Dataset Information

Auditing Access to Outpatient Rehabilitation Services for Children With Traumatic Brain Injury and Public Insurance in Washington State.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:To identify insurance-based disparities in access to outpatient pediatric neurorehabilitation services. DESIGN:Audit study with paired calls, where callers posed as a mother seeking services for a simulated child with history of severe traumatic brain injury and public or private insurance. SETTING:Outpatient rehabilitation clinics. PARTICIPANTS:Sample of rehabilitation clinics (N=287): 195 physical therapy (PT) clinics, 109 occupational therapy (OT) clinics, 102 speech therapy (ST) clinics, and 11 rehabilitation medicine clinics. INTERVENTIONS:Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Acceptance of public insurance and the number of business days until the next available appointment. RESULTS:Therapy clinics were more likely to accept private insurance than public insurance (relative risk [RR] for PT clinics, 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22-1.44; RR for OT clinics, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.24-1.57; and RR for ST clinics, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.25-1.62), with no significant difference for rehabilitation medicine clinics (RR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.90-1.34). The difference in median wait time between clinics that accepted public insurance and those accepting only private insurance was 4 business days for PT clinics and 15 days for ST clinics (P?.001), but the median wait time was not significantly different for OT clinics or rehabilitation medicine clinics. When adjusting for urban and multidisciplinary clinic statuses, the wait time at clinics accepting public insurance was 59% longer for PT (95% CI, 39%-81%), 18% longer for OT (95% CI, 7%-30%), and 107% longer for ST (95% CI, 87%-130%) than that at clinics accepting only private insurance. Distance to clinics varied by discipline and area within the state. CONCLUSIONS:Therapy clinics were less likely to accept public insurance than private insurance. Therapy clinics accepting public insurance had longer wait times than did clinics that accepted only private insurance. Rehabilitation professionals should attempt to implement policy and practice changes to promote equitable access to care.

SUBMITTER: Fuentes MM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5522775 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Auditing Access to Outpatient Rehabilitation Services for Children With Traumatic Brain Injury and Public Insurance in Washington State.

Fuentes Molly M MM Thompson Leah L Quistberg D Alex DA Haaland Wren L WL Rhodes Karin K Kartin Deborah D Kerfeld Cheryl C Apkon Susan S Rowhani-Rahbar Ali A Rivara Frederick P FP

Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation 20170123 9

<h4>Objective</h4>To identify insurance-based disparities in access to outpatient pediatric neurorehabilitation services.<h4>Design</h4>Audit study with paired calls, where callers posed as a mother seeking services for a simulated child with history of severe traumatic brain injury and public or private insurance.<h4>Setting</h4>Outpatient rehabilitation clinics.<h4>Participants</h4>Sample of rehabilitation clinics (N=287): 195 physical therapy (PT) clinics, 109 occupational therapy (OT) clinic ...[more]

PMID: 28126353

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Project description:ImportanceMany US children and adolescents with mental and behavioral health (MBH) conditions do not access MBH services. One contributing factor is limited insurance coverage, which is influenced by state MBH insurance parity legislation.ObjectiveTo investigate the association of patient-level factors and the comprehensiveness of state MBH insurance legislation with perceived poor access to MBH care and perceived inadequate MBH insurance coverage for US children and adolescents.Design, setting, and participantsThis retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using responses by caregivers of children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years with MBH conditions in the National Survey of Children's Health and State Mental Health Insurance Laws Dataset from 2016 to 2019. Data analyses were conducted from May 2022 to January 2024.ExposureMBH insurance legislation comprehensiveness defined by State Mental Health Insurance Laws Dataset (SMHILD) scores (range, 0-7).Main outcomes and measuresPerceived poor access to MBH care and perceived inadequacy of MBH insurance were assessed. Multivariable regression models adjusted for individual-level characteristics.ResultsThere were 29 876 caregivers of children and adolescents with MBH conditions during the study period representing 14 292 300 youths nationally (7 816 727 aged 12-17 years [54.7%]; 8 455 171 male [59.2%]; 292 543 Asian [2.0%], 2 076 442 Black [14.5%], and 9 942 088 White [69.6%%]; 3 202 525 Hispanic [22.4%]). A total of 3193 caregivers representing 1 770 492 children and adolescents (12.4%) perceived poor access to MBH care, and 3517 caregivers representing 1 643 260 of 13 175 295 children and adolescents (12.5%) perceived inadequate MBH insurance coverage. In multivariable models, there were higher odds of perceived poor access to MBH care among caregivers of Black (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.35; 95% CI, 1.04-1.75) and Asian (aOR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.01-2.84) compared with White children and adolescents. As exposures to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increased, the odds of perceived poor access to MBH care increased (aORs ranged from 1.68; 95%, CI 1.32-2.13 for 1 ACE to 4.28; 95% CI, 3.17-5.77 for ≥4 ACEs compared with no ACEs). Compared with living in states with the least comprehensive MBH insurance legislation (SMHILD score, 0-2), living in states with the most comprehensive legislation (SMHILD score, 5-7) was associated with lower odds of perceived poor access to MBH care (aOR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.63-0.99), while living in states with moderately comprehensive legislation (score, 4) was associated with higher odds of perceived inadequate MBH insurance coverage (aOR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.01-1.49).Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, living in states with the most comprehensive MBH insurance legislation was associated with lower odds of perceived poor access to MBH care among caregivers for children and adolescents with MBH conditions. This finding suggests that advocacy for comprehensive mental health parity legislation may promote improved child and adolescent access to MBH services.

Dataset Information

Auditing Access to Outpatient Rehabilitation Services for Children With Traumatic Brain Injury and Public Insurance in Washington State.

Publications

Auditing Access to Outpatient Rehabilitation Services for Children With Traumatic Brain Injury and Public Insurance in Washington State.

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