Socioeconomic Disparities in Pediatric Single-Sided Deafness

2020 ◽  
Vol 163 (4) ◽  
pp. 829-834
Author(s):  
Noga Lipschitz ◽  
Gavriel D. Kohlberg ◽  
Michael Scott ◽  
Matthew M. Smith ◽  
John H. Greinwald

Objective To explore socioeconomic disparities in pediatric single-sided deafness (SSD) treatment. Study Design Retrospective chart review. Setting Tertiary referral academic center. Methods The charts of 190 pediatric patients with SSD were reviewed for demographic and clinical characteristics. Socioeconomic variables included race and insurance status. ZIP codes were used to obtain additional socioeconomic data from the American Community Survey, including mean and median income, percentage of families below the poverty level, and employment status. Socioeconomic status (SES) was classified by insurance status and income. Treatment outcomes were analyzed by socioeconomic variables. Results There were 105 males and 85 females with a mean follow-up of 55.2 months and a mean age at diagnosis of 4.4 years. Sixty-three percent of children received treatment at last follow-up. Thirty-five percent of children had public insurance and 65% had private insurance. Treatment rates were similar in the private and public insurance groups (60.6% vs 66.7%, P = .42), but device type was different between groups ( P = .02). Consistent device use was associated with private insurance (47.5% vs 38.9%, P = .003) and high SES (94.4% vs 80%, P = .04) on univariate but not on multivariate analysis. Aided audiometry results were similar between SES groups. No association was found between sex, race, income level, poverty level, or employment status and treatment outcomes. Conclusion Insurance type and SES were not associated with SSD treatment outcomes in children, although device use may be higher in children with private insurance and higher SES. Further research should focus on strategies to reduce barriers to treatment and improve adherence.

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e17012-e17012
Author(s):  
Samer Ali Srour ◽  
Michael Machiorlatti ◽  
Usman Bhutta ◽  
Namali Pierson ◽  
Mohamad Ali Cherry ◽  
...  

e17012 Background: The overall prognosis for most acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients remains poor. The majority of adult patients (pts) with AML will ultimately need allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT). Limited data is available comparing epidemiology and treatment outcomes between uninsured and insured pts with AML. We describe a retrospective analysis of adult pts with AML treated at our institution. Methods: From January 2000 to June 2011 we identified 239 pts with AML, of which 185 met inclusion criteria. Patients were classified as having private insurance, public insurance (Medicaid and Medicare), or no insurance. Primary outcomes were overall survival at follow up (OS), complete remission (CR), and percent of pts receiving allo-SCT. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate survival rates. Results: Of the 185 pts studied, 146 (81%) were white, 16 (9%) African-American and 11 (6%) were Native American. The median age at diagnosis was 49 years. 75 pts had private insurance at the time of diagnosis, 70 had public insurance, and 33 were uninsured. Of those receiving allo-SCT (n=60; 38 male) 48% had private insurance, 30% public, and 22% were uninsured. Whether a patient underwent allo-SCT did not differ according to insurance source (p=0.2189) nor to status at follow-up (p= 0.6480). The proportion of patients achieving CR was higher among those undergoing allo-SCT (p=0.0002). Median OS was 920 days for those who underwent allo-SCT and 192 days for those who did not (p< 0.0001). Median OS did not differ by insurance type (p = 0.1454). The proportion of patients achieving CR did not differ by insurance type (p=0.2665) (66.7% of those with private, 62.7% of those with public, and 78.8% of those with no insurance). Conclusions: For the population referred to our institution, a tertiary referral center for the state, there were no differences in treatment outcomes or in the percent of pts receiving allo-SCT when pts were stratified according to insurance source. Further analysis of this dataset will identify the impact of pretreatment variables stratified by type of insurance.


Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 98 (1 Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. S13.1-S13
Author(s):  
James Pate ◽  
Ian Cummins ◽  
Kasey Cooper ◽  
Marshall Chandler McLeod ◽  
Laura Ferrill ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine the association between insurance status and prevalence of follow up care at a tertiary referral center compared to the emergency department.BackgroundConcussions are extremely common in today's society, affecting patients of all demographic backgrounds. There is concern that public insurance status may affect follow up care at tertiary treatments centers compared to children with private insurance, as evidenced by Copley et al. who documented insurance disparities between children presenting to a sports medicine clinic with orthopedic injuries verses concussion.Design/MethodsWe compared insurance status of patients presenting to our pediatric concussion clinic to the insurance status of patients diagnosed with concussion at the emergency department of our tertiary hospital. From 2018 to 2019, 725 patients received an ICD-10 diagnosis code for concussion in our clinic. Patients were excluded if insurance status was not available for the clinic visit (4), or if they were lost to follow up (380). ICD-10 codes for concussion during the same period were recorded from the COA emergency department (ED). The insurance status was then recorded for each patient.ResultsOf the 345 patients included from the COA concussion clinic, 253 (73%) patients had private insurance while only 92 (27%) had public insurance. In comparison, of the 1,160 patients diagnosed with concussion in the COA ED, 642 (55%) patients had private insurance, 478 (41%) had public insurance, 37 (3.1%) were self-pay, and 3 (0.3%) were listed as “other.”ConclusionsThere is a significant difference in the insurance status of patients with concussion that present to the COA ED when compared to those presenting to concussion clinic. As a result, children with public insurance may have prolonged recovery and more significant symptoms burden compared to children with private insurance.


Author(s):  
Liying Song ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Baodong Chen ◽  
Tan Yang ◽  
Weiliang Zhang ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of insurance status with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. A total of 390,881 participants, aged 18–64 years and interviewed from 1997 to 2013 were eligible for a mortality follow-up in 31 December 2015. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate the hazards ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to determine the association between insurance status and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. The sample group cumulatively aged 4.22 million years before their follow-ups, with a mean follow-up of 10.4 years, and a total of 22,852 all-cause deaths. In fully adjusted models, private insurance was significantly associated with a 17% decreased risk of mortality (HR = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.80–0.87), but public insurance was associated with a 21% increased risk of mortality (HR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.15–1.27). Compared to noninsurance, private coverage was associated with about 21% lower CVD mortality risk (HR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.70–0.89). In addition, public insurance was associated with increased mortality risk of kidney disease, diabetes and CLRD, compared with noninsurance, respectively. This study supports the current evidence for the relationship between private insurance and decreased mortality risk. In addition, our results show that public insurance is associated with an increased risk of mortality.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000348942110157
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. McCoy ◽  
Ronak Dixit ◽  
R. Jun Lin ◽  
Michael A. Belsky ◽  
Amber D. Shaffer ◽  
...  

Objectives: Extensive literature exists documenting disparities in access to healthcare for patients with lower socioeconomic status (SES). The objective of this study was to examine access disparities and differences in surgical wait times in children with the most common pediatric otolaryngologic surgery, tympanostomy tubes (TT). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed at a tertiary children’s hospital. Children ages <18 years who received a first set of tympanostomy tubes during 2015 were studied. Patient demographics and markers of SES including zip code, health insurance type, and appointment no-shows were recorded. Clinical measures included risk factors, symptoms, and age at presentation and first TT. Results: A total of 969 patients were included. Average age at surgery was 2.11 years. Almost 90% were white and 67.5% had private insurance. Patients with public insurance, ≥1 no-show appointment, and who lived in zip codes with the median income below the United States median had a longer period from otologic consult and preoperative clinic to TT, but no differences were seen in race. Those with public insurance had their surgery at an older age than those with private insurance ( P < .001) and were more likely to have chronic otitis media with effusion as their indication for surgery (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2-2.5, P = .003). Conclusions: Lower SES is associated with chronic otitis media with effusion and a longer wait time from otologic consult and preoperative clinic to TT placement. By being transparent in socioeconomic disparities, we can begin to expose systemic problems and move forward with interventions. Level of Evidence: 4


Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Reaves Houston ◽  
Susan Keen ◽  
Chelsea Deitelzweig ◽  
Hannah Jones ◽  
Sarah Laible ◽  
...  

