The Liquidity Sensitivity of Healthcare Consumption: Evidence from Social Security Payments.

Insurance is typically viewed as a mechanism for transferring resources from good to bad states. Insurance, however, may also transfer resources from high-liquidity periods to low-liquidity periods. We test for this type of transfer from health insurance by studying the distribution of Social Security checks among Medicare recipients. When Social Security checks are distributed, prescription fills increase by 6-12 percent among recipients who pay small copayments. We find no such pattern among recipients who face no copayments. The results demonstrate that more-complete insurance allows recipients to consume healthcare when they need it rather than only when they have cash.

Can Medicaid Expansion Prevent Housing Evictions?

Evictions are increasingly recognized as a serious concern facing low-income households. This study evaluated whether expansions of Medicaid can prevent evictions from occurring. We examined data from a privately licensed database of eviction records in fourteen states (286 counties) and used a difference-in-differences research design to compare rates of eviction before and after California's early Medicaid expansion (51 counties). Early Medicaid expansion in California was associated with a reduction in the number of evictions, with 24.5 fewer evictions per month in each county from a pre-expansion average of 224.7. These results imply that for every thousand new Medicaid enrollees in California, Medicaid expansion was associated with roughly twenty-two fewer evictions per year. Additionally, we found a 2.9-percentage-point reduction in evictions per capita associated with early expansion. The effects were concentrated among counties with the highest pre-expansion rates of uninsurance. We conclude that health insurance coverage is associated with improved housing stability.

The Effects of the ACA Medicaid Expansion on Nationwide Home Evictions and Eviction-Court Initiations: United States, 2000-2016.

Objectives. To evaluate the effect of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansions on national rates of home eviction and eviction initiation in the United States.Methods. Using nationally representative administrative data from The Eviction Lab at Princeton University, we estimated the effects of the ACA Medicaid expansions on county-level evictions and filings from 2000 to 2016 with a difference-in-difference regression design.Results. We found that Medicaid expansions were associated with an annual reduction in the rate of evictions by 1.15 per 1000 renter-occupied households (P < .001), a reduction of 1.59 eviction filings per 1000 renter-occupied households (P < .001), and a reduction in the average number of evictions by 46 (P < .05). We found additional evidence that increasing rates of African American residents in a county was associated with a greater rate of evictions filed, and increased rates of poverty and rent burdens relative to income were associated with more evictions both filed and completed.Conclusions. Evictions decreased after Medicaid expansion, demonstrating further evidence of the substantive financial protections afforded by this coverage. The reduction in the eviction filing rate suggests that Medicaid expansion could be reducing evictions by preventing the court proceeding entirely.

Early Medicaid Expansion Associated With Reduced Payday Borrowing In California.

We examined the impact of California's early Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act on the use of payday loans, a form of high-interest borrowing used by low- and middle-income Americans. Using a data set for the period 2009-13 (roughly twenty-four months before and twenty-four months after the 2011-12 Medicaid expansion) that covered the universe of payday loans from five large payday lenders with locations around the United States, we used a difference-in-differences research design to assess the effect of the expansion on payday borrowing, comparing trends in early-expansion counties in California to those in counties nationwide that did not expand early. The early Medicaid expansion was associated with an 11 percent reduction in the number of loans taken out each month. It also reduced the number of unique borrowers each month and the amount of payday loan debt. We were unable to determine precisely how and for whom the expansion reduced payday borrowing, since to our knowledge, no data exist that directly link payday lending to insurance status. Nonetheless, our results suggest that Medicaid reduced the demand for high-interest loans and improved the financial health of American families.

Association between survival time with metastatic breast cancer and aggressive end-of-life care.

PURPOSE: For women with stage IV breast cancer (BC), the association between survival time (ST) and use of aggressive end-of-life (EOL) care is unknown. METHODS: We used the SEER-Medicare database to identify women with stage IV BC diagnosed 2002-2011 who died by 12/31/2012. Aggressive EOL care was defined as receipt in the last month of life: >1 ED visit, >1 hospitalization, ICU admission, life-extending procedures, hospice admission within 3 days of death, IV chemotherapy within 14 days of death, and/or ≥10 unique physician encounters in the last 6 months of life. Receipt of aggressive EOL care and hospice in the last month of life were determined using claims, and multivariable analysis was used to identify factors associated with receipt. Costs of care were also evaluated. RESULTS: We identified 4521 eligible patients. Of these, 2748 (60.8%) received aggressive EOL care. Factors associated with aggressive EOL care were race (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.19-1.81 for blacks compared to whites) and more frequent oncology office visits (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.28-1.90). Patients who lived >12 months after diagnosis were less likely to receive aggressive EOL care (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.38-0.52), and more likely to utilize hospice (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.21-1.69) compared to patients who lived ≤6 months. Patients with a shorter ST had significantly higher costs of care per-month-alive compared to patients with longer ST. CONCLUSION: Patients with a shorter ST were more likely to receive aggressive EOL care and had higher costs of care compared to patients who lived longer.

