Dataset Information

Medicaid expansion and the Medicaid undercount in the American Community Survey.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:To measure discordance between aggregate estimates of means-tested coverage from the American Community Survey (ACS) and administrative counts and examine the association of discordance with ACA Medicaid expansion. DATA SOURCES:2010-2016 ACS and counts of Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program enrollment from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. STUDY DESIGN:State-by-year counts of means-tested coverage from the ACS were compared to administrative counts using percentage differences. Discordance was compared for states that did and did not adopt expansion using difference-in-differences. We then contrasted the effect of expansion on means-tested coverage estimated from the ACS with results from administrative data. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION:Survey and administrative data. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:One year before expansion there was a 0.8 and 4 percent overcount in expansion and nonexpansion states, respectively. By 2016, there was a 10.64 percent undercount in expansion states vs a 0.02 percent undercount in nonexpansion states. The ACS suggests that expansion increased means-tested coverage in the full population by three percentage points, relative to five percentage points suggested by administrative records. CONCLUSIONS:Discordance between the ACS and administrative records has increased over time. The ACS underestimates the impact of Medicaid expansion, relative to administrative counts.

SUBMITTER: Boudreaux M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6863241 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Medicaid expansion and the Medicaid undercount in the American Community Survey.

Boudreaux Michel M Noon James M JM Fried Brett B Pascale Joanne J

Health services research 20191010 6

<h4>Objective</h4>To measure discordance between aggregate estimates of means-tested coverage from the American Community Survey (ACS) and administrative counts and examine the association of discordance with ACA Medicaid expansion.<h4>Data sources</h4>2010-2016 ACS and counts of Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program enrollment from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.<h4>Study design</h4>State-by-year counts of means-tested coverage from the ACS were compared to administrati ...[more]

PMID: 31602631

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Project description:Importance:Medicaid expansion was widely expected to alleviate the financial stresses faced by hospitals by providing additional revenue in the form of Medicaid reimbursements from patients previously receiving uncompensated care. Among nonprofit hospitals, which receive tax-exempt status in part because of their provision of uncompensated care, Medicaid expansion could have released hospital funds toward other community benefit activities. Objective:To examine changes in nonprofit hospital spending on community benefit activities after Medicaid expansion. Design, Setting, and Participants:This cohort study used difference-in-differences analysis of 1666 US nonprofit hospitals that filed Internal Revenue Service Form 990 Schedule H detailing their community benefit expenditures between 2011 and 2017. The analysis was conducted from February to September 2019. Exposures:State Medicaid expansion between 2011 and 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures:Percentage of hospital operating expenditures attributable to charity care and subsidized care, bad debt (ie, unreimbursed spending for care of patients who did not apply for charity care), unreimbursed Medicaid spending, noncare direct community spending, and total community benefit spending. Results:Of 1478 hospitals in the sample in 2011, nearly half (653 [44.2%]) were small hospitals with fewer than 100 beds, and nearly 70% of hospitals (1023 [69.2%]) were in urban areas. Among the 1666 nonprofit hospitals, Medicaid expansion was associated with a decrease in spending on charity care and subsidized care (-0.68 [95% CI, -0.99 to -0.37] percentage points from a baseline mean [SD] of 3.6% [4.0%] of total hospital expenditures; P?<?.001) and in bad debt (-0.17 [95% CI, -0.32 to -0.01] percentage points). There was an increase in unreimbursed spending attributable to caring for Medicaid patients (0.85 [95% CI, 0.60 to 1.10] percentage points; P?=?.04), which canceled out uncompensated care savings from the expansion. Noncare direct community expenditures decreased overall (-0.24 [95% CI, -0.48 to 0.00] percentage points; P?=?.049). Direct community expenditures remained more stable in small hospitals (-0.07 [95% CI, -0.20 to 0.05] percentage points; P?=.26) compared with large hospitals (-0.37 [95% CI, -0.86 to 0.12] percentage points; P?=?.14) and in nonurban hospitals (0.02 [95% CI, -0.09 to 0.14] percentage points; P?=?.70) compared with urban hospitals (-0.36 [95% CI, -0.73 to 0.01] percentage points; P?=?.06). Conclusions and Relevance:In this study, Medicaid expansion was associated with a decrease in nonprofit hospitals' burden of providing uncompensated care, but this financial relief was not redirected toward spending on other community benefits.

