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Research Studies is a monthly compilation of research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers and recently published in journals or newsletters.
Results
1 to 23 of 23 Research Studies Displayed
Laiteerapong N, Kirby J, Gao Y
Health care utilization and receipt of preventive care for patients seen at federally funded health centers compared to other sites of primary care.
The investigators compared utilization and preventive care receipt among patients of federal Section 330 health centers (HCs) versus patients of other settings. They found that HC patients had fewer office visits and hospitalizations, were more likely to receive breast cancer screening, had fewer outpatient and emergency room visits, and were more likely to receive dietary advice compared to non-HC patients.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Laiteerapong N, Kirby J, Gao Y .
Health care utilization and receipt of preventive care for patients seen at federally funded health centers compared to other sites of primary care.
Health Serv Res 2014 Oct;49(5):1498-518. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12178.
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Keywords:
Community-Based Practice, Healthcare Delivery, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Prevention, Safety Net
Abdus S, Hudson J, Hill SC
Children's health insurance program premiums adversely affect enrollment, especially among lower-income children.
Using MEPS data, the authors showed that the relationship between premiums and coverage varies considerably by income level and by parental access to employer-sponsored insurance. They found that the increase in uninsurance is largest among children whose parents lack offers of employer coverage.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Abdus S, Hudson J, Hill SC .
Children's health insurance program premiums adversely affect enrollment, especially among lower-income children.
Health Aff 2014 Aug;33(8):1353-60. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0182.
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Keywords:
Children/Adolescents, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Healthcare Costs, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Low-Income
Sarpong EM
The impact of obesity on medication use and expenditures among nonelderly adults with asthma.
The author examined the impact of obesity on medication use and expenditures among nonelderly adults with asthma using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. He found that obese classes II/III individuals were more likely to have current asthma, seek treatment for asthma, use more medications, and have higher medication and health care expenditures compared with normal weight individuals. His results suggested that reduction in body weight may help reduce health resource use and expenditures for nonelderly adults with asthma.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Sarpong EM .
The impact of obesity on medication use and expenditures among nonelderly adults with asthma.
J Health Care Poor Underserved 2014 Aug;25(3):1245-61. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2014.0142.
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Keywords:
Asthma, Healthcare Costs, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Medication, Obesity
Manski RJ, Cohen LA, Brown E
Dental service mix among older adults aged 65 and over, United States, 1999 and 2009.
To establish a baseline and provide data for oral health workforce models, this report describes the types of dental procedures received by US adults 65 years and older in 2009 and looks at trends since 1999. It found that between 1999 and 2009, the proportion of preventive services significantly increased, whereas the proportion of restorative and endodontic services significantly decreased.
Citation:
Manski RJ, Cohen LA, Brown E .
Dental service mix among older adults aged 65 and over, United States, 1999 and 2009.
J Public Health Dent 2014 Sum;74(3):219-26. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12049..
Keywords:
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Dental and Oral Health, Healthcare Utilization
Ekwueme DU, Yabroff KR, Guy GP, Jr.
Medical costs and productivity losses of cancer survivors--United States, 2008-2011.
In order to estimate annual medical costs and productivity losses among male and female cancer survivors and persons without a cancer history, the CDC, along with other organizations, analyzed data from the 2008-2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and found that the economic burden of cancer survivorship is substantial among all survivors. These findings identified a need to develop and evaluate health and employment intervention programs aimed at improving outcomes for cancer survivors and their families.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Ekwueme DU, Yabroff KR, Guy GP, Jr. .
Medical costs and productivity losses of cancer survivors--United States, 2008-2011.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2014 Jun 13;63(23):505-10.
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Keywords:
Cancer, Healthcare Costs, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
McGuire TG, Newhouse JP, Normand SL
Assessing incentives for service-level selection in private health insurance exchanges.
The authors used MEPS data to measure plan incentives by constructing predictive ratios and by measuring incentives based on the predictability and predictiveness of various medical diagnoses. They found that, among the chronic diseases studied, plans have the greatest incentive to skimp on care for cancer, mental health, and substance abuse.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
McGuire TG, Newhouse JP, Normand SL .
Assessing incentives for service-level selection in private health insurance exchanges.
