Center for Population Health

The following information represents the percentage of Emergency Department (ED) visits for beneficiaries with a principle diagnosis of mental illness or intentional self-harm and who received a follow-up visit for mental illness.  The follow-up visit occurred within 7 days and 30 days of the ED visit.  The results are based on individuals ages 13 to 65 and older who had Medicare or private health insurance coverage.

In 2015, the year prior to the CT SIM implementation, greater percentages of individuals with private insurance coverage received a follow-up visit for mental illness after visiting an ED with a principal diagnosis of mental illness or intentional self-harm. Specifically, 50.1% of individuals with private insurance coverage received a follow-up visit within 7 days and 65.2% received a follow-up visit within 30 days. Whereas, 40.6% of individuals with Medicare coverage had a follow up visit within 7 days and 51.3% had a follow-up visit within 30 days.

Since the implementation of CT SIM in 2016, the pattern of individuals with private insurance being more likely to receive a follow-up visit continued. In 2017, the most recent year data are available, greater percentages of all patients received a follow-up visit for mental illness within 7 and 30 days. 57.3% of individuals with private insurance coverage had a follow-up visit within 7 days and 70.8% had a follow-up visit within 30 days. Whereas, 52.6% of individuals with Medicare coverage received a follow-up visit within 7 days and 64.2 % had a follow-up visit within 30 days.