National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 10 of 10 Research Studies DisplayedSteenland MW, Wherry LR
Medicaid expansion led to reductions in postpartum hospitalizations.
The purpose of this study was to assess whether the Medicaid expansions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affected rates of postpartum hospitalization. The researchers compared states that did and did not expand Medicaid under the ACA as they related to changes in hospitalizations among birthing people with a Medicaid-financed delivery. The study found a 17% reduction in hospitalizations during the first 60 days postpartum associated with the Medicaid expansions, and evidence of a lesser decrease in hospitalizations between 61 days and 6 months postpartum. The researchers concluded that Medicaid coverage expansion under the ACA resulted in improved postpartum health for low-income birthing people.
AHRQ-funded; HS027464.
Citation: Steenland MW, Wherry LR .
Medicaid expansion led to reductions in postpartum hospitalizations.
Health Aff 2023 Jan; 42(1):18-25. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00819..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Medicaid, Hospitalization, Maternal Care, Women, Health Insurance, Access to Care
Moriya AS, Chakravarty S
AHRQ Author: Moriya AS
Racial and ethnic disparities in preventable hospitalizations and ED visits five years after ACA Medicaid expansions,.
This AHRQ-authored paper examined whether the 2014 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansions mitigated existing racial or ethnic disparities in preventable hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits. The authors used inpatient data from twenty-nine states and ED data from twenty-six states for the period 2011 to 2018. They found that Medicaid expansions decreased disparities in preventable hospitalizations and ED visits between non-Hispanic Black and White nonelderly adults by 10 percent or more. There were no significant effects on disparities between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White nonelderly adults. Their findings highlight sustained improvements in community-level care for non-Hispanic Black populations, but also suggest access barriers experienced by Hispanic adults that need to be addressed beyond Medicaid eligibility expansion.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Moriya AS, Chakravarty S .
Racial and ethnic disparities in preventable hospitalizations and ED visits five years after ACA Medicaid expansions,.
Health Aff 2023 Jan; 42(1):26-34. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00460..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Emergency Department, Hospitalization, Disparities, Medicaid, Health Insurance, Access to Care
Bronstein JM, Huang L, Shelley JP
Primary care visits and ambulatory care sensitive diabetes hospitalizations among adult Alabama Medicaid beneficiaries.
This retrospective cohort study described patterns of care use for Alabama Medicaid adult beneficiaries with diabetes and the association of primary care utilization and ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) diabetes hospitalizations. Alabama Medicaid claims data from January 2010 to April 2018 for 52, 549 covered adults aged 19-64 with diabetes was analyzed. Individuals were categorized by demographics, comorbidities, and health care use. Characteristics of the cohort with and without ACS hospitalization was reported. One third of the cohort had at least one ACS diabetes hospitalization over the observed periods. Hospital users tended to have multiple ACS hospitalizations as well as more comorbidities and pharmaceutical and other types of care use than those with no ACS hospitalizations. Having a primary care visit in one year was significantly associated with a reduced likelihood of ACS hospitalization in the following year.
AHRQ-funded; HS023009.
Citation: Bronstein JM, Huang L, Shelley JP .
Primary care visits and ambulatory care sensitive diabetes hospitalizations among adult Alabama Medicaid beneficiaries.
Prim Care Diabetes 2022 Feb;16(1):116-21. doi: 10.1016/j.pcd.2021.10.005..
Keywords: Diabetes, Hospitalization, Medicaid, Primary Care
Chow JY, Nijhawan AE, Mathews WC
Hospitalization rates among persons with HIV who gained Medicaid or private insurance after the Affordable Care Act in 2014.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether gaining inpatient healthcare coverage had an effect on hospitalization rates among persons with HIV following implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2014. Hospitalization data from 2015 were obtained on adults receiving longitudinal care at HIV clinics; all patients were previously uninsured and supported by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) in 2013. Findings showed that acquiring inpatient coverage was not associated with a change in hospitalization rates.
AHRQ-funded; 290201100007C.
Citation: Chow JY, Nijhawan AE, Mathews WC .
Hospitalization rates among persons with HIV who gained Medicaid or private insurance after the Affordable Care Act in 2014.
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2021 Jun 1;87(2):776-80. doi: 10.1097/qai.0000000000002645..
Keywords: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hospitalization, Medicaid, Health Insurance, Access to Care, Policy
Kayle M, Valle J, Paulukonis S
Impact of Medicaid expansion on access and healthcare among individuals with sickle cell disease.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether Medicaid expansion in California, increased Medicaid enrollment, increased hydroxyurea prescriptions filled, and decreased acute healthcare utilization in sickle cell disease (SCD). Findings showed that Medicaid expansion did not appear to have improved enrollment or acute healthcare utilization among individuals with SCD in California. Recommendations included future studies exploring whether individuals with SCD transitioned to other insurance plans or became uninsured post-expansion, the underlying reasons for low hydroxyurea utilization, and the lack of effect on hospital admissions despite a modest effect on emergency department visits.
