Dataset Information

Improved depression screening and treatment among low-income pregnant and postpartum women following Medicaid expansion in the U.S.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This study examined the effect of Medicaid expansion in Oregon under the Affordable Care Act on depression screening and treatment among pregnant and postpartum women who gave Medicaid-financed births.

Methods

Oregon birth certificates were linked to Medicaid enrollment and claims records for 2011-2016. The sample included a policy group of 1,368 women (n = 2,831) who gave births covered by pregnancy-only Medicaid in the pre-expansion period (before 2014) and full-scope Medicaid in the post-expansion period, and the comparison group of 2,229 women (n = 4,580) who gave births covered by full-scope Medicaid in both pre- and post-expansion periods. Outcomes included indicators for depression screening, psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and combined psychotherapy-pharmacotherapy, separately for the first, second, and third trimesters, and 2 and 6 months postpartum. This study utilized a difference-in-differences approach that compared pre-post change in an outcome for the policy group to a counterfactual pre-post change from the comparison group.

Results

Medicaid expansion led to a 3.64%-point increase in the rate of depression screening 6 months postpartum, 3.28%-point increase in the rate of psychotherapy 6 months postpartum, and 2.3 and 1%-point increases in the rates of pharmacotherapy and combined treatment in the first trimester, respectively. The relationships were driven by disproportionate gains among non-Hispanic whites and urban residents.

Conclusions

Expanding Medicaid eligibility may improve depression screening and treatment among low-income women early in pregnancy and/or beyond the usual two-month postpartum period. However, it does not necessarily reduce racial/ethnic and regional gaps in depression screening and treatment.

SUBMITTER: Yoon J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10012772 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Improved depression screening and treatment among low-income pregnant and postpartum women following Medicaid expansion in the U.S.

Yoon Jangho J Harvey S Marie SM Luck Jeff J

Frontiers in health services 20220817

<h4>Objective</h4>This study examined the effect of Medicaid expansion in Oregon under the Affordable Care Act on depression screening and treatment among pregnant and postpartum women who gave Medicaid-financed births.<h4>Methods</h4>Oregon birth certificates were linked to Medicaid enrollment and claims records for 2011-2016. The sample included a policy group of 1,368 women (<i>n</i> = 2,831) who gave births covered by pregnancy-only Medicaid in the pre-expansion period (before 2014) and full ...[more]

PMID: 36925770

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Project description:ImportanceAccess to postpartum care is restricted for low-income women who are recent or undocumented immigrants enrolled in Emergency Medicaid.ObjectiveTo examine the association of a policy extending postpartum coverage to Emergency Medicaid recipients with attendance at postpartum visits and use of postpartum contraception.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study linked Medicaid claims and birth certificate data from 2010 to 2019 to examine changes in postpartum care coverage on postpartum care and contraception use. A difference-in-difference design was used to compare the rollout of postpartum coverage in Oregon with a comparison state, South Carolina, which did not cover postpartum care. The study used 2 distinct assumptions to conduct the analyses: first, preintervention differences in postpartum visit attendance and contraceptive use would have remained constant if the policy expanding coverage had not been passed (parallel trends assumption), and second, differences in preintervention trends would have continued without the policy change (differential trend assumption). Data analysis was performed from September 2020 to October 2021.ExposuresMedicaid coverage of postpartum care.Main outcomes and measuresAttendance at postpartum visits and postpartum contraceptive use, defined as receipt of any contraceptive method within 60 days of delivery.ResultsThe study population consisted of 27 667 live births among 23 971 women (mean [SD] age, 29.4 [6.0] years) enrolled in Emergency Medicaid. The majority of all births were to multiparous women (21 289 women [76.9%]; standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.08) and were delivered vaginally (20 042 births [72.4%]; SMD = 0.03) and at term (25 502 births [92.2%]; SMD = 0.01). Following Oregon's expansion of postpartum coverage to women in Emergency Medicaid, there was a large and significant increase in postpartum care visits and contraceptive use. Assuming parallel trends, postpartum care attendance increased by 40.6 percentage points (95% CI, 34.1-47.1 percentage points; P < .001) following the policy change. Under the differential trends assumption, postpartum visits increased by 47.9 percentage points (95% CI, 41.3-54.6 percentage points; P < .001). Postpartum contraception use increased similarly. Under the parallel trends assumption, postpartum contraception within 60 days increased by 33.2 percentage points (95% CI, 31.1-35.4 percentage points; P < .001). Assuming differential trends, postpartum contraception increased by 28.2 percentage points (95% CI, 25.8-30.6 percentage points; P < .001).Conclusions and relevanceThese findings suggest that expanding Emergency Medicaid benefits to include postpartum care is associated with significant improvements in receipt of postpartum care and contraceptive use.

