Number of Facilities and Methadone Facilities
Fig. 2 Number of facilities and methadone facilities: UFDS - N-SSATS 1996-2000
Fig. 3 Facility ownership: UFDS - N-SSATS 1996-2000
Fig. 4 Facilities with programs for special groups: UFDS - N-SSATS 1996-2000
Fig. 5 Facilities with managed care contracts, by ownership: UFDS - N-SSATS 1996-2000
This chapter presents trends in facility characteristics for 1996 to 2000. It should be kept in mind, however, that the list frame, methods, and survey instrument have changed during this period. These changes are detailed in Chapter 1.
Table 2.1 and Figure 2. While there is a definite overall increase
in the number of reporting facilities from 1996, this is most likely due to improved
survey methodology rather than an increase in the actual number of facilities.
Approximately 9 percent of facilities in 2000 reported that they dispensed methadone or
levo-alpha-acetylmethadol (LAAM).
Table 2.1 and Figure 3. Facilities are described in terms of ownership, that is, the type of entity owning or responsible for the operation of the facility: private for-profit, private non-profit, or government (Federal, State, local, or tribal). Despite year to year fluctuations in the number of facilities reporting, the overall structure of the treatment system (as reflected in the N-SSATS ownership data) changed very little over the time period.
In 2000, private non-profit facilities made up the bulk of the system
(60 percent). Since 1996, this proportion has remained relatively constant, ranging from
56 percent to 61 percent. Private for-profit facilities accounted for 26 percent of
facilities that responded. Recent fluctuations in the percent of private-for-profit
facilities are probably due to
efforts to expand the survey coverage, followed by the decision to exclude non-State
agency-approved solo practitioners. Eleven percent of facilities were owned by State or
local government, while the Federal government owned 2 percent, and Tribal governments
owned 1 percent of reporting
facilities.
Table 2.2 and Figure 4. Facilities may offer treatment programs designed to address the specific needs of certain groups. These groups include the dually diagnosed (persons with a mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse), adolescents, persons with HIV/AIDS, and pregnant or postpartum women. Data on these groups were not collected in 1996. Adolescent programs were offered at 37 percent of facilities, which was
similar to previous years. The proportion of facilities offering special programs for
each of the four specified groups remained relatively stable from 1997 to 2000. Over that
period, 45 to 50 percent offered special programs for dually diagnosed, 34 to 39 percent
offered special programs for adolescents, 19 to 24 percent offered special programs for
persons with HIV/AIDS, and 19 to 22 percent offered special programs for pregnant or
postpartum women.
Table 2.3 and Figure 5. In general, the term "managed care" refers to the prepaid health care sector (e.g., HMOs) where care is provided under a fixed budget within which costs are "managed." Approximately 54 percent of facilities had managed care contracts in 2000, compared to 42 percent in 1996. The percentage of facilities with managed care contracts increased slightly from 1996 to 2000 for all ownership categories except two. State government-owned facilities demonstrated a relatively large increase in the percent reporting managed care contracts, from about one-eighth in 1996 to about one-third in 2000. Private for-profit facilities showed little change, with just over half of the facilities (53 to 56 percent) reporting managed care contracts in four of the five years. In general, privately-owned facilities were more likely to have managed care contracts than government-owned facilities.
Table 2.4. The proportion of managed care facilities increased in most States from
1996 to 2000. However, there was little or no change in Arizona, Hawaii, and
Massachusetts. Missouri, Oklahoma, and Vermont were the only States to demonstrate a
decrease during the time period.
