealth ExpendituresHumansMental DisordersSubstance-Related DisordersUnited StatesUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Language

eng

PubMed ID

21459990

Citation

Wagner, Todd H., et al. "Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Spending in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Fiscal Years 2000-2007." Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.), vol. 62, no. 4, 2011, pp. 389-95.
Wagner TH, Sinnott P, Siroka AM. Mental health and substance use disorder spending in the Department of Veterans Affairs, fiscal years 2000-2007. Psychiatr Serv. 2011;62(4):389-95.
Wagner, T. H., Sinnott, P., & Siroka, A. M. (2011). Mental health and substance use disorder spending in the Department of Veterans Affairs, fiscal years 2000-2007. Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.), 62(4), 389-95. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.62.4.pss6204_0389
Wagner TH, Sinnott P, Siroka AM. Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Spending in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Fiscal Years 2000-2007. Psychiatr Serv. 2011;62(4):389-95. PubMed PMID: 21459990.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Mental health and substance use disorder spending in the Department of Veterans Affairs, fiscal years 2000-2007. AU - Wagner,Todd H, AU - Sinnott,Patricia, AU - Siroka,Andrew M, PY - 2011/4/5/entrez PY - 2011/4/5/pubmed PY - 2011/8/24/medline SP - 389 EP - 95 JF - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) JO - Psychiatr Serv VL - 62 IS - 4 N2 - OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed spending for treatment of mental health and substance use disorders in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in fiscal years (FYs) 2000 through 2007. METHODS: VA spending as reported in the VA Decision Support System was linked to patient utilization data as reported in the Patient Treatment Files, the National Patient Care Database, and the VA Fee Basis files. All care and costs from FY 2000 to FY 2007 were analyzed. RESULTS: Over the study period the number of veterans treated at the VA increased from 3.7 million to over 5.1 million (an average increase of 4.9% per year), and costs increased .7% per person per year. For mental health and substance use disorder treatment, the volume of inpatient care decreased markedly, residential care increased, and spending decreased on average 2% per year (from $668 in FY 2000 to $578 per person in FY 2007). FY 2007 saw large increases in mental health spending, bucking the trend from FY 2000 through FY 2006. CONCLUSIONS: VA's continued emphasis on outpatient and residential care was evident through 2007. This trend in spending might be unimpressive if VA were enrolling healthier Veterans, but the opposite seems to be true: over this time period the prevalence of most chronic conditions, including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, increased. VA spending on mental health care grew rapidly in 2007, and given current military activities, this trend is likely to increase. SN - 1557-9700 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/21459990/Mental_health_and_substance_use_disorder_spending_in_the_Department_of_Veterans_Affairs_fiscal_years_2000_2007_ L2 - https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ps.62.4.pss6204_0389?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub=pubmed DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -