The Washington State Mental Health Services Cost Offset and Client Outcome Study examined the effects of publicly funded mental health care on client medical costs, mortality, and criminal justice outcomes. Providing outpatient mental health treatment to aged, blind, and disabled clients in the Medicaid or GA-U programs was found to reduce their subsequent medical costs, partially offsetting the cost of outpatient mental health therapy. Furthermore, giving clients outpatient mental health treatment was found to produce greater cost savings than providing psychotropic medication alone. Providing inpatient or intensive outpatient mental health care to clients with psychotic disorders also resulted in lower medical costs for these clients.
