Inpatient treatment of comorbid psychiatric and substance abuse disorders: Comparison of public sector and privately insured populations

Public health delivery systems are increasingly compared to private systems as policymakers continue to focus on reducing the costs of care. However, there are very few studies comparing trends in utilization and cost between public and private providers. This study examines discharge abstract records for VA patients and insurance claims data for a national sample of privately insured individuals to investigate trends in inpatient utilization and costs for dually diagnosed individuals in these two systems. Although the substantial differences in the populations treated could account for the differences in these measures across systems, this study is useful in illustrating the possibilities and limitations of system comparisons.