Cost analysis of a disease management programme for adult Medicaid clients with schizophrenia

This investigation assessed changes in direct medical costs, from the perspective of a public payer, associated with a comprehensive, field-based disease management programme for adult Medicaid clients with schizophrenia in the US State of Colorado. A propensity score-matching algorithm was employed in this retrospective analysis owing to the inherent non-randomisation of enrollees. Of the 126 clients initially enrolled, 73 (58%) remained within the programme continuously for 6-12 months. These participants were associated with 30% lower overall per member per month medical costs (p<0.001), although no differences were noted for overall pharmacy costs. Provision of the disease management programme was through an external vendor and cost $31,250 per month regardless of the number enrolled. Future research should seek to assess long-term clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes in this population and to develop methods that increase programme participation.