J Health Econ 2014 May;35:47-63. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2014.01.009.
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Keywords:
Chronic Conditions, Health Insurance, Health Status, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Bernard DM, Johansson P, Fang Z
Out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure burdens among nonelderly adults with hypertension.
The investigators examined the prevalence of high out-of-pocket burdens and self-perceived financial barriers to care among patients receiving hypertension treatment. They found that the prevalence of high total burdens was significantly greater for persons receiving treatment for hypertension compared with other chronically ill and well patients. Among hypertension patients with high total burdens, 15.7% said they were unable to get care and 13.6% said they delayed care due to financial reasons.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Bernard DM, Johansson P, Fang Z .
Out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure burdens among nonelderly adults with hypertension.
Am J Manag Care 2014 May;20(5):406-13.
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Keywords:
Healthcare Costs, Health Insurance, Hypertension, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Hill SC, Abdus S, Hudson JL
Adults in the income range for the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion are healthier than pre-ACA enrollees.
The investigators used MEPS data to compare nondisabled adults enrolled in Medicaid prior to the ACA with two other groups: adults who were eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled in it, and adults who were in the income range for the ACA's Medicaid expansion and thus newly eligible for coverage. They found that both the newly eligible and those eligible before the ACA but not enrolled were healthier on several measures than pre-ACA enrollees. They concluded that by expanding Medicaid eligibility, states could provide coverage to millions of healthier adults as well as to millions who have chronic conditions and who need care.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Hill SC, Abdus S, Hudson JL .
Adults in the income range for the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion are healthier than pre-ACA enrollees.
Health Aff 2014 Apr;33(4):691-9. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0743.
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Keywords:
Health Insurance, Policy, Health Status, Low-Income, Medicaid, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Cook BL, Zuvekas SH, Carson N
Assessing racial/ethnic disparities in treatment across episodes of mental health care.
The authors investigated disparities in mental health care episodes, aligning their analyses with decisions to start or drop treatment, and choices made during treatment. Using MEPS data, they found that, compared with whites, blacks and Latinos had less initiation and adequacy of care. Black and Latino episodes were shorter and had fewer psychotropic drug fills; black episodes had a greater proportion of specialist visits and Latino episodes had a greater proportion of primary care physician visits. Blacks were more likely to have an episode with acute psychiatric care.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Cook BL, Zuvekas SH, Carson N .
Assessing racial/ethnic disparities in treatment across episodes of mental health care.
Health Serv Res 2014 Feb;49(1):206-29. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12095.
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Keywords:
Disparities, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Behavioral Health, Practice Patterns, Racial / Ethnic Minorities
Meyerhoefer CD, Zuvekas SH, Manski R
The demand for preventive and restorative dental services.
The authors sought to examine the extent to which limited dental coverage and high out-of-pocket costs reduce dental service use by the nonelderly privately insured and uninsured. They concluded that dental coverage is an important determinant of preventive dental service use, but other nonprice factors related to consumer preferences, especially education, are equal if not stronger determinants.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Meyerhoefer CD, Zuvekas SH, Manski R .
The demand for preventive and restorative dental services.
Health Econ 2014 Jan;23(1):14-32. doi: 10.1002/hec.2899.
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Keywords:
Chronic Conditions, Dental and Oral Health, Health Insurance, Health Services Research (HSR), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
McGuire TG, Glazer J, Newhouse JP
Integrating risk adjustment and enrollee premiums in health plan payment.
Paying health plans from two different sources such as risk-adjusted payments from a regulator and premiums charged to individual enrollees raises issues in payment design for both Medicare Advantage plans and the new State-run exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. The primary purpose of this study is to demonstrate the versatility of least squares methods for risk adjustment in individual insurance markets with enrollee premiums.
AHRQ-authored
Citation:
McGuire TG, Glazer J, Newhouse JP .
Integrating risk adjustment and enrollee premiums in health plan payment.
J Health Econ. 2013 Dec;32(6):1263-77. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2013.05.002..
Keywords:
Healthcare Costs, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Medicare
Sarpong EM, Miller GE
Racial and ethnic differences in childhood asthma treatment in the United States.
