Factors affecting Medicaid patients' length of stay in psychiatric units

The structure of the Medicaid program varies widely among the States. Examined in this article is the relationship between certain characteristics of the State Medicaid programs and the length of stay of patients who are discharged from psychiatric units in general hospitals. It has been found that setting limits on the number of reimbursable days leads to shorter lengths of stay and that, after controlling for region, length of stay is not influenced by utilization review or State rate setting.