AHRQ-funded; HS023011; HS025297.
Citation: Kayle M, Valle J, Paulukonis S .
Impact of Medicaid expansion on access and healthcare among individuals with sickle cell disease.
Pediatr Blood Cancer 2020 May;67(5):e28152. doi: 10.1002/pbc.28152..
Keywords: Sickle Cell Disease, Medicaid, Access to Care, Healthcare Utilization, Medication, Hospitalization, Health Insurance
Pickens G, Karaca Z, Cutler E
AHRQ Author: Karaca Z, Wong HS
Changes in hospital inpatient utilization following health care reform.
The purpose of this retrospective study was to estimate the effects of 2014 Medicaid expansions on inpatient outcomes using population and unemployment data from HCUP’s State Inpatient Databases. Outcomes included total admissions, referral-sensitive surgical and preventable admissions, length of stay, cost, and severity of patient illness. The authors conclude that Medicaid expansions did not change all-payer admission volumes, but expansions were associated with increased Medicaid and decreased uninsured volumes. The results of the study suggest that previously uninsured persons with a greater need for inpatient services were the most likely to gain coverage.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded.
Citation: Pickens G, Karaca Z, Cutler E .
Changes in hospital inpatient utilization following health care reform.
Health Serv Res 2018 Jun 30;53(4):2446-69. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12734..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospitalization, Inpatient Care, Medicaid, Policy
Burns ME, Huskamp HA, Smith JC
The effects of the transition from Medicaid to Medicare on health care use for adults with mental illness.
The researchers estimated the effect of dual coverage after Medicaid enrollment during the required waiting period among adults with serious mental illness on health care use, overall and related to mental health and substance use disorders. They found that after 12 months of dual coverage, the probability of outpatient care use increased in both states from 4 percent to 9 percent.
AHRQ-funded; HS018577.
Citation: Burns ME, Huskamp HA, Smith JC .
The effects of the transition from Medicaid to Medicare on health care use for adults with mental illness.
Med Care 2016 Sep;54(9):868-77. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000572.
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Keywords: Behavioral Health, Medicaid, Medicare, Hospitalization, Healthcare Utilization
Rosenthal MB, Landrum MB, Robbins JA
Pay for performance in Medicaid: evidence from three natural experiments.
This study examined the impact of pay for performance in Medicaid on the quality and utilization of care. Primary outcomes of interest were Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS)-like process measures of quality, utilization by service category, and ambulatory care-sensitive admissions and emergency department visits. Its findings were mixed, with no measurable quality improvements across the three states (Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Alabama), but reductions in hospital admissions in two programs.
AHRQ-funded.
Citation: Rosenthal MB, Landrum MB, Robbins JA .
Pay for performance in Medicaid: evidence from three natural experiments.
Health Serv Res 2016 Aug;51(4):1444-66. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12426.
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Keywords: Medicaid, Payment, Provider Performance, Healthcare Utilization, Quality of Care, Hospitalization, Emergency Department
Hellinger FJ
AHRQ Author: Hellinger FJ
In four ACA expansion states, the percentage of uninsured hospitalizations for people with HIV declined, 2012-14.
This study examines the influence of the Affordable Care Act's optional state Medicaid expansion on insurance coverage and health outcomes for hospitalized patients with HIV. It found that the percentage of hospitalizations of uninsured people with HIV in the four expansion states fell from 13.7 percent to 5.5 percent in the study period, while the percentage in the two nonexpanding states increased from 14.5 percent to 15.7 percent.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Hellinger FJ .
In four ACA expansion states, the percentage of uninsured hospitalizations for people with HIV declined, 2012-14.
Health Aff 2015 Dec;34(12):2061-8. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0718..
Keywords: Policy, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Hospitalization, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Medicaid, Uninsured
Trudnak T, Kelley D, Zerzan J
AHRQ Author: Jiang HJ
Medicaid admissions and readmissions: understanding the prevalence, payment, and most common diagnoses.
The authors characterized acute care hospital admissions and thirty-day readmissions in the Medicaid population through a retrospective analysis in nineteen states. They found that Medicaid readmissions were both prevalent and costly, and that they represented 12.5 percent of Medicaid payments for all hospitalizations, with the most prevalent diagnostic categories being mental and behavioral disorders and diagnoses related to pregnancy, childbirth, and their complications.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 29020090015C.
Citation: Trudnak T, Kelley D, Zerzan J .
Medicaid admissions and readmissions: understanding the prevalence, payment, and most common diagnoses.
Health Aff 2014 Aug;33(8):1337-44. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0632.
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Hospitalization, Medicaid, Hospital Readmissions