Introduction: Lack of health insurance is associated with reduced access to medical care and increased mortality. Chronic illness is associated with sudden death, a major cause of natural death. Insurance status of sudden death victims has not been characterized. Hypothesis: Uninsured compared to insured sudden death victims will have more chronic illnesses. Methods: From 2013-2015, emergency medical services-attended out of hospital deaths among ages 18-64 in Wake County, NC were screened to adjudicate sudden deaths. Medical records were reviewed for demographic, clinical, and health insurance status data. Insurance status was characterized as private, public, or no insurance. Cases were excluded from the analysis if no information on insurance was available. Comparisons of demographic and clinical characteristics were made between the three insurance status groups using Student’s t-test and ANOVA for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Results: Of 399 cases of sudden death, insurance status data was available for 130: 25 (19.2%) had no insurance, 62 (47.7%) had public insurance, 31 (23.8%) had private insurance, and 12 (9.2%) had insurance of unknown type. Uninsured victims had lower frequencies of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and chronic respiratory disease than those with private or public insurance, and lower frequencies of diabetes mellitus, mental illness, and substance abuse than those publicly insured (Table 1). No significant differences were found in coronary artery disease, age, gender, race, marital status, or years of education. Conclusion: Uninsured sudden death victims have less chronic illnesses than those insured. This counterintuitive finding suggests that uninsured sudden death victims have undiagnosed chronic illnesses that are treatable and preventable and contribute to their death. Our results suggest that expanding health insurance among working age adults may reduce the incidence of sudden death.


Hand ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 155894472091256
Author(s):  
Michael T. Scott ◽  
Allison L. Boden ◽  
Stephanie A. Boden ◽  
Lauren M. Boden ◽  
Kevin X. Farley ◽  
...  

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between insurance status and patient-reported pain both before and after upper extremity surgical procedures. We hypothesized that patients with Medicaid payer status would report higher levels of pre- and postoperative pain and report less postoperative pain relief. Methods: In all, 376 patients who underwent upper extremity procedures by a single surgeon at an academic ambulatory surgery center were identified. Patient information, including insurance status and Visual Analog Scale pain score (VAS-pain) at baseline, 2 weeks, and 1, 3, and 6 months, were collected. VAS-pain scores were compared with t-tests and linear regression. Results: Preoperatively and at 2-week, 1-month, and 3-month follow-up, Medicaid patients reported statistically significant higher pain levels than patients with Private insurance, finding a mean adjusted increase of 0.51 preoperatively, 0.39 at 1 month, and 0.79 at 3 months. Preoperatively and at 3-month follow-up, Medicaid patients reported statistically significant higher pain than patients with Medicare, finding increases in VAS-pain of 0.99 preoperatively and 0.94 at 3 months. There was no difference in pain improvement between any insurance types at any time point (all P values > .05). Conclusions: Patients with Medicaid report higher levels of preoperative pain and early postoperative pain, but reported the same improvement in pain as patients with other types of insurance. As healthcare systems are becoming increasingly dependent on patient-reported outcomes, including pain, it is important to consider that differences may exist in subjective pain depending on insurance status.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 01-06
Author(s):  
Anatoly Langer

