antidepressant medication management
follow-up care within 7 days after hospitalization for mental illness
initiation and engagement of alcohol and other drug dependence treatment
We were curious if plan characteristics mattered, so we looked at ownership status, Blue Cross affiliation, Medicaid Managed Care status and if the insurer offered a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) option. Our priors were that non-profits, and Blues would have higher quality and Medicaid Managed Care organizations would have lower quality. We thought that PPOs would show lower quality as the insurer has less leverage with their provider network than HMOs and EPOs.
So what did we find?