Cost-effectiveness of case management: experiences of a university managed health care organization

Effective, multifaceted, and short-term case management services can result in significant, quantifiable cost savings for managed Medicaid, Medicare, and other health care programs. Such savings clearly offset the administrative costs of support for case managers, social services departments, and utilization management services. This report reviews various case management models, the costs for case management staff and resource support, and a number of quantified ways in which a social service and utilization management team model saved significant dollars in a number of different service areas. This cost-benefit analysis financially justifies administrative support for case management services in the budgets of managed Medicaid programs. Case management is a cost-effective and quality of care management tool.