New article published HERLab Investigator and collaborators!

Dr. Michael Flores, PhD recently published a paper titled “General and Behavioral Health Screening Under EPSDT for Adolescents in New York Medicaid Managed Care”. Read more here and see the key points below!

Key Points

Question  How do behavioral health (BH) screening rates compare with general Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) screening rates for adolescents enrolled in New York Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs)?

Findings  In this cross-sectional study of more than 1.5 million adolescents, BH screening rates under EPSDT were consistently lower than general screening rates, reaching only about one-third the rate of general EPSDT screening. General screening rates were relatively similar across plans over the study period, whereas BH screening rates varied widely and showed little alignment with state-assigned MCO quality ratings.

Meaning  In this cross-sectional study, BH screening for adolescents lagged behind general EPSDT screenings, with wide plan-level variation and poor alignment with state-assigned MCO quality ratings.