Evaluating A Nonemergency Medical Transportation Benefit For Accountable Care Organization Members

Transportation Justice and Health

Policy Points The health care sector is increasingly investing in social conditions, including availability of safe, reliable, and adequate transportation, that contribute to improving health. In this paper, we suggest ways to advance the impact of transportation interventions and highlight the limitations of how health services researchers and practitioners currently conceptualize and use transportation. Incorporating a transportation justice framework offers an opportunity to address transportation and mobility needs more comprehensively and equitably within health care research, delivery, and policy.

TRansit ACessibility Tool (TRACT): Developing a novel scoring system for public transportation system accessibility

Introduction

Although federal laws require equal access to public transportation for people with disabilities, access barriers persist. Lack of sharing accessibility information on public transportation websites restricts people with disabilities from making transportation plans and effectively using public transportation systems. This project aims to document information provided about public transportation systems accessibility and share this information using an open data platform.

Methods

We reviewed the top twenty-six public transportation systems in the United States based on federal funding in fiscal year 2020. Information about accessibility was abstracted from each public transportation system website by two independent reviewers from February-March 2022. Informed by universal design principles, public transportation systems were scored across six dimensions: facility accessibility (0-22 points), vehicle accessibility (0-11 points), inclusive policies (0-12 points), rider accommodations (0-9 points), paratransit services (0-6 points), and website accessibility (0-2 points). Total scores were calculated as the sum of each dimension (0-62 points). Data and findings were publicly disseminated (https://disabilityhealth.jhu.edu/transitdashboard/).

Results

The average overall accessibility information score was 31.9 (SD=6.2) out of 62 possible points. Mean scores were 8.4 (SD=2.9) for facility accessibility, 4.5 (SD=2.1) for vehicle accessibility, 7.8 (SD=1.6) for inclusive policies, 4.9 (SD=1.6) for rider accommodations, 4.5 (SD=2.0) for paratransit services, and 1.8 (SD=0.4) for website accessibility. Eleven public transportation systems (42%) received the maximum score for paratransit services and 20 (77%) received the maximum score for website accessibility. No public transportation system received the maximum score for any of the other dimensions.

Conclusions

Using a novel scoring system, we found significant variation in the accessibility information presented on public transportation system websites. Websites are a primary mode where users obtain objective information about public transportation systems and are therefore important platforms for communication. Absence of accessibility information creates barriers for the disability community and restricts equal access to public transportation.

Essential not Supplemental: Medicare Advantage Members' Use of Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)

BACKGROUND

Over five million people in the USA miss or delay medical care because of a lack of transportation. Transportation barriers are especially relevant to Medicare Advantage (MA) health plan enrollees, who are more likely to live with multiple chronic conditions and experience mobility challenges. Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) helps to address transportation gaps by providing rides to and from routine medical care (for example, medical appointments, laboratory tests, and pharmacy visits) and has been added as a supplemental benefit to some MA health plans.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to characterize MA enrollees' experiences with supplemental NEMT benefits.

DESIGN

Qualitative interviews focused on participants' experiences with existing NEMT benefits, transportation, and mobility.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-one MA enrollees who used their MA NEMT benefit in 2019 and who remained eligible for ongoing transportation benefits through 2021.

APPROACH

Using purposive sampling from a list of eligible participants, we recruited individuals who used their MA NEMT benefit in 2019 and who remained eligible for benefit-covered transportation services through 2021.

KEY RESULTS

Participants considered NEMT an essential service, particularly because these services helped them decrease social isolation, reduce financial insecurity, and manage their own medical needs. Navigating logistical challenges associated with arranging NEMT services required participants to commit considerable time and energy and limited the effectiveness and reliability of NEMT.

CONCLUSION

Participants described NEMT as a valued service essential to their ability to access health care. They suggested ways to increase service flexibility and reliability that could inform future NEMT policy and practice. As health systems and payers learn how to best address social risks, particularly as the US population ages, our findings underscore the importance of NEMT services and highlight opportunities to advance comprehensive transportation solutions for MA participants.

Estimated Costs of Intervening in Health-Related Social Needs Detected in Primary Care

Importance

Health-related social needs are increasingly being screened for in primary care practices, but it remains unclear how much additional financing is required to address those needs to improve health outcomes.

Objective

To estimate the cost of implementing evidence-based interventions to address social needs identified in primary care practices.

Design, Setting, and Participants

A decision analytical microsimulation of patients seen in primary care practices, using data on social needs from the National Center for Health Statistics from 2015 through 2018 (N = 19 225) was conducted. Primary care practices were categorized as federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), non-FQHC urban practices in high-poverty areas, non-FQHC rural practices in high-poverty areas, and practices in lower-poverty areas. Data analysis was performed from March 3 to December 16, 2022.

Intervention

Simulated evidence-based interventions of primary care-based screening and referral protocols, food assistance, housing programs, nonemergency medical transportation, and community-based care coordination.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcome was per-person per-month cost of interventions. Intervention costs that have existing federally funded financing mechanisms (eg, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and costs without such an existing mechanism were tabulated.

Results

Of the population included in the analysis, the mean (SD) age was 34.4 (25.9) years, and 54.3% were female. Among people with food and housing needs, most were program eligible for federally funded programs, but had low enrollment (eg, due to inadequate program capacity), with 78.0% of people with housing needs being program eligible vs 24.0% enrolled, and 95.6% of people with food needs being program eligible vs 70.2% enrolled. Among those with transportation insecurity and care coordination needs, eligibility criteria limited enrollment (26.3% of those in need being program eligible for transportation programs, and 5.7% of those in need being program eligible for care coordination programs). The cost of providing evidence-based interventions for these 4 domains averaged $60 (95% CI, $55-$65) per member per month (including approximately $5 for screening and referral management in clinics), of which $27 (95% CI, $24-$31) (45.8%) was federally funded. While disproportionate funding was available to populations seen at FQHCs, populations seen at non-FQHC practices in high-poverty areas had larger funding gaps (intervention costs not borne by existing federal funding mechanisms).

