RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a health insurance disparity exists among pediatric patients with severe traumatic brain injury using the National Trauma Data Bank. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: National Trauma Data Bank, a dataset containing more than 800 trauma centers in the United States. PATIENTS: Pediatric patients (< 18 yr old) with a severe isolated traumatic brain injury were identified in the National Trauma Database (years 2007-2016). Isolated traumatic brain injury was defined as patients with a head Abbreviated Injury Scale score of 3+ and excluded those with another regional Abbreviated Injury Scale of 3+. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: Procedure codes were used to identify four primary treatment approaches combined into two classifications: craniotomy/craniectomy and external ventricular draining/intracranial pressure monitoring. Diagnostic criteria and procedure codes were used to identify condition at admission, including hypotension, Glasgow Coma Scale, mechanism and intent of injury, and Injury Severity Score. Children were propensity score matched using condition at admission and other characteristics to estimate multivariable logistic regression models to assess the associations among insurance status, treatment, and outcomes. Among the 12,449 identified patients, 91.0% (n = 11,326) had insurance and 9.0% (n = 1,123) were uninsured. Uninsured patients had worse condition at admission with higher rates of hypotension and higher Injury Severity Score, when compared with publicly and privately insured patients. After propensity score matching, having insurance was associated with a 32% (p = 0.001) and 54% (p < 0.001) increase in the odds of cranial procedures and monitor placement, respectively. Insurance coverage was associated with 25% lower odds of inpatient mortality (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with insured pediatric patients with a traumatic brain injury, uninsured patients were in worse condition at admission and received fewer interventional procedures with a greater odds of inpatient mortality. Equalizing outcomes for uninsured children following traumatic brain injury requires a greater understanding of the factors that lead to worse condition at admission and policies to address treatment disparities if causality can be identified.
Assuntos
Lesões Encefálicas Traumáticas/terapia , Cobertura do Seguro , Seguro Saúde , Criança , Bases de Dados como Assunto , Feminino , Humanos , Cobertura do Seguro/estatística & dados numéricos , Seguro Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Masculino , Pessoas sem Cobertura de Seguro de Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Pontuação de Propensão , Estudos Retrospectivos , Resultado do Tratamento , Estados UnidosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2010 and enacted in 2013 which improved insurance coverage across America due to increasing Medicaid eligibility as well as changes to individual insurance markets. In Arkansas, this was implemented by a Medicaid expansion waiver which allowed patients to purchase insurance with funds provided by the government to subsidize premiums through the marketplace. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Arkansas patients with peripheral arterial disease. METHODS: A pre-post research design using the Arkansas Hospital Discharge Dataset was used to study the impact of the ACA on limb amputation, distal bypass, discharge disposition, and total costs for patients diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease/atherosclerosis. The data were obtained for the years 2007 through 2009 (pre-ACA), 2011 through 2013 (post-ACA), and 2014 through 2015 (post-Arkansas expansion). Bivariate analysis, analysis of variance, and regression analyses were performed to analyze the data. RESULTS: A total of 10,923 patients were identified. Uninsured patients ("self-pay") decreased from 7% pre-ACA to 3.4% post-Arkansas expansion (P < 0.0001). There was a decrease in adjusted health-care costs after the Arkansas expansion (P < 0.0001). There was no change in mortality or transfer to rehabilitation facilities, but there was an increase in discharge to skilled nursing facilities along with a decrease in patients being discharged home (P < 0.0001). Regression analysis showed private insurance to be associated with a 49% reduction in the odds of an amputation (P < 0.0001). The Arkansas expansion was associated with a 26% reduction in the odds of an amputation when compared with that before the ACA implementation (P < 0.005). Having private insurance was associated with a 26% increase in the odds of having a bypass when compared with uninsured patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with private insurance have a decreased chance of amputation and increased odds of having a bypass when compared with patients who were of the self-pay category. The increase in private insurance coverage in our patient population could improve the rate of amputation in the vascular population in Arkansas by increasing early interventions for peripheral vascular disease.
Assuntos
Amputação Cirúrgica/tendências , Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde/tendências , Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act/tendências , Doença Arterial Periférica/cirurgia , Avaliação de Processos em Cuidados de Saúde/tendências , Procedimentos Cirúrgicos Vasculares/tendências , Amputação Cirúrgica/legislação & jurisprudência , Arkansas/epidemiologia , Bases de Dados Factuais , Feminino , Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde/legislação & jurisprudência , Humanos , Cobertura do Seguro/legislação & jurisprudência , Cobertura do Seguro/tendências , Salvamento de Membro/legislação & jurisprudência , Salvamento de Membro/tendências , Masculino , Pessoas sem Cobertura de Seguro de Saúde/legislação & jurisprudência , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act/legislação & jurisprudência , Doença Arterial Periférica/diagnóstico , Doença Arterial Periférica/epidemiologia , Avaliação de Processos em Cuidados de Saúde/legislação & jurisprudência , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fatores de Tempo , Resultado do Tratamento , Procedimentos Cirúrgicos Vasculares/legislação & jurisprudênciaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) and the Hospital Value-based Purchasing Program (HVBP) disproportionately penalized hospitals caring for the poor. The Mississippi Delta Region (Delta Region) is among the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in the United States. The financial performance of hospitals in the Delta Region under both HRRP and HVBP remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To compare the differences in financial performance under both HRRP and HVBP between hospitals in the Delta Region (Delta hospitals) and others in the nation (non-Delta hospitals). RESEARCH DESIGN: We used a 7-year panel dataset and applied difference-in-difference models to examine operating and total margin between Delta and non-Delta hospitals in 3 time periods: preperiod (2008-2010); postperiod 1 (2011-2012); and postperiod 2 (2013-2014). RESULTS: The Delta hospitals had a 0.89% and 4.24% reduction in operating margin in postperiods 1 and 2, respectively, whereas the non-Delta hospitals had 1.13% and 1% increases in operating margin in postperiods 1 and 2, respectively. The disparity in total margins also widened as Delta hospitals had a 1.98% increase in postperiod 1, but a 0.30% reduction in postperiod 2, whereas non-Delta hospitals had 1.27% and 2.28% increases in postperiods 1 and 2, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The gap in financial performance between Delta and non-Delta hospitals widened following the implementation of HRRP and HVBP. Policy makers should modify these 2 programs to ensure that resources are not moved from the communities that need them most.