Survey, Analysis and Financing

Office of Survey, Analysis and Financing

What is the Office of Survey, Analysis and Financing?

The Office of Survey, Analysis and Financing serves the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) and its parent agency, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), by providing information on the funding and administration of mental health services. These activities include data collection and analysis, cost estimation, services evaluation, policy assessment, and technical assistance. The office forges relationships with other agencies and collaborates with States, health care providers, consumers, families, and benefits managers to improve the effectiveness of the organization and financing of mental health services.

What does the Office of Survey, Analysis and Financing do?

Specific studies and projects currently being conducted by our office are intended to:

Provide detailed national data to policymakers and researchers regarding expenditures for mental health and substance abuse (MH/SA) services;
Evaluate and analyze the impact of State and Federal legislation mandating parity for MH/SA insurance coverage;
Assess the impact of State health reform demonstrations, conducted under Medicaid 1115 waivers, on the delivery of MH/SA services in selected States;
Collect and analyze comprehensive national data on the delivery of MH services in public elementary and secondary schools, and on MH screening of residents in nursing homes;
Review the literature regarding effectiveness and costs of preventive MH related interventions, to encourage behavioral managed care organizations to include these among their covered benefits;
Analyze data on the characteristics of employer sponsored MH benefits, on Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), and on the utilization patterns for MH services and psychotropic medications under Medicaid and under private insurance; and
Develop a database, which integrates data from State MH, SA, and Medicaid agencies in three pilot States, which enables analysis of patterns of service utilization, costs, and integration of services in those States.
Disseminate information by: identifying and filling technical assistance needs within counties and local governments; holding annual conferences on Medicaid and mental health; supporting a managed care specialist at the National Mental Health Information Center to facilitate the dissemination of information and to assist with public inquires; sponsoring periodic, direct mailings of state-of-the-art reports; publishing reports in well-disseminated, peer-reviewed journals; and convening meetings of State, county, and other professional experts to train State employees on Medicaid and mental health topics.

What has the Office of Survey, Analysis and Financing achieved?

Completed a major study on parity for mental health and substance abuse benefits, in cooperation with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). The study summarizes State legislation, analyzes past estimates of parity costs, provides data about State level impacts of parity, and provides new cost estimates for increasing mental health and substance abuse coverage.
Published the first annual estimate of national spending for mental health and substance abuse services to correspond with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) release of estimates for overall national health expenditures.
Established CMHS as a recognized expert on data needs related to the organization and financing of mental health services.
Participated in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program mental health parity study group.
Summarized research evidence on the usefulness of preventive interventions and analyzed the associated managed care reimbursement rates to determine cost effectiveness.
Convened a series of managed care training sessions, led by experts in mental health and substance abuse services, for SAMHSA staff and key mental health constituency groups.

The Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) is an agency of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CMHS serves as the focal point for Federal efforts to make high-quality, community-based, services available and accessible for people with, or at risk of developing, mental illness and their families.

Center for Mental Health Services
Office of the Branch Chief for Survey, Analysis and Financing
1 Choke Cherry Road, Suite 2-1089 , Rockville, MD 20857
Phone 240-276-1390, Fax 240-276-1395

Jeffrey A. Buck, Ph.D., Branch Chief
Judith Teich A.C.S.W.
Shelagh Smith M.P.H., C.H.E.S.
Ingrid Goldstrom M.Sc.
James Kretz M.A.
Joanne E Atay M.A.
Laura J Milazzo-Sayre
Dan Foley M.S.

MCOO-81
11/2004