Background: We compared the use of lipid lowering therapy, low density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and proportion achieving guideline-recommended LDL-C levels in patients with private vs. public insurance coverage for their lipid lowering treatment. Materials and Methods: Guidelines Oriented Approach to Lipid lowering (GOAL) Canada enrolled 2009 patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) or heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and an LDL-C above the guideline-recommended target of <2.0 mmol/L despite maximally tolerated statin therapy. During two follow-up visits physicians received online reminders of treatment recommendations. Results: Of 2009 patients enrolled (median age 63 years, 42% female), there were 1284 (64%) patients with private and 725 (36%) with public insurance for lipid lowering therapy. Patients with private insurance were younger and less likely to have a history of heart failure or to be on bile acid sequestrants. There was no difference between the groups in their lipid levels or lipid lowering therapy at baseline. During the follow up, there was no difference in the use of ezetimibe; however, the use of PCSK9i was more frequent in patients with private insurance (31.7 % vs. 21%, p<0.0001), the mean LDL-C level was slightly lower (2.11±1.17 vs. 2.31±1.17 mmol/L, p = 0.001), and the proportion of patients achieving the guideline-recommended LDL-C level was greater (54% vs. 45.5%, p = 0.001). After adjustment for other factors in a multivariable model, private insurance was not a significant predictor of achieving the guideline-recommended LDL-C level in a multivariable model. Conclusion: While PCSK9i use was higher in patients with private insurance, the majority of patients with either private or public insurance experienced similar treatment inertia. The cost of non-generic medications does not appear to be the dominant reason for the continued care gap in lipid lowering of high-risk patients.


Author(s):  
Kathleen A McManus ◽  
Karishma Srikanth ◽  
Samuel D Powers ◽  
Rebecca Dillingham ◽  
Elizabeth T Rogawski McQuade

Abstract Background While the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) supports high-quality HIV care, Medicaid enrollment provides access to non-HIV care. People living with HIV (PLWH) with Medicaid historically have low viral suppression (VS) rates. In a state with previously high Qualified Health Plan coverage of PLWH, we examined HIV outcomes by insurance status during the first year of Medicaid expansion (ME). Methods Participants were PLWH ages 18-63 who attended ≥1 HIV medical visit/year in 2018 and 2019. We estimated associations of sociodemographic characteristics with ME enrollment prevalence and associations between insurance status and engagement in care and VS. Results Among 577 patients, 151 (33%) were newly eligible for Medicaid, and 77 (51%) enrolled. Medicaid enrollment was higher for those with incomes &lt;100% Federal Poverty Level (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] 1.67; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00-1.86) compared to others. Controlling for age, income, and 2018 engagement, those with employment-based private insurance (adjusted risk difference [aRD] -8.5%, 95% CI -16.9-0.1) and Medicare (aRD -12.5%, 95% CI -21.2- -3.0) had lower 2019 engagement than others. For those with VS data (n=548), after controlling for age and baseline VS, those with Medicaid (aRD -4.0%, 95% CI -10.3-0.3) and with Medicaid due to ME (aRD -6.2%, 95% CI -14.1- -0.8) were less likely to achieve VS compared with others. Conclusions Given that PLWH who newly enrolled in Medicaid had high engagement in care, the finding of lower VS is notable. The discordance may be due to medication access gaps associated with changes in medication procurement logistics.


