Mental Illness and a Duals Dilemma.

Among the most prevalent chronic and disabling conditions for dually eligible beneficiaries are mental disorders-about 26 percent of dually eligible beneficiaries ages 65 years old or older have a mental disorder. Most older people with a mental disorder also suffer from anxiety disorder and less severe forms of depression, and mental disorders disrupt care of other chronic conditions like diabetes, congestive heart failure, and COPD. Spending in 2009 on older dual eligibles with a mental disorder was 2.5 times that of those without a mental disorder. Successful models of care coordination must manage mental health, substance-use-disorder services, medical care, and long-term services and supports. For older adults, the collaborative care model has shown promising results on cost and outcomes for addressing cases where anxiety and depression co-occur with chronic medical conditions like diabetes and COPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]