Healthcare Coinsurance Elasticity Coefficient Estimation Using Monthly Cross-sectional, Time-series Claims Data.

Published estimates of the healthcare coinsurance elasticity coefficient have typically relied on annual observations of individual healthcare expenditures even though health plan membership and expenditures are traditionally reported in monthly units and several studies have stressed the need for demand models to recognize the episodic nature of healthcare. Summing individual healthcare expenditures into annual observations complicates two common challenges of statistical inference, heteroscedasticity, and regressor endogeneity. This paper estimates the elasticity coefficient using a monthly panel data model that addresses the heteroscedasticity and endogeneity problems with relative ease. Healthcare claims data from employees of King County, Washington, during 2005 to 2011 were used to estimate the mean point elasticity coefficient: -0.314 (0.015 standard error) to -0.145 (0.015 standard error) depending on model specification. These estimates bracket the -0.2 point estimate (range: -0.22 to -0.17) derived from the famous Rand Health Insurance Experiment. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Is distance to provider a barrier to care for medicaid patients with breast, colorectal, or lung cancer?

PURPOSE: Distance to provider might be an important barrier to timely diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients who qualify for Medicaid coverage. Whether driving time or driving distance is a better indicator of travel burden is also of interest. METHODS: Driving distances and times from patient residence to primary care provider were calculated for 3,917 breast, colorectal (CRC) and lung cancer Medicaid patients in Washington State from 1997 to 2003 using MapQuest.com. We fitted regression models of stage at diagnosis and time-to-treatment (number of days between diagnosis and surgery) to test the hypothesis that travel burden is associated with timely diagnosis and treatment of cancer. FINDINGS: Later stage at diagnosis for breast cancer Medicaid patients is associated with travel burden (OR = 1.488 per 100 driving miles, P= .037 and OR = 1.270 per driving hour, P= .016). Time-to-treatment after diagnosis of CRC is also associated with travel burden (14.57 days per 100 driving miles, P= .002 and 5.86 days per driving hour, P= .018). CONCLUSIONS: Although travel burden is associated with timely diagnosis and treatment for some types of cancer, we did not find evidence that driving time was, in general, better at predicting timeliness of cancer diagnosis and treatment than driving distance. More intensive efforts at early detection of breast cancer and early treatment of CRC for Medicaid patients who live in remote areas may be needed.

Short-term and long-term weight management results of a large employer-sponsored wellness program.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the weight management results of Healthy Incentives, an employer-sponsored wellness program started in 2006 by King County, Washington. METHODS: Changes in body mass index (BMI) and the percentages of those who lost 5% and 10% were compared for first-year participants, 5-year participants, and respondents to the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS). RESULTS: A total of 19,559 first-year participants lost weight on average, while the comparative MEPS sample gained weight, -0.80% versus 0.31% (P < 0.01). A total of 10,432 5-year participants also lost weight on average but not as much as during the first year, -0.47% versus -0.80% (P = 0.01). More obese first-year participants lost 5% of BMI than the MEPS sample, 28.5% versus 23.2% (P < 0.01). Thirty eight percent of obese 5-year participants lost 5%. CONCLUSIONS: Healthy Incentives achieved significant weight management benefits for both first-year and 5-year participants.

Cost effectiveness of a program to promote screening for cervical cancer in the Vietnamese-American population.

OBJECTIVES: To conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the cost effectiveness of a lay health worker-administered cervical cancer screening intervention for Vietnamese-American women. METHODS: The study group included 234 Vietnamese women in the Seattle, Washington area who had not received a Pap test in the last three years. Experimental group participants received a lay health worker home visit. The travel distance and time spent at each visit were recorded. Our trial end-point was Pap smear receipt within six months of randomization. Pap testing completion was ascertained through medical record reviews. RESULTS: For all Vietnamese women, regardless of their prior history of screening, the cost per intervention was $104.0 (95% CI: $89.6-$118.4). The change in quality-adjusted life days per intervention was 1.26 (95% CI: -5.43-7.96), resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $30,015 per quality-adjusted life year. The probability that the ICER exceeds $100,000 is 9.1%. CONCLUSIONS: The degree of cost effectiveness of such interventions is sensitive to the assumed duration of behavioral change and the participants' prior history of screening.

Sensitivity of administrative claims to identify incident cases of lung cancer: a comparison of 3 health plans.

