Healthcare for Vulnerable Populations
Medicaid 1115 SUD Demonstration Waiver Evaluation
The Medicaid 1115 Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Demonstration waiver, which began in July 2018, was a 5-year waiver that introduced a limited piloting of certain services that were previously not available or not widely available to Illinois Medicaid beneficiaries. These additional services were expected to inform the state’s efforts to transform the behavioral health system in Illinois as some beneficiaries would have access to less costly community-based services, which were expected to help beneficiaries improve their health and avoid costlier services provided in an institution. The project goals ranged from less utilization of emergency departments and overdose deaths to increased adherence to treatment and improved overall health.
CPRD conducted an overall evaluation of these services using Interrupted Time Series to compare trend data pre- and post-waiver. Data for this project is housed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois. The evaluation was conducted in partnership with the Office of Medicaid Innovation and funded by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
Medicaid 1115 Continuity of Care and Administrative Simplification Demonstration Evaluation
The objectives of the Medicaid 1115 Continuity of Care and Administrative Simplification Demonstration are (1) to provide quality healthcare and improve health outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries, and (2) to reduce administrative burdens through care coordination and continuity of care initiatives. Goals include promoting continuity of coverage and care, improving managed care quality oversight, avoiding administrative complexities, and providing quality care and improving health outcomes. The Center for Prevention Research and Development (CPRD) is conducting an evaluation to measure the effectiveness of these policy changes at the state level, including a variety of measures on coverage disruptions, transitions from FFS to managed care, and the impact of waiving hospital presumptive eligibility. CPRD is partnering with Chi-Fang Wu, a professor in the School of Social Work on this project and it is funded by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.