Monday, January 19, 2026 1/19/2026

Effect of Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations on Behavioral Health Care Quality and Outcomes for Children

Award Number: R01MH134176
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/12/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 10/31/2028

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Effect of Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations on Behavioral Health Care Quality and Outcomes for Children - PROJECT SUMMARY One in six children aged 6-17 years had a behavioral health (BH) diagnosis in 2016 and rates have continued to increase. Limited access to BH services has long presented challenges for most children. Efforts to address the shortcomings of the specialty BH care system, such as integrating BH care into pediatric primary care settings, and state programs that offer telephonic psychiatry consultation to pediatricians, have helped improve care, but immense gaps in care persist. Accountable care organizations (ACOs) incentivize care integration and population health, which promotes community-health care linkages and care coordination. The innovative reform introduced by ACOs has the potential to improve BH care delivery, but their impact for pediatric populations is largely unknown. Studies of adult populations suggest that ACOs with certain organizational features (e.g., type of contract) may improve quality of care for chronic diseases but the few studies of the impact of ACOs on quality of care and outcomes for children have not focused on this large population of children with BH disorders. This study will be the first to address this critical gap in knowledge by taking advantage of the natural experiment taking place in Massachusetts (MA), a state with a high prevalence of children with BH diagnoses. In 2018, MA, launched 17 new Medicaid ACOs with heterogeneous organizational features (e.g., size; physician vs. hospital-led; age mix). We will leverage MA’s innovative Medicaid ACO ‘experiment’ to address the following aims using mixed methods: 1) Evaluate the impact of ACOs on BH care quality, outcomes, and disparities for Medicaid-insured children; 2) Discern how ACO heterogeneity modifies ACOs’ effects on BH quality and outcomes; 3) Determine the relationship between parent reported experience with their child’s BH care and organizational features of the Medicaid ACOs. Fundamental changes in healthcare are needed to address disparities in BH care quality and outcomes for children. Our innovative mixed methods approach to examining the association between exposure to a new heterogeneous group of Medicaid ACOs and BH care and outcomes uses state-level administrative claims and survey data and key informant interviews with ACO leaders and parents to begin to address this large gap in knowledge. This new information is expected to benefit providers, payers, and policy makers responsible for the care of children with BH disorders.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2026	2025	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS	101 COMMONWEALTH AVE	AMHERST	MA	01003	HAMPSHIRE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	12/10/2025	OTHER REVISION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $568,728 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS	101 COMMONWEALTH AVE	AMHERST	MA	01003	HAMPSHIRE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	3	7/15/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$568,728
2025	2024	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS	101 COMMONWEALTH AVE	AMHERST	MA	01003	HAMPSHIRE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	3/24/2025	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
2025	2024	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS	101 COMMONWEALTH AVE	AMHERST	MA	01003	HAMPSHIRE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	2	7/9/2025	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
														Subtotal = $568,728

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $652,458 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS	101 COMMONWEALTH AVE	AMHERST	MA	01003	HAMPSHIRE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	6/26/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$552,484
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS	101 COMMONWEALTH AVE	AMHERST	MA	01003	HAMPSHIRE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	2	9/3/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS	101 COMMONWEALTH AVE	AMHERST	MA	01003	HAMPSHIRE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	2	8/23/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$99,974
														Subtotal = $652,458

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $797,775 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS	COMMONWEALTH AVE	AMHERST	MA	01003	HAMPSHIRE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	9/12/2023	NEW	$797,775
														Subtotal = $797,775

Grand Total All Awards = $2,018,961

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Effect of Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations on Behavioral Health Care Quality and Outcomes for Children

Award Number: R01MH134176

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/12/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 10/31/2028

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