Insurance Expansion and Hospital Emergency Department Access: Evidence From the Affordable Care Act.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about whether insurance expansion affects the location and type of emergency department (ED) use. Understanding these changes can inform state-level decisions about the Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the 2014 ACA Medicaid expansion on the location, insurance status, and type of ED visits. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental observational study from 2012 to 2014. SETTING: 126 investor-owned, hospital-based EDs. PARTICIPANTS: Uninsured and Medicaid-insured adults aged 18 to 64 years. INTERVENTION: ACA expansion of Medicaid in January 2014. MEASUREMENTS: Number of ED visits overall, type of visit (for example, nondiscretionary or nonemergency), and average travel time to the ED. Interrupted time-series analyses comparing changes from the end of 2013 to end of 2014 for patients from Medicaid expansion versus nonexpansion states were done. RESULTS: There were 1.06 million ED visits among patients from 17 Medicaid expansion states, and 7.87 million ED visits among patients from 19 nonexpansion states. The EDs treating patients from Medicaid expansion states saw an overall 47.1% decrease in uninsured visits (95% CI, -65.0% to -29.3%) and a 125.7% (CI, 89.2% to 162.6%) increase in Medicaid visits after 12 months of ACA expansion. Average travel time for nondiscretionary conditions requiring immediate medical care decreased by 0.9 minutes (-6.2% [CI, -8.9% to -3.5%]) among all Medicaid patients from expansion states. We found little evidence of similar changes among patients from nonexpansion states. LIMITATION: Results reflect shifts in ED care at investor-owned facilities, which limits generalizability to other hospital types. CONCLUSION: Meaningful changes in insurance status and location and type of ED visits in the first year of ACA Medicaid expansion were found, suggesting that expansion provides patients with a greater choice of hospital facilities. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Impact of Medicare Part D on the Proportion of Out-of-Pocket Prescription Drug Costs Among Older Adults With Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of Medicare Part D on reducing the financial burden of prescription drugs in older adults with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data (2000-2011), interrupted time series and difference-in-difference analyses were used to examine out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs in 4,664 Medicare beneficiaries (≥65 years of age) compared with 2,938 younger, non-Medicare adults (50-60 years) with diabetes and to estimate the causal effects of Medicare Part D. RESULTS: Part D enrollment of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes gradually increased from 45.7% (2006) to 52.4% (2011). Compared with years 2000-2005, out-of-pocket pharmacy costs decreased by 13.5% (SE 2.1) for all Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes following Part D implementation; on average, Part D beneficiaries had 5.3% (0.8) lower costs compared with those without Part D. Compared with a younger group with diabetes, out-of-pocket pharmacy costs decreased by 19.4% (1.7) for Medicare beneficiaries after Part D. Part D beneficiaries with diabetes who experienced the coverage gap decreased from 60.1% (2006) to 40.9% (2011) over this period. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that although Medicare Part D has been effective in reducing the out-of-pocket cost burden of prescription drugs, approximately two out of five Part D beneficiaries with diabetes experienced the coverage gap in 2011. Future research is needed to examine the impact of Affordable Care Act provisions to close the coverage gap on the cost burden of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes.

The START Study to evaluate the effectiveness of a combination intervention package to enhance antiretroviral therapy uptake and retention during TB treatment among TB/HIV patients in Lesotho: rationale and design of a mixed-methods, cluster-randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) early during tuberculosis (TB) treatment increases survival; however, implementation is suboptimal. Implementation science studies are needed to identify interventions to address this evidence-to-program gap. OBJECTIVE: The Start TB Patients on ART and Retain on Treatment (START) Study is a mixed-methods, cluster-randomized trial aimed at evaluating the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and acceptability of a combination intervention package (CIP) to improve early ART initiation, retention, and TB treatment success among TB/HIV patients in Berea District, Lesotho. DESIGN: Twelve health facilities were randomized to receive the CIP or standard of care after stratification by facility type (hospital or health center). The CIP includes nurse training and mentorship, using a clinical algorithm; transport reimbursement and health education by village health workers (VHW) for patients and treatment supporters; and adherence support using text messaging and VHW. Routine data were abstracted for all newly registered TB/HIV patients; anticipated sample size was 1,200 individuals. A measurement cohort of TB/HIV patients initiating ART was recruited; the target enrollment was 384 individuals, each to be followed for the duration of TB treatment (6-9 months). Inclusion criteria were HIV-infected; on TB treatment; initiated ART within 2 months of TB treatment initiation; age ≥18; English- or Sesotho-speaking; and capable of informed consent. The exclusion criterion was multidrug-resistant TB. Three groups of key informants were recruited from intervention clinics: early ART initiators; non/late ART initiators; and health care workers. Primary outcomes include ART initiation, retention, and TB treatment success. Secondary outcomes include time to ART initiation, adherence, change in CD4+ count, sputum smear conversion, cost-effectiveness, and acceptability. Follow-up and data abstraction are complete. DISCUSSION: The START Study evaluates a CIP targeting barriers to early ART implementation among TB/HIV patients. If the CIP is found effective and acceptable, this study has the potential to inform care for TB/HIV patients in high-burden, resource-limited countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Risk of Bankruptcy among Applicants to Disability Insurance.

BACKGROUND: Poor health can lead to financial instability and, eventually, bankruptcy. We examined how entrance into the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program was associated with bankruptcy filings among those who had a disability and applied to the SSDI program. METHODS: We merged dockets from U.S. bankruptcy courts that cover 2000 through 2009 to administrative records on all SSDI applicants from 2000 through 2003 (adults aged > 18, N = 1,500,607). We estimated logistic regression models for bankruptcy declaration within one year of the decision to allow applicants onto the SSDI program. RESULTS: Being allowed onto the SSDI program was associated with a decreased risk of bankruptcy (adjusted odds ratio = 0.754). The association was negative and statistically significant for all age groups, including older applicants nearing eligibility for Medicare. CONCLUSIONS: The findings contribute to a growing body of research suggesting that increased aid to adults with a disability can reduce financial instability.

The Impact of Regionalization of Cystectomy on Racial Disparities in Bladder Cancer Care.

PURPOSE: Regionalization of surgical care has improved the quality of care for patients with bladder cancer. We explored whether regionalization has benefited white and black patients equally. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a New York State inpatient database to identify all patients who underwent cystectomy for bladder cancer from 1997 to 2011. Hospital volume was classified in quintiles based on the number of cystectomies performed in the first 5 years of the study. Logistic regression was done to assess the association between race and low volume/very low volume hospitals. Racial disparities were further characterized using stratification by time and by the racial composition of the patient community. RESULTS: A total of 8,168 patients treated with cystectomy for bladder cancer were included in analysis. Compared with white race, black race was associated with a higher likelihood of low volume/very low volume hospital use (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.26-2.02). The disparity was most prominent in 2002 to 2006 (OR 2.51, 95% CI 1.64-3.85) but it did not persist in 2007 to 2011 (OR 1.46, 95% CI 0.92-2.32). Black patients living in a black community had the highest likelihood of low volume/very low volume hospitalization during all periods of increased regionalization (2002 to 2006 OR 4.14, 95% CI 1.84-9.34 and 2007 to 2011 OR 2.40, 95% CI 1.07-5.39). CONCLUSIONS: Regionalization of cystectomy transiently worsened the racial disparity in bladder cancer care, although the disparity did not persist with time. Specific efforts may be needed to address the consequences of regionalization in particularly vulnerable subpopulations, such as black patients who live in a black community where disparities have persisted.

What happens the morning after? The costs and benefits of expanding access to emergency contraception.

Emergency contraception (EC) can prevent pregnancy after sex, but only if taken within 72 hours of intercourse. Over the past 15 years, access to EC has been expanded at both the state and federal level. This paper studies the impact of those policies. We find that expanded access to EC has had no statistically significant effect on birth or abortion rates. Expansions of access, however, have changed the venue in which the drug is obtained, shifting its provision from hospital emergency departments to pharmacies. We find evidence that this shift may have led to a decrease in reports of sexual assault.