546 Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Burn Outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S112-S113
Author(s):  
Jamie Oh ◽  
Amali Fernando ◽  
Stephen Sibbett ◽  
Gretchen J Carrougher ◽  
Barclay T Stewart ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction With changes in insurance coverage after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014, we aim to analyze the impact of Medicaid expansion on clinical outcomes and patient disposition after burn injury. We hypothesize that with increased insurance coverage, more patients are discharged to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) or rehabilitation center. Methods Under IRB approval, we reviewed trauma registry data for patients with burn injuries admitted to a regional burn center from 2011 to 2018. Patients were grouped into two categories: before (2011–2014) and after (2015–2018) ACA; we excluded data from 2014 to serve as a washout period. Outcomes of interest were length of hospital stay controlled for burn size (LOS/TBSA), number of complications, patient disposition (Home, SNF, or Rehab), and mortality. Chi square analysis and student t-tests were performed to determine differences between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression including age, sex, race, distance from medical center, burn size, and etiology of the burn as covariates were used to determine the impact of ACA implementation on patient disposition. Results Inpatient mortality rates did not change following ACA implementation. Average LOS/TBSA and number of complications increased, which may be due to increased average age, burn size, and distance from the burn center after ACA. Fewer patients were discharged home and more patients were sent to rehabilitation centers and SNF, which may relate to more patients being insured. Even after adjusting for covariates, discharge to inpatient rehabilitation was significantly increased and discharge to a SNF approached significance. Conclusions Since ACA implementation, there has been no change in mortality after a burn injury, but an increase in average LOS and complication rates, consistent with increased injury severity. Rates of discharge to rehab centers and SNF improved with the increase in overall insurance coverage in the burn population. Applicability of Research to Practice This work highlights changes in patient outcomes with ACA implementation and can help to guide understanding of health disparity and resource utilization in this population.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia M Nogueira ◽  
Neetu Chawla ◽  
Xuesong Han ◽  
Ahmedin Jemal ◽  
K Robin Yabroff

Abstract The dependent coverage expansion (DCE) and Medicaid expansions (ME) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may differentially affect eligibility for health insurance coverage in young adult cancer patients. Studies examining temporal patterns of coverage changes in young adults following these policies are lacking. We used data from the National Cancer Database 2003–2015 to conduct a quasi-experimental study of cancer patients ages 19–34 years, grouped as DCE-eligible (19- to 25-year-olds) and DCE-ineligible (27- to 34-year-olds). Although private insurance coverage in DCE-eligible cancer patients increased incrementally following DCE implementation (0.5 per quarter; P < .001), an immediate effect on Medicaid coverage gains was observed after ME in all young adult cancer patients (3.01 for DCE-eligible and 1.62 for DCE-ineligible, both P < .001). Therefore, DCE and ME each had statistically significant and distinct effects on insurance coverage gains. Distinct temporal patterns of ACA policies’ impact on insurance coverage gains likely affect patterns of receipt of cancer care. Temporal patterns should be considered when evaluating the impact of health policies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. e92-e102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haley A. Moss ◽  
Laura J. Havrilesky ◽  
S. Yousuf Zafar ◽  
Gita Suneja ◽  
Junzo Chino

Purpose: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) aimed to increase insurance coverage through key provisions such as expansion of Medicaid eligibility and enforcement of an individual mandate. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of the ACA on insurance rates among patients newly diagnosed with colon, lung, or breast cancer. Methods: Using the SEER database, patients younger than age 65 years diagnosed with colon, lung, or breast cancer between 2008 and 2014 were identified. Insurance rates were examined before versus after passage of the ACA (2011) and before (2011 to 2013) versus after (2014) Medicaid expansion in nine expansion states and five nonexpansion states. Difference-in-differences models were used to estimate the differential impact of ACA in expansion compared with nonexpansion states. Results: A total of 414,085 patients with known insurance status were diagnosed with colon, lung, or breast cancer between 2008 and 2014. For all cancer types, there was a significant increase in patients enrolled in Medicaid after 2011 in expansion states. Between 2011 to 2013 and 2014, in patients living in states with Medicaid expansion, the uninsured rates decreased by ≥ 50% among patients with a new diagnosis of lung and colon cancer (6.5% in 2011 to 2013 to 3.1% in 2014 and 6.8% in 2011 to 2013 to 3.4% in 2014, respectively; P < .001); the uninsured rate decreased to a lesser degree for patients with breast cancer (2.7% in 2011 to 2013 to 1.6% in 2014; P < .001). This decrease in the rate of uninsured patients was absent in patients living in nonexpansion states. Conclusion: The ACA resulted in expanded insurance coverage for patients diagnosed with colon, lung, and breast cancer. However, the impact was only observed in states that increased their Medicaid eligibility.


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica J. Messersmith ◽  
Lindsey Jorgensen

Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) impacts the profession of audiology beyond individual audiology practice patterns in the clinic. The legislation and further required implementation of the ACA may dictate coverage of audiologic services and devices now and into the future. Audiologic (re)habilitative services and devices have not historically been covered and are unlikely included in benchmark plans. Under the current language of the ACA, states without mandated coverage of hearing healthcare prior to 2011 will face significant challenges in creating mandates. Arguments for including audiologic services and devices as an Essential Health Benefit (EHB) include quality care, improved patient outcomes, and improved consistency in coverage patterns across the United States. Due to the limited definition of EHB from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and loopholes in plans required to follow ACA guidelines, it is very possible that the inconsistencies across plans and states may increase and that financial repercussions at the state level may hinder passage of state-level mandated coverage of hearing healthcare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (28_suppl) ◽  
pp. 76-76
Author(s):  
Leticia Nogueira ◽  
Ahmedin Jemal ◽  
Xuesong Han ◽  
K. Robin Yabroff

76 Background: Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act is associated with gains in health insurance coverage and a shift towards earlier stage diagnosis among patients with cancer. However, the association between Medicaid expansion and cancer mortality has not been well characterized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of Medicaid expansion with changes in early mortality, defined as death within 30 days after major NSCLC surgery, among adults discharged following major surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a setting where access to care is a major determinant of death. Methods: Of the 11,627 patients selected from the National Cancer Database who were aged 45-64 (more likely to be diagnosed and die from NSCLC and not age-eligible for Medicare coverage) and were discharged from the hospital following major surgery for treatment of NSCLC between 2009 and 2018, 7,294 patients lived in expansion states and 4,333 lived in non-expansion states. Differences-in-differences (DD) analyses were used to evaluate the impact of Medicaid expansion on early mortality pre-(2009- 2013) and post-ACA (2014- 2018). Results: Early mortality among patients discharged from the hospital following NSCLC surgery statistically significantly decreased from 2.4% pre-ACA to 0.8% post-ACA among patients in Medicaid expansion states (1.6 percentage point decrease, p <.0001), but not in patients living in non-expansion states (from 2.1% to 1.6%, p = 0.2), leading to a DD of 1.1 percentage points (95% Confidence Interval = 0.1, 2.1; p = 0.03). Conclusions: This study found a decrease in early mortality following hospital discharge after NSCLC surgery post-ACA among patients living in Medicaid expansion states and no change in patients residing in non-expansion states. Medicaid expansion may be an effective strategy for improving access to care and cancer outcomes among older adults who are not age-eligible for Medicare.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document