The authors examined racial-ethnic differences in asthma controller medication use among insured U.S. children. They found that non-Hispanic black and Hispanic children were less likely to use controllers than non-Hispanic white children. They concluded that the large observed differences in controller use highlight the continuing challenges of ensuring that all U.S. children have access to quality asthma care.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Sarpong EM, Miller GE .
Racial and ethnic differences in childhood asthma treatment in the United States.
Health Serv Res 2013 Dec;48(6 Pt 1):2014-36. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12077.
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Keywords:
Asthma, Children/Adolescents, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Medication, Racial / Ethnic Minorities
Cohen SB, Rohde F, Yu W
Building wave response rates in a longitudinal survey:Essential for nonsampling error reduction or last in–first out?
This study examined the implications of a reduction in targeted first-round response rates in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a national health care survey designed to produce estimates of health care utilization, expenditures, and insurance coverage. Study findings revealed nonuniform results when evaluating the capacity of alternative design strategies to achieve precision targets while simultaneously satisfying data collection budget constraints for a variety of medical care expenditure estimates.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Cohen SB, Rohde F, Yu W .
Building wave response rates in a longitudinal survey:Essential for nonsampling error reduction or last in–first out?
Field Methods 2013 Nov;25(4):361-87. doi: 10.1177/1525822x13507863..
Keywords:
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Research Methodologies
Abdus S, Selden TM
Preventive services for adults: how have differences across subgroups changed over the past decade?
This study uses MEPS data to track changes over time in the distribution of preventive services use across groups defined by poverty status, race/ethnicity, insurance coverage, Census region, and urbanicity. The analysis found that differences across subgroups tended to persist over time, with some of the largest gaps between adults with and without coverage. Regional differences persisted or widened over the study period.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Abdus S, Selden TM .
Preventive services for adults: how have differences across subgroups changed over the past decade?
Med Care 2013 Nov;51(11):999-1007. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e3182a97bc0.
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Keywords:
Healthcare Utilization, Health Insurance, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Prevention, Social Determinants of Health
Levit KR, Friedman B, Wong HS
Estimating inpatient hospital prices from state administrative data and hospital financial reports.
The researchers developed a tool for estimating hospital-specific inpatient prices for major payers. They found that hospital prices can be reasonably estimated for 10 geographically diverse states. They further found that estimated prices compare well with Medicare, MarketScan private insurance, and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey prices for major payers, given limitations of each dataset.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded.
Citation:
Levit KR, Friedman B, Wong HS .
Estimating inpatient hospital prices from state administrative data and hospital financial reports.
Health Serv Res 2013 Oct;48(5):1779-97. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12065.
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Keywords:
Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospitalization, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Robin Yabroff K, Short PF, Machlin S
Access to preventive health care for cancer survivors.
The researchers evaluated the association between cancer survivorship and access to primary and preventive health care. They concluded that, although access and preventive care use in cancer survivors is generally equivalent or greater compared to that of other individuals, disparities for uninsured and publicly insured cancer survivors aged 18-64 years suggest that improvements in survivor care are needed.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Robin Yabroff K, Short PF, Machlin S .
Access to preventive health care for cancer survivors.
Am J Prev Med 2013 Sep;45(3):304-12. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.04.021.
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Keywords:
Access to Care, Cancer, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Prevention, Primary Care
Berdahl TA, Friedman BS, McCormick MC
Annual report on health care for children and youth in the United States: trends in racial/ethnic, income, and insurance disparities over time, 2002-2009.
Using MEPS and HCUP data, the authors examined trends in children's health access, utilization, and expenditures over time by race/ethnicity, income, and insurance status/expected payer. They found that disparities by race/ethnicity and income persist in access to and use of care, with Hispanic children experiencing progress in a number of measures, while black children did not.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Berdahl TA, Friedman BS, McCormick MC .
Annual report on health care for children and youth in the United States: trends in racial/ethnic, income, and insurance disparities over time, 2002-2009.
Acad Pediatr 2013 May-Jun;13(3):191-203. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2013.02.003.
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Keywords:
Children/Adolescents, Disparities, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Social Determinants of Health
Clancy CM, Chesley F, Dougherty D
Health care for children and youth in the United States: 13 years of evidence.
