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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
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1 to 3 of 3 Research Studies DisplayedChua KP, Fendrick AM, Conti RM
Out-of-pocket spending for deliveries and newborn hospitalizations among the privately insured.
The authors estimated national data on out-of-pocket spending across the childbirth episode, including both deliveries and newborn hospitalizations, using national commercial claims data. They found that, during 2016–2019, privately insured families paid $3000 out-of-pocket for maternal and newborn hospitalizations, with out-of-pocket spending exceeding $5000 for 1 in 6 families. They recommended that clinicians counsel privately insured families concerning their childbirth benefits.
Citation: Chua KP, Fendrick AM, Conti RM .
Out-of-pocket spending for deliveries and newborn hospitalizations among the privately insured.
Pediatrics 2021 Jul;148(1):e2021050552. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-050552..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Labor and Delivery, Pregnancy, Healthcare Costs
Chua KP, Fendrick AM, Conti RM
Prevalence and magnitude of potential surprise bills for childbirth.
This research letter describes a cross-sectional study that examined surprise bills that are received for childbirths and newborn hospitalizations, and whether new legislation to protect families from surprise bills would have a benefit. The authors analyzed 2019 data from Optum’s deidentified Clinformatics Data Mart and identified families with an in-network delivery in 2019 that could be linked to 1 or more in-network newborn hospitalization that was covered by the same family plan. The analysis included 95,384 families, and of those 17,949 (18.8%) had 1 or more potential surprise bill for the delivery, newborn hospitalization(s), or both. The median total liability for potential surprise bills was $744 for 6417 families, with total liability exceeding $2000. Among 32,203, and 63,181 deliveries with and without 1 or more cesarean delivery, 6594 (20.5%) and 5597 (8.9%) had 1 or more potential surprise bill, with a median liability of $1825 respectively. For 5970 and 90,991 newborn hospitalizations with or without 1 or more neonatal intensive care claim, 15.5% and 8.9% had 1 or more potential surprise bill, with a median liability of $1282 and $262 respectively. While this study was limited by lack of information whether these families actually received surprise bills, the findings suggest that federal protections against surprise bills could benefit many families.
AHRQ-funded; HS025465.
Citation: Chua KP, Fendrick AM, Conti RM .
Prevalence and magnitude of potential surprise bills for childbirth.
JAMA Health Forum 2021 Jul; 2(7):e211460. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.1460..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Maternal Care, Newborns/Infants, Hospitalization
Chen HF, Rose AM, Waisbren S
Newborn screening and treatment of phenylketonuria: projected health outcomes and cost-effectiveness.
This study’s objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of newborn screening and treatment for phenylketonuria (PKU) in the context of new data on adherence to a recommended diet treatment and a newly available drug (sapropterin dihydrochloride). A computer simulation model was developed to project outcomes for a hypothetical cohort of newborns which compared four strategies. The strategies compared were: 1) clinical identification (CI) with diet treatment; 2) newborn screening (NBS) with diet treatment; 3) CI with diet and medication; and 4) NBS with diet and medication. The range of incremental cost-effectiveness ratio went from $6400/QALY for newborn screening with diet treatment compared to clinical identification with diet treatment up to $16,000,000/QALY for adding medication to NBS with diet treatment. Future research is needed to consider conditions under which sapropterin dihydrochloride would be more economically attractive.
AHRQ-funded; HS020644.
Citation: Chen HF, Rose AM, Waisbren S .
Newborn screening and treatment of phenylketonuria: projected health outcomes and cost-effectiveness.
Children 2021 May 12;8(5). doi: 10.3390/children8050381..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Neurological Disorders, Screening, Healthcare Costs