Quality of Care for Chronic Conditions Among Disabled Medicaid Enrollees: An Evaluation of a 1915 (b) and (c) Waiver Program.
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ABSTRACT: Examining the impact of Medicaid-managed care home-based and community-based service (HCBS) alternatives to institutional care is critical given the recent rapid expansion of these models nationally.We analyzed the effects of STAR+PLUS, a Texas Medicaid-managed care HCBS waiver program for adults with disabilities on the quality of chronic disease care.We compared quality before and after a mandatory transition of disabled Medicaid enrollees older than 21 years from fee-for-service (FFS) or primary care case management (PCCM) to STAR+PLUS in 28 counties, relative to enrollees in counties remaining in the FFS or PCCM models.Person-level claims and encounter data for 2006-2010 were used to compute adherence to 6 quality measures. With county as the independent sampling unit, we employed a longitudinal linear mixed-model analysis accounting for administrative clustering and geographic and individual factors.Although quality was similar among programs at baseline, STAR+PLUS enrollees experienced large and sustained improvements in use of ?-blockers after discharge for heart attack (49% vs. 81% adherence posttransition; P<0.01) and appropriate use of systemic corticosteroids and bronchodilators after a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease event (39% vs. 68% adherence posttransition; P<0.0001) compared with FFS/PCCM enrollees. No statistically significant effects were identified for quality measures for asthma, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease.In 1 large Medicaid-managed care HCBS program, the quality of chronic disease care linked to acute events improved while that provided during routine encounters appeared unaffected.
SUBMITTER: Wegman MP
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4510474 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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