Dataset Information

Association Between State Medicaid Expansion and Emergency Access to Acute Care Hospitals in the United States.

ABSTRACT: Importance:State decisions not to expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could reduce emergency access to acute care hospitals. Objective:To determine the relationship between state Medicaid expansion and emergency access to acute care hospitals in the United States. Design, Setting, and Participants:This cross-sectional study linked hospital-level data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from 2007 to 2017 to US Census data for all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Geospatial analyses and difference-in-differences regression models were used to compare temporal changes in the size of the population without 30-minute access to acute care hospitals between 32 states that expanded Medicaid with the population without access in 19 that did not, before and after expansion. Analyses focused on the total population and those with low incomes; secondary analyses examined emergency access to safety-net hospitals. Exposures:State-level Medicaid expansion. Main Outcomes and Measures:Population without emergency access to an acute care hospital, defined as living outside a 30-minute drive of any hospital. Results:States that did not expand Medicaid experienced an increase in the population without access to hospitals overall (without expansion: 6.76% to 6.79% [0.03%]; vs with expansion: 5.65% to 5.35% [-0.30%]; difference-in-differences, 0.33%; 95% CI, 0.33%-0.34%; P?

SUBMITTER: Wallace DJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7670316 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Association Between State Medicaid Expansion and Emergency Access to Acute Care Hospitals in the United States.

Wallace David J DJ Donohue Julie M JM Angus Derek C DC Sabik Lindsay M LM Davis Billie B Yabes Jonathan J Kahn Jeremy M JM

JAMA network open 20201102 11

<h4>Importance</h4>State decisions not to expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could reduce emergency access to acute care hospitals.<h4>Objective</h4>To determine the relationship between state Medicaid expansion and emergency access to acute care hospitals in the United States.<h4>Design, setting, and participants</h4>This cross-sectional study linked hospital-level data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from 2007 to 2017 to US Census data for al ...[more]

PMID: 33196808

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Project description:Importance:In the United States, nonprofit hospitals receive tax-exempt status with the expectation that they provide a high level of benefit to local communities. Prior work has shown that Medicaid expansion reduced hospital spending on uncompensated care. Objective:To measure the association of tax-exempt hospital spending with community benefit and changes in uncompensated care after Medicaid expansion. Design, Setting, and Participants:This cohort study was performed using a difference-in-differences analysis (ie, a pre-post treatment-control design) to estimate changes in reported charitable categories associated with Medicaid expansion. Data from Internal Revenue Service form 990, Schedule H, tax filings for 2253 tax-exempt hospitals in the United States from 2012 to 2016 were used. Data were analyzed from June to November 2019. Exposure:The proportion of the hospital's tax filing that spanned the period after Medicaid expansion. Main Outcomes and Measures:Hospital-reported spending on uncompensated care, unreimbursed Medicaid expenses, and other community benefit spending categories. Results:Across 2253 hospitals, mean (SD) uncompensated care costs between 2012 and 2016 were $4.20 million ($8.80 million) and unreimbursed Medicaid expenses were $7.60 million ($18.62 million). Compared with tax-exempt hospitals in states that did not expand Medicaid, those in states that did expand Medicaid reported mean reductions in their provision of uncompensated care of $1.11 million (95% CI, $0.35 million to $1.87 million; P?<?.001), representing a mean change of -2% (95% CI, -6% to 2%; P?<?.001). These reductions have been offset by mean reported increases in the provision of unreimbursed Medicaid expenses of $1.63 million (95% CI, $0.31 million to $2.94 million; P?=?.02), representing a mean increase of 2% (95% CI, 1% to 4%; P?=?.01). Tax-exempt hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid reported no statistically significant mean increase in spending on other community benefit activities. Conclusions and Relevance:In this study, large decreases in uncompensated care among tax-exempt hospitals associated with Medicaid expansion were not accompanied by increases in other reportable categories of community health benefit spending. Instead, they were accompanied by increased spending on unreimbursed Medicaid expenses.

Project description:IntroductionCommunity health centers (CHCs) care for vulnerable patients who use tobacco at higher than national rates. States that expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provided insurance coverage to tobacco users not previously Medicaid-eligible, thereby potentially increasing their odds of receiving cessation assistance. We examined if tobacco users in Medicaid expansion states had increased quit rates, cessation medications ordered, and greater health care utilization compared to patients in non-expansion states.MethodsUsing electronic health record (EHR) data from 219 CHCs in 10 states that expanded Medicaid as of January 1, 2014, we identified patients aged 19-64 with tobacco use status documented in the EHR within 6 months prior to ACA Medicaid expansion and ≥1 visit with tobacco use status assessed within 24 months post-expansion (January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015). We propensity score matched these patients to tobacco users from 108 CHCs in six non-expansion states (n = 27 670 matched pairs; 55 340 patients). Using a retrospective observational cohort study design, we compared odds of having a quit status, cessation medication ordered, and ≥6 visits within the post-expansion period among patients in expansion versus non-expansion states.ResultsPatients in expansion states had increased adjusted odds of quitting (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-1.43), having a medication ordered (aOR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.44-1.62), and having ≥6 follow-up visits (aOR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.28-1.41) compared to patients from non-expansion states.ConclusionsIncreased access to insurance via the ACA Medicaid expansion likely led to increased quit rates within this vulnerable population.ImplicationsCHCs care for vulnerable patients at higher risk of tobacco use than the general population. Medicaid expansion via the ACA provided insurance coverage to a large number of tobacco users not previously Medicaid-eligible. We found that expanded insurance coverage was associated with increased cessation assistance and higher odds of tobacco cessation. Continued provision of insurance coverage could lead to increased quit rates among high-risk populations, resulting in improvements in population health outcomes and reduced total health care costs.