Project description:ImportanceThe extent to which changes in health sector finances impact economic outcomes among health care workers, especially lower-income workers, is not well known.ObjectiveTo assess the association between state adoption of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion-which led to substantial improvements in health care organization finances-and health care workers' annual incomes and benefits, and whether these associations varied across low- and high-wage occupations.Design, setting, and participantsDifference-in-differences analysis to assess differential changes in health care workers' economic outcomes before and after Medicaid expansion among workers in 30 states that expanded Medicaid relative to workers in 16 states that did not, by examining US individuals aged 18 through 65 years employed in the health care industry surveyed in the 2010-2019 American Community Surveys.ExposureTime-varying state-level adoption of Medicaid expansion.Main outcomes and measuresPrimary outcome was annual earned income; secondary outcomes included receipt of employer-sponsored health insurance, Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.ResultsThe sample included 1 322 263 health care workers from 2010-2019. Health care workers in expansion states were similar to those in nonexpansion states in age, sex, and educational attainment, but those in expansion states were less likely to identify as non-Hispanic Black. Medicaid expansion was associated with a 2.16% increase in annual incomes (95% CI, 0.66%-3.65%; P = .005). This effect was driven by significant increases in annual incomes among the top 2 highest-earning quintiles (β coefficient, 2.91%-3.72%), which includes registered nurses, physicians, and executives. Health care workers in lower-earning quintiles did not experience any significant changes. Medicaid expansion was associated with a 3.15 percentage point increase in the likelihood that a health care worker received Medicaid benefits (95% CI, 2.46 to 3.84; P < .001), with the largest increases among the 2 lowest-earning quintiles, which includes health aides, orderlies, and sanitation workers. There were significant decreases in employer-sponsored health insurance and increases in SNAP following Medicaid expansion.Conclusion and relevanceMedicaid expansion was associated with increases in compensation for health care workers, but only among the highest earners. These findings suggest that improvements in health care sector finances may increase economic inequality among health care workers, with implications for worker health and well-being.

Project description:BackgroundSeveral states have opted to expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which offers insurance coverage to low-income individuals up to 138% of the federal poverty level. This expansion of Medicaid to a medically vulnerable population potentially can reduce cancer outcome disparities, especially among patients with screening-amenable cancers. The objective of the current study was to estimate the effect of Medicaid expansion on the percentage of adults from low-income communities with screening-amenable cancers who present with metastatic disease.MethodsUsing state cancer registry data linked with block group-level income data, a total of 12,760 individuals aged 30 to 64 years who were diagnosed with incident invasive breast (female), cervical, colorectal, or lung cancer from 2011 through 2016 and who were uninsured or had Medicaid insurance at the time of diagnosis were identified. This sample was probability weighted based on income to reflect potential Medicaid eligibility under the ACA's Medicaid expansion. A multivariable logistic model then was fitted to examine the independent association between the exposure (pre-expansion [years 2011-2013] vs postexpansion [years 2014-2016]) and the outcome (metastatic vs nonmetastatic disease at the time of diagnosis).ResultsAfter adjusting for potential confounders, individuals who were diagnosed postexpansion were found to have 15% lower odds of having metastatic disease compared with those who were diagnosed pre-expansion (adjusted odds ratio, 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 0.77-0.93). As a control, a separate analysis that focused on individuals with private insurance who resided in high-income communities found nonsignificant postexpansion (vs pre-expansion) changes in the outcome (adjusted odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.96-1.09).ConclusionsMedicaid expansion is associated with a narrowing of a critical cancer outcome disparity in adults from low-income communities.

Dataset Information

Improved depression screening and treatment among low-income pregnant and postpartum women following Medicaid expansion in the U.S.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Improved depression screening and treatment among low-income pregnant and postpartum women following Medicaid expansion in the U.S.

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