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Mental Health Care Costs Among Youth with Comorbid Mental Disorders

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Abstract

This exploratory study described the distribution of mental health service costs in youth with mental disorder and determined if costs differed for youth with comorbid internalizing and externalizing disorder compared to those with comorbid internalizing disorders. Data come from youth (8–17 years; n=75) receiving mental health services at a children’s hospital in Canada. Billing amounts specified in the Health Insurance Act of Ontario were used to estimate costs. Overall, past-year service use costs were $7436.63. Hospitalizations represented the largest cost. Youth with comorbid internalizing and externalizing disorders had higher total (β=0.81 [0.17, 1.45]), hospital (β=0.93 [0.03, 1.84]), and professional (β=0.87 [0.04, 1.69]) costs. These preliminary findings suggest that comorbidity type is associated with the costs of past-year mental health services used by youth. Research is needed to understand the reasons for elevated costs and whether the increased services used by youth with comorbid internalizing and externalizing disorders are effective.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the youth and parents who participated in this study. We thank Jessica Zelman for coordinating the study, Charlene Attard for conducting the literature review, and Jordana Ferro for collecting cost data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Mark A. Ferro PhD

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 1200 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Ellen L. Lipman MD, MSc

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Dillon T. Browne PhD

Authors
  1. Mark A. Ferro PhD
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  2. Ellen L. Lipman MD, MSc
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  3. Dillon T. Browne PhD
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Correspondence to Mark A. Ferro PhD.

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Ferro, M.A., Lipman, E.L. & Browne, D.T. Mental Health Care Costs Among Youth with Comorbid Mental Disorders. J Behav Health Serv Res 48, 634–641 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-021-09751-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-021-09751-7

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