In this article, the authors discuss the 10th in a series of annual reports summarizing various dimensions of health care for children and youth in the United States. They cover the evolution of the reports and reflect on changes in and improvements to children's health services research.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Clancy CM, Chesley F, Dougherty D .
Health care for children and youth in the United States: 13 years of evidence.
Acad Pediatr 2013 May-Jun;13(3):181-3. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2013.03.012.
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Keywords:
Children/Adolescents, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Cohen SB, Cohen JW
The capacity of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to inform the Affordable Care Act.
The authors provided a summary of the capacity of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to inform program planning, implementation, and evaluations of program performance for several components of the Affordable Care Act.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Cohen SB, Cohen JW .
The capacity of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to inform the Affordable Care Act.
Inquiry 2013 May;50(2):124-34. doi: 10.1177/0046958013513678.
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Keywords:
Data, Healthcare Costs, Health Insurance, Policy, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Machlin SR, Soni A
Health care expenditures for adults with multiple treated chronic conditions: estimates from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2009.
The authors illustrated the usefulness of MEPS data for examining variations in medical expenditures for people with multiple chronic conditions (MCC). They found that the proportion of adults treated for MCC increased with age, with white non-Hispanic adults most likely and Hispanic and Asian adults least likely to be treated for MCC. Regardless of age or sex, hypertension and hyperlipidemia was the most common dyad among adults treated for MCC, and diabetes in conjunction with these 2 conditions was a common triad. They concluded that MEPS has the capacity to produce national estimates of health care expenditures associated with MCC.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Machlin SR, Soni A .
Health care expenditures for adults with multiple treated chronic conditions: estimates from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2009.
Prev Chronic Dis 2013 Apr 25;10:E63. doi: 10.5888/pcd10.120172.
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Keywords:
Cancer: Colorectal Cancer, Chronic Conditions, Healthcare Costs, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Pylypchuk Y, Sarpong EM
Comparison of health care utilization: United States versus Canada.
The purpose of this paper was to compare health care utilization between Canadian and U.S. residents. Findings showed that the poor and less educated were more likely to utilize health care in Canada than in the United States, while health care use for residents with high incomes and higher levels of education were not markedly different between the two countries and often higher for U.S residents. Also, foreign-born residents were more likely to use health care in Canada than in the United States.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Pylypchuk Y, Sarpong EM .
Comparison of health care utilization: United States versus Canada.
Health Serv Res 2013 Apr;48(2 Pt 1):560-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2012.01466.x.
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Keywords:
Health Services Research (HSR), Healthcare Utilization, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Social Determinants of Health
Miller GE, Selden TM
Tax subsidies for employer-sponsored health insurance: updated microsimulation estimates and sensitivity to alternative incidence assumptions.
Using MEPS data, the authors estimated 2012 tax expenditures for employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) in the United States and explored the sensitivity of estimates to assumptions regarding the incidence of employer premium contributions. They concluded that the aggregate value of the ESI tax subsidy and its distribution across firms can be reliably estimated using simplified incidence assumptions.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Miller GE, Selden TM .
Tax subsidies for employer-sponsored health insurance: updated microsimulation estimates and sensitivity to alternative incidence assumptions.
Health Serv Res 2013 Apr;48(2 Pt 2):866-83. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12037.
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Keywords:
Healthcare Costs, Health Insurance, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Abdus S, Selden TM
Adherence with recommended well-child visits has grown, but large gaps persist among various socioeconomic groups.
Using MEPS data, the authors examined trends in well-child visit adherence and whether differences across population subgroups narrowed or widened over time. They found that the ratio of actual to recommended visits rose, with large differences in adherence at the start of the study period across income, race or ethnicity, parent education, region, insurance coverage, and having a usual source of care. None of these differences had narrowed significantly by the end of the study period, and differences widened across parent education, between those with and without insurance coverage, by usual source of care, and between the Northeast and the Midwest and West regions.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Abdus S, Selden TM .
Adherence with recommended well-child visits has grown, but large gaps persist among various socioeconomic groups.
Health Aff 2013 Mar;32(3):508-15. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.0691.
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Keywords:
Children/Adolescents, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Prevention, Social Determinants of Health