Project description:ImportanceMillions of Americans gained insurance through the state expansion of Medicaid, but several states with large populations of racial/ethnic minorities did not expand their programs.ObjectiveTo investigate the implications of Medicaid expansion for liver transplant (LT) wait-listing trends for racial/ethnic minorities.Design, setting, and participantsA cohort study was performed of adults wait-listed for LT using the United Network of Organ Sharing database between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2017. Poisson regression and a controlled, interrupted time series analysis were used to model trends in wait-listing rates by race/ethnicity. The setting was LT centers in the United States.Main outcomes and measures(1) Wait-listing rates by race/ethnicity in states that expanded Medicaid (expansion states) compared with those that did not (nonexpansion states) and (2) actual vs predicted rates of LT wait-listing by race/ethnicity after Medicaid expansion.ResultsThere were 75 748 patients (median age, 57.0 [interquartile range, 50.0-62.0] years; 48 566 [64.1%] male) wait-listed for LT during the study period. The cohort was 8.9% Black and 16.4% Hispanic. Black patients and Hispanic patients were statistically significantly more likely to be wait-listed in expansion states than in nonexpansion states (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.54 [95% CI, 1.44-1.64] for Black patients and 1.21 [95% CI, 1.15-1.28] for Hispanic patients). After Medicaid expansion, there was a decrease in the wait-listing rate of Black patients in expansion states (annual percentage change [APC], -4.4%; 95% CI, -8.2% to -0.6%) but not in nonexpansion states (APC, 0.5%; 95% CI, -4.0% to 5.2%). This decrease was not seen when Black patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) were excluded from the analysis (APC, 3.1%; 95% CI, -2.4% to 8.9%), suggesting that they may be responsible for this expansion state trend. Hispanic Medicaid patients without HCV were statistically significantly more likely to be wait-listed in the post-Medicaid expansion era than would have been predicted without Medicaid expansion (APC, 13.2%; 95% CI, 4.0%-23.2%).Conclusions and relevanceThis cohort study found that LT wait-listing rates have decreased for Black patients with HCV in states that expanded Medicaid. Conversely, wait-listing rates have increased for Hispanic patients without HCV. Black patients and Hispanic patients may have benefited differently from Medicaid expansion.

Project description:ImportanceMedicaid enrollees typically report worse access to care than other insured populations. Expansions in Medicaid through less restrictive income eligibility requirements and the resulting influx of new enrollees may further erode access to care for those already enrolled in Medicaid.ObjectiveTo assess the effect of previous Medicaid expansions on self-reported access to care and the use of emergency department services by Medicaid enrollees.Design, setting, and participantsQuasi-experimental difference-in-differences design among 1714 adult Medicaid enrollees in 10 states that expanded Medicaid between June 1, 2000, and October 1, 2009, and 5097 Medicaid enrollees in 14 bordering control states that did not expand Medicaid.Main outcomes and measuresSelf-reported access to care and annualized emergency department use.ResultsAmong states expanding their Medicaid program for adults, the mean income eligibility level increased from 82.6% to 144.2% of the federal poverty level. Income eligibility in matched control states remained constant at 77.1% of the federal poverty level. The proportion of adults reporting being enrolled in Medicaid increased from 7.2% to 8.8% in expansion states and from 6.1% to 6.4% in matched control states. In Medicaid program expansion states, the proportion of Medicaid enrollees reporting poor access to care declined from 8.5% before the expansion to 7.3% after the expansion. In matched control states, the proportion of Medicaid enrollees reporting poor access to care remained constant at 5.3%. The proportion of enrollees reporting any emergency department use decreased from 41.2% to 40.1% in expansion states and from 37.3% to 36.1% in matched control states. In the period following expansions, newly eligible enrollees reported poorer access to care than previously enrolled beneficiaries, although the overall difference between groups did not reach statistical significance.Conclusions and relevanceWe found no evidence that expanding the number of individuals eligible for Medicaid coverage eroded perceived access to care or increased the use of emergency services among adult Medicaid enrollees.

Dataset Information

Association Between State Medicaid Expansion and Emergency Access to Acute Care Hospitals in the United States.

Publications

Association Between State Medicaid Expansion and Emergency Access to Acute Care Hospitals in the United States.

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