Conclusions and Relevance

In this decision analytical microsimulation study, food and housing interventions were limited by low enrollment among eligible people, whereas transportation and care coordination interventions were more limited by narrow eligibility criteria. Screening and referral management in primary care was a small expenditure relative to the cost of interventions to address social needs, and just under half of the costs of interventions were covered by existing federal funding mechanisms. These findings suggest that many resources are necessary to address social needs that fall largely outside of existing federal financing mechanisms.

Epidemiology of public transportation use among older adults in the United States

BACKGROUND

Attending healthcare appointments and participating in social activities are important for older adults, but these activities are often limited by transportation barriers. Public transportation may bridge these gaps, but little is known about older public transportation users. This study compares the characteristics of older adults who use public transportation to those who do not.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of data from Round 5 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). We identified 5696 urban community dwelling older adults, and calculated national estimates of those who reported public transportation use in the last month and those who used transit to see their regular doctor. We evaluated the age and sex-adjusted associations between economic and clinical characteristics and recent use of public transportation using survey-weighted logistic regression.

RESULTS

Nearly 1 in 10 (n = 555/5696, weighted n = 3,122,583) urban-dwelling older adults in the United States reported use of public transportation in the last month, and over 20% of users (weighted n = 658,850) relied on transit to see their regular doctor. Compared to non-users, those who reported using transit were significantly more likely to be younger and identify as non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic. Financially strained older adults were more likely to have recently relied on public transportation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-2.44), but frailty (aOR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.41-0.91) and living in an area with cracked or broken sidewalks (aOR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.27-0.46) were both associated with lower odds of public transportation use.

CONCLUSION

More than 3 million older adults in the United States reported recently using public transportation, with over 600,000 relying on these services to visit their doctor. With increasing investment in public infrastructure on the horizon, centering the unique medical, economic, and social needs of older transit users is critical to ensure urban communities remain age-friendly.

Association Between Self-reported Health-Related Social Needs and Acute Care Utilization Among Older Adults Enrolled in Medicare Advantage

Question

To what extent are self-reported health-related social needs (HRSNs) associated with acute care utilization among older adults enrolled in Medicare Advantage, and are there specific HRSNs that seem to matter more?

Findings

In this cross-sectional study of 56 155 older adults enrolled in Medicare Advantage, HRSNs were associated with statistically significantly higher rates of acute care utilization, with the largest association observed for avoidable hospital stays (53.3% increase). Unreliable transportation had the largest association with hospital stays and emergency department visits (marginal effects of 51.2 and 95.5 events per 1000 beneficiaries, respectively).

Meaning

Among older adults enrolled in Medicare Advantage, self-reported HRSNs are associated with increased rates of acute care utilization.

Importance

There is increased focus on identifying and addressing health-related social needs (HRSNs). Understanding how different HRSNs relate to different health outcomes can inform targeted, evidence-based policies, investments, and innovations to address HRSNs.

Objective

To examine the association between self-reported HRSNs and acute care utilization among older adults enrolled in Medicare Advantage.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study used data from a large, national survey of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries to identify the presence of HRSNs. Survey data were linked to medical claims, and regression models were used to estimate the association between HRSNs and rates of acute care utilization from January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019.

Exposures

Self-reported HRSNs, including food insecurity, financial strain, loneliness, unreliable transportation, utility insecurity, housing insecurity, and poor housing quality.

Main Outcomes and Measures

All-cause hospital stays (inpatient admissions and observation stays), avoidable hospital stays, all-cause emergency department (ED) visits, avoidable ED visits, and 30-day readmissions.

Results

Among a final study population of 56 155 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries (mean [SD] age, 74.0 [5.8] years; 32 779 [58.4%] women; 44 278 [78.8%] White; and 7634 [13.6%] dual eligible for Medicaid), 27 676 (49.3%) reported 1 or more HRSNs. Health-related social needs were associated with statistically significantly higher rates of all utilization measures, with the largest association observed for avoidable hospital stays (incident rate ratio for any HRSN, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.35-1.74; P < .001). Compared with beneficiaries without HRSNs, beneficiaries with an HRSN had a 53.3% higher rate of avoidable hospitalization (incident rate ratio, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.35-1.74; P < .001). Financial strain and unreliable transportation were each independently associated with increased rates of hospital stays (marginal effects of 26.5 [95% CI, 14.2-38.9] and 51.2 [95% CI, 30.7-71.8] hospital stays per 1000 beneficiaries, respectively). All HRSNs, except for utility insecurity, were independently associated with increased rates of ED visits. Unreliable transportation had the largest association with increased hospital stays and ED visits, with marginal effects of 51.2 (95% CI, 30.7-71.8) and 95.5 (95% CI, 65.3-125.8) ED visits per 1000 beneficiaries, respectively. Only unreliable transportation and financial strain were associated with increased rates of 30-day readmissions, with marginal effects of 3.3% (95% CI, 2.0%-4.0%) and 0.4% (95% CI, 0.2%-0.6%), respectively.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cross-sectional study of older adults enrolled in Medicare Advantage, self-reported HRSNs were common and associated with statistically significantly increased rates of acute care utilization, with variation in which HRSNs were associated with different utilization measures. These findings provide evidence of the unique association between certain HRSNs and different types of acute care utilization, which could help refine the development and targeting of efforts to address HRSNs.