Effect of the Affordable Care Act's young adult insurance expansions on hospital-based mental health care.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Insurance coverage for young adults has increased since 2010, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) required insurers to permit children to remain on parental policies until age 26 as dependents. This study estimated the association between the dependent coverage provision and changes in young adults' use of hospital-based services for substance use disorders and non-substance use psychiatric disorders.

Method

The authors conducted a quasi-experimental comparison of a national sample of non-childbirth-related inpatient admissions to general hospitals (a total of 2,670,463 admissions, 430,583 of which had primary psychiatric diagnoses) and California emergency department visits with psychiatric diagnoses (N=11,139,689), using data spanning 2005 to 2011. Analyses compar

SUBMITTER: Golberstein E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4314328 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature