Expenditures and Use of DSHS Services: Aged, Blind, and Disabled Clients, FY 2001

This study identifies the costs and use of services for adult aged, blind, and disabled clients in Fiscal Year 2001, showing the number of clients eligible for medical benefits in three eligibility groups: eligible for Medicaid only, dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare benefits, and eligible for state-funded General Assistance-Unemployable (GA-U) benefits. Costs per member per month are calculated to provide estimates of average monthly costs per client. Data indicate that the top 10% of Medicaid-only clients cost $4,728 per client per month of eligibility, compared to $3,562 for dual eligible clients and $1,835 for GA-U clients. High-cost Medicaid-only clients are 4.7 times more costly per month than Medicaid-only clients in general while high-cost dual eligible and GA-U clients are about 3 times as costly per month as their respective counterparts.