The Serious Mental Illness Innovations Project, part of CHCS’ Rethinking Care Program, was a two-year initiative in Pennsylvania that aimed to better integrate physical and behavioral health services for Medicaid beneficiaries with serious mental illness. The project began in 2009 and included two pilots in the Southeastern and Southwestern regions of Pennsylvania.
An evaluation by Mathematica Policy Research found that one or both pilots successfully lowered the rate of mental health hospitalizations, all-cause readmissions and emergency department visits. Mathematica Policy Research compared results from the pilot with projected outcomes without the project’s intervention.
For example, in the Southwest pilot, the all-cause readmission rate was an estimated 10 percent lower. In the Southeast pilot, the rate of ED use was an estimated 9 percent lower.
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