Project description:The Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion created new financial opportunities for community health centers (CHCs) providing primary care in medically-underserved communities. However, beyond evidence of initial policy effects, little is understood in the scholarly literature about whether the ACA Medicaid expansion affected longer-lasting changes in CHC patient insurance mix. This study's objective was to examine whether the ACA Medicaid expansion was associated with lasting increases in the annual percentage of adult CHC patients covered by Medicaid and decreases in the annual percentage of uninsured adult CHC patients at expansion-state CHCs, compared to non-expansion-state CHCs. This observational study examined 5353 CHC-year observations from 2012 to 2018 using Uniform Data System data and other national data sources. Using a 2-way fixed-effects multivariable regression approach and marginal analysis, intermediate-term policy effects of the Medicaid expansion on annual CHC patient coverage outcomes were estimated. By 5-years post-expansion, the Medicaid expansion was associated with an overall average increase of 11.7 percentage points in the percentage of adult patients with Medicaid coverage at expansion-state CHCs, compared to non-expansion-state CHCs. Among expansion-state CHCs, 39.8% of adult patients were predicted to have Medicaid coverage 5-years post-expansion, compared to 19.0% of non-expansion-state adult CHC patients. A state's decision to expand Medicaid was similarly associated with decreases in the annual percentage of uninsured adult CHC patients. Primary care operations at CHCs critically depend on patient Medicaid revenue. These findings suggest the ACA Medicaid expansion may provide longer-term financial security for expansion-state CHCs, which maintain increases in Medicaid-covered adult patients even 5-years post-expansion. However, these financial securities may be jeopardized should the ACA be ruled unconstitutional in 2021, a year after CHCs experienced new uncertainties caused by COVID-19.

Project description:ImportancePhysical abuse and neglect affect a significant number of children in the United States. The 2014 Medicaid expansion, in which several states opted to expand their Medicaid programs, is associated with parental financial stability and access to mental health care.ObjectiveTo determine whether Medicaid expansion is associated with changes in physical abuse and neglect rates.Design, setting, and participantsThis ecological study used state-level National Child Abuse and Neglect Data Systems (NCANDS) data from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2016, to compare the change in physical abuse and neglect rates in states that chose to expand Medicaid vs those that did not. All cases of physical abuse and neglect of children younger than 6 years during the study period that were referred to state-level Child Protective Services and screened in for further intervention after having met a maltreatment risk threshold were included. Cases with only documented sexual or emotional abuse were excluded. A difference-in-difference analysis was conducted from April 12, 2018, through March 26, 2019.ExposuresState-level Medicaid expansion status.Main outcomes and measuresIncidence rate of screened-in referrals for physical abuse or neglect per 100 000 children younger than 6 years per year by state.ResultsData were analyzed for 31 states and the District of Columbia that expanded Medicaid and 19 states that did not during the study period, with baseline neglect counts of 646 463 and 388 265, respectively. After Medicaid expansion, 422 fewer cases of neglect per 100 000 children younger than 6 years (95% CI, -753 to -91) were reported each year after adjusting for confounders for comparison of postexpansion and preexpansion rates in states that expanded Medicaid contrasting with the change during that time in nonexpansion states. From 2013 to 2016, Medicaid coverage for adults with dependent children increased a median 1.9% (interquartile range, 0.4% to 4.3%) in the states that did not expand Medicaid and 4.2% (interquartile range, 0.9% to 6.0%) in the states that did. No associations were found between Medicaid coverage or Medicaid eligibility criteria and physical abuse or neglect rates.Conclusions and relevanceMedicaid expansion was associated with a reduction in the reported child neglect rate, but not the physical abuse rate. These findings suggest that expanding Medicaid may help prevent child neglect.

Project description:ImportanceUse of effective contraception decreases unintended pregnancy. It is not known whether Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act increased use of contraception for women who are underserved in the US health care safety net.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act with changes in use of contraception among patients at risk of pregnancy at US community health centers, with the hypothesis that Medicaid expansion would be associated with increases in use of the most effective contraceptive methods (long-acting reversible contraception).Design, setting, and participantsThis was a participant-level retrospective cross-sectional study comparing receipt of contraception before (2013) vs immediately after (2014) and a longer time after (2016) Medicaid expansion. Electronic health record data from a clinical research network of community health centers across 24 states were included. The sample included all female patients ages 15 to 44 years at risk for pregnancy, with an ambulatory care visit at a participating community health center during the study period (315 clinics in expansion states and 165 clinics in nonexpansion states).ExposuresMedicaid expansion status (by state).Main outcomes and measuresTwo National Quality Forum-endorsed contraception quality metrics, calculated annually: the proportion of women at risk of pregnancy who received (1) either a moderately effective or most effective method (hormonal and long-acting reversible contraception) methods and (2) the most effective method (long-acting reversible contraception).ResultsThe sample included 310 132 women from expansion states and 235 408 women from nonexpansion states. The absolute adjusted increase in use of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods was 0.58 (95% CI, 0.13-1.05) percentage points greater among women in expansion states compared with nonexpansion states in 2014 and 1.19 (95% CI, 0.41-1.96) percentage points larger in 2016. Among adolescents, the association was larger, particularly in the longer term (2014 vs 2013: absolute difference-in-difference, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.30-1.30] percentage points; 2016 vs 2013: absolute difference, 1.79 [95% CI, 0.88-2.70] percentage points). Women from expansion states who received care at a Title X clinic had the highest percentage of women receiving most effective contraceptive methods compared with non-Title X clinics and nonexpansion states.Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, Medicaid expansion was associated with an increase in use of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods among women at risk of pregnancy seeking care in the US safety net system, and gains were greatest among adolescents.

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Medicaid expansion and the Medicaid undercount in the American Community Survey.

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Medicaid expansion and the Medicaid undercount in the American Community Survey.

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