BACKGROUND: Administrative claims are readily available, but their usefulness for identifying persons with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is relatively unknown, particularly for younger persons and those enrolled in Medicaid. OBJECTIVES: To determine the sensitivity of ICD-9-CM codes for identifying persons with NSCLC. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of insurance claims records linked to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry for the time period January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2005. Persons included in the sample were identified with NSCLC using SEER morphology and histology codes and were enrolled in a commercial health plan, Medicaid, or Medicare fee-for-service health plans in Washington State. The outcome measure was sensitivity, defined as the percentage of SEER-identified patients who were accurately identified as NSCLC cases using ICD-9-CM diagnoses (162.2, 162.3, 162.4, 162.5, 162.8, 162.9, or 231.2) recorded in any claim field in administrative claims data. We examined the influence of varying the number and timing of administrative codes in relation to the SEER cancer diagnosis date. In multivariate models, we examined the influence of age, sex, and comorbidity on sensitivity. RESULTS: The sensitivity of 1 medical claim including at least 1 ICD-9-CM code for identifying NSCLC within 60 days of diagnosis as documented in the SEER registry was 51.1% for Medicaid, 87.7% for Medicare, and 99.4% for commercial plan members. Sensitivity can improve at the expense of identifying a portion of patients who are 3 or more months from their true diagnosis date. In multivariate models, age, race, and noncancer comorbidity but not gender significantly influenced sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: Administrative claims are sensitive for identifying patients with new NSCLC in the commercial and Medicare plans. For Medicaid patients, linkage with cancer registry records is needed to conduct studies using administrative claims.

Attributing sources of variation in patients' experiences of ambulatory care.

BACKGROUND: Public reporting and pay-for-performance programs increasingly rely on patient experience data to evaluate individual physicians and guide quality improvement efforts. The extent to which performance variation is attributable to physicians versus other system-level units, however, remains unclear. METHODS: Using ambulatory care experience survey data from 61,839 patients of 1729 primary care physicians in California (response rate = 39.1%), this study assesses the proportion of explainable performance variation attributable to various organizational units in composite measures of physician-patient interaction, organizational features of care, and global assessments of care. For each measure, multilevel regression models that controlled for respondent characteristics and used random effects to account for the clustering of patients within physicians, physicians within care sites, care sites within medical groups, and medical groups within primary care service areas, estimated the proportion of explainable performance variation attributable to each system-level unit. RESULTS: System-level factors explained between 27.9% to 47.7% of variation, with the highest proportion explained for the access to care composite and the lowest explained for the quality of chronic care composite. Physicians accounted for the largest proportion of explainable variance for all measures (range: 35.1%-49.0%). Care sites and primary care service areas explained substantial proportions of variance (>20% each) for the access to care and care coordination measures. Medical groups explained the largest proportions of variation (>20%) for global assessments of care. CONCLUSIONS: Individual physicians and their care sites are the most important foci for patient experience improvement efforts. Because markets contribute substantially to performance variation on organizational features of care, future research should clarify the extent to which associated performance deficits are modifiable.

The use of patient-reported outcomes instruments in registered clinical trials: evidence from ClinicalTrials.gov.

BACKGROUND: Investigators of clinical trials in which the list of outcomes include patient-reported outcomes (PROs) - usually labeled quality of life (QoL) - have a large number of instruments from which to choose. The extent and manner in which PRO instruments are used in clinical trials can be assessed using data from clinical trial registries. Most medical journals now require a clinical trial be registered before its results are considered for publication. This requirement is intended to discourage publication bias, such as the reporting of tests of hypotheses different from those stipulated at the start of the trial and selective reporting of partial results. PURPOSE: To assess the usage of PRO instruments in registered trials by various trial characteristics and to determine if the instruments are adequately identified in the registry. METHODS: A local copy of the ClinicalTrials.gov database was made in September 2007. The outcomes of all interventional trials registered since September 2004 were assessed for usage of a PRO instrument. Odds ratios of PRO usage were estimated by a logistic regression model. RESULTS: Of 17,704 interventional trials, 2481 (14.0%) used at least one PRO instrument. However, less than half of those trials (41.0%) identified the instrument to be used. PRO usage is positively associated with phase (III), randomization type (randomized), intervention type (behavior) and sponsorship type (university/research organization). CONCLUSIONS: PRO instruments are used in a significant percentage but minority of clinical trials. Trial registries should require that all PRO instruments be identified, including the concepts or outcomes they are intended to measure.

The effect of practitioner compensation on HMO consumer satisfaction.

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that a health maintenance organization (HMO) consumer's satisfaction depends on the way his or her health plan compensates practitioners. DESIGN: Consumer Assessment of Health Plans (CAHPS) survey data from 1999 and 2000 were provided by the Office of Public Insurance Counsel for the state of Texas. These data were combined with the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality measures of managed care health plans in Texas published by the Texas Health Care Information Council. METHODOLOGY: The study fitted the CAHPS survey data to an ordered-probit model. The dependent variable was customer satisfaction with the health plan, using a rating scale from 0-10. The independent variables included the percentage of health plan practitioners compensated with capitated fees, the percentage compensated with a bonus or withholding incentive, and other health plan and consumer characteristics. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Consumer satisfaction with HMOs is negatively correlated with the percentage of practitioners who are compensated on a capitated-fee basis and positively correlated with the percentage of practitioners compensated with a fee-withholding incentive (e.g., a fraction of fees that are withheld until specific quality and cost-control goals are reached). Neither the percentage compensated under a bonus incentive system nor the percentage of general practitioners with board certification correlated with HMO consumer satisfaction. CONCLUSION: A managed health plan's method of practitioner compensation can affect participant satisfaction in a predictable manner.