Blood ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (21) ◽  
pp. 2274-2274
Author(s):  
Bilal Ahmad ◽  
Hossein Maymani ◽  
Haseeb Saeed ◽  
Mohamad Khawandanah ◽  
Samer A Srour ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: In patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), insurance status has not been demonstrated to adversely impact outcomes. However, insurance status appears to be an independent factor in healthcare utilization. University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) is the main tertiary hospital in the State of Oklahoma treating patients with acute leukemia. We hypothesized that treatment patterns might be different between the insured and uninsured patients. We hereby attempt to analyze the association between insurance status, week day of admission and outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients from January 2000 to June 2012 diagnosed with AML over 18 years of age, who were treated at OUHSC with induction chemotherapy. Patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 included patients who were admitted on weekdays (Monday-Thursday) and group 2 included patients admitted on weekends (Friday-Sunday). Patients were also sub-classified as having private insurance, public insurance (Medicaid and Medicare) or no insurance. Primary outcomes were overall survival at follow up (OS), complete remission (CR) and Relapse. Chi-Square analysis was utilized to assess if day of admission and insurance status was related to OS, CR and Relapse. Cox Proportional hazards model was used to measure association of insurance status, day of admission and their interaction and Kaplan Meir Survival curves were used to estimate survival rates for day of admission by insurance status. Results: We analyzed total of 161 patients, 157 met inclusion criteria with 69 (44%) having public insurance, 58 (37%) with private insurance and 30 (19%) were uninsured. Group 1 with 94 (60%) patients was admitted on weekdays (Monday–Thursday), and group 2 with 63 (40%) patients was admitted on weekend (Friday-Sunday). The median age at diagnosis was 49 years, 63.7% male 36.3% female. 77.0% white, 10.6% African American, 6.2% Native American and 3.7% Hispanic. We found a significant interaction between insurance status and day of admission, 63% of uninsured patients being admitted on weekend (Fri-Sun) with (p-value=0.0292). When we stratified patients by insurance status there was no difference in survival outcomes for uninsured patients based on day of admission. However, for patients with insurance who were admitted on weekdays Mon-Thurs (Group 1) had a hazard ratio (HR) of death 0.487 relative to those on weekends Fri-Sun (Group 2) (p=0.0238). Median overall survival (OS) for uninsured patients in (Group 2) was 147.5 days (95% CI=79-252) as compare to insured patients in (Group 1) 252 days (95% CI=116-459) with a P value 0.0182. The proportion of patients achieving CR did not differ by day of admission (p=0.3275) and insurance type (0.5678). Relapse was not associated with day of admission (p=0.2284) or by insurance type (p=0.4057). Conclusions: For the patients with the diagnosis of AML who presented to our institution, there was a noticeable trend of uninsured patients being admitted over the weekend. The overall survival was lower for the uninsured patients who were admitted on the weekend as compare to the insured patients who were admitted on weekdays. This trend is both noteworthy and significant and due to its possible impact on standard of care warrants further investigation. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Restaino ◽  
Xuemei Zhang ◽  
Kimberly Y Lin ◽  
Joseph Rossano ◽  
Danielle Burstein ◽  
...  

Background: Pediatric heart transplantation (HT) is resource-intensive. Adult studies have shown an increase in the proportion of adult HT funded by public insurance with outcomes inferior to those with private coverage. Trends in the funding of pediatric HT and associations with outcomes in children have not been described. Methods: We queried the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database for patients less than 18 years of age, listed for and undergoing HT from 1994 to 2018. We identified primary payer at listing (TCR), transplant (TRR), 1 year follow up, and between 1-5 years following HT. Trends in primary payer were analyzed using generalized logit regression. Cox regression was used to evaluate the impact of insurance on survival. Results: An increase in the proportion of patients with public insurance at the time of HT was observed. Forty eight percent of HT patients in 1994 and 59% in 2018 were publicly insured (P<0.0001). Eight percent of patients changed from private to public insurance between TCR and TRR, and 15% transitioned from private to public from TRR to 1 year post-HT. Of those who changed insurance at one year follow up, 57% transitioned from private to public insurance. For patients undergoing HT, unadjusted long-term survival was worse for patients with public insurance (P <0.0001). When adjusted for age and region, black race (HR 1.57, P <0.001) and age 13-17y (HR 1.44, P<0.0001) were independently associated with mortality. When evaluating outcomes based on change of insurance and adjusting for age and region, age 13-17y (ref <1y, HR 2.3 P <0.0001), white race (ref. black race, HR 0.54, P <0.0001), continuous public insurance (ref continuous private insurance, HR 1.49, P <0.0001), and transition to public insurance (ref continuous private insurance, HR 1.37, P<0.007) were associated with increased mortality. Conclusion: There has been a statistically significant trend towards increasing public insurance for patients awaiting, at the time of, and after HT. Patients that maintain or transition to public insurance following transplant have worse long term outcomes. As the number of patients undergoing HT with public insurance funding continues to increase, understanding of how insurance status impacts long-term outcomes is important.


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