Medicare Eligibility and Reported Support for Proposals to Expand Medicare

This study estimates the association between Medicare eligibility and support for recent proposals to expand program participation and benefits.

State Public Insurance Coverage Policies and Postpartum Care Among Immigrants

Importance

Professional medical organizations recommend that adults receive routine postpartum care. Yet, some states restrict public insurance coverage for undocumented immigrants and recently documented immigrants (those who received legal documentation status within the past 5 years).

Objective

To examine the association between public insurance coverage and postpartum care among low-income immigrants and the difference in receipt of postpartum care among immigrants relative to nonimmigrants.

Design, Setting, and Participants

A pooled, cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System for 19 states and New York City including low-income adults with a live birth between 2012 and 2019.

Exposure

Giving birth in a state that offered public insurance coverage for postpartum care to recently documented or undocumented immigrants.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Self-reported receipt of postpartum care by the category of coverage offered (full coverage: states that offered publicly funded postpartum care regardless of immigration status; moderate coverage: states that offered publicly funded postpartum care to lawfully residing immigrants without a 5-year waiting period, but did not offer postpartum care to undocumented immigrants; no coverage: states that did not offer publicly funded postpartum care to lawfully present immigrants before 5 years of legal residence or to undocumented immigrants).

Results

The study included 72 981 low-income adults (20 971 immigrants [29%] and 52 010 nonimmigrants [71%]). Of the 19 included states and New York City, 6 offered full coverage, 9 offered moderate coverage, and 4 offered no coverage; 1 state (Oregon) switched from offering moderate coverage to offering full coverage. Compared with the states that offered full coverage, receipt of postpartum care among immigrants was 7.0-percentage-points lower (95% CI, -10.6 to -3.4 percentage points) in the states that offered moderate coverage and 11.3-percentage-points lower (95% CI, -13.9 to -8.8 percentage points) in the states that offered no coverage. The differences in the receipt of postpartum care among immigrants relative to nonimmigrants were also associated with the coverage categories. Compared with the states that offered full coverage, there was a 3.3-percentage-point larger difference (95% CI, -5.3 to -1.4 percentage points) in the states that offered moderate coverage and a 7.7-percentage-point larger difference (95% CI, -10.3 to -5.0 percentage points) in the states that offered no coverage.

Conclusions and Relevance

Compared with states without insurance restrictions, immigrants living in states with public insurance restrictions were less likely to receive postpartum care. Restricting public insurance coverage may be an important policy-driven barrier to receipt of recommended pregnancy care and improved maternal health among immigrants.

Association Between California's State Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act and Utilization of Gender-Affirming Surgery

Importance

Gender-affirming surgery is often beneficial for gender-diverse or -dysphoric patients. Access to gender-affirming surgery is often limited through restrictive legislation and insurance policies.

Objective

To investigate the association between California's 2013 implementation of the Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act, which prohibits insurers and health plans from limiting benefits based on a patient's sex, gender, gender identity, or gender expression, and utilization of gender-affirming surgery among California residents.

Design, Setting, and Participants

Population epidemiology study of transgender and gender-diverse patients undergoing gender-affirming surgery (facial, chest, and genital surgery) between 2005 and 2019. Utilization of gender-affirming surgery in California before and after implementation of the Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act in July 2013 was compared with utilization in Washington and Arizona, control states chosen because of geographic similarity and because they expanded Medicaid on the same date as California-January 1, 2014. The date of last follow-up was December 31, 2019.

Exposures

California's Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act, implemented on July 9, 2013.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Receipt of gender-affirming surgery, defined as undergoing at least 1 facial, chest, or genital procedure.

Results

A total of 25 252 patients (California: n = 17 934 [71%]; control: n = 7328 [29%]) had a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Median ages were 34.0 years in California (with or without gender-affirming surgery), 39 years (IQR, 28-49 years) among those undergoing gender-affirming surgery in control states, and 36 years (IQR, 22-56 years) among those not undergoing gender-affirming surgery in control states. Patients underwent at least 1 gender-affirming surgery within the study period in 2918 (11.6%) admissions-2715 (15.1%) in California vs 203 (2.8%) in control states. There was a statistically significant increase in gender-affirming surgery in the third quarter of July 2013 in California vs control states, coinciding with the timing of the Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act (P < .001). Implementation of the policy was associated with an absolute 12.1% (95% CI, 10.3%-13.9%; P < .001) increase in the probability of undergoing gender-affirming surgery in California vs control states observed in the subset of insured patients (13.4% [95% CI, 11.5%-15.4%]; P < .001) but not self-pay patients (-22.6% [95% CI, -32.8% to -12.5%]; P < .001).

Conclusions and Relevance

Implementation in California of its Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act was associated with a significant increase in utilization of gender-affirming surgery in California compared with the control states Washington and Arizona. These data might inform state legislative efforts to craft policies preventing discrimination in health coverage for state residents, including transgender and gender-diverse patients.

Association of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion with Trauma Outcomes and Access to Rehabilitation among Young Adults: Findings Overall, by Race and Ethnicity, and Community Income Level

BACKGROUND

Low-income young adults disproportionately experience traumatic injury and poor trauma outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, in its first 4 years, on trauma care and outcomes in young adults, overall and by race, ethnicity, and ZIP code-level median income.

STUDY DESIGN

Statewide hospital discharge data from 5 states that did and 5 states that did not implement Medicaid expansion were used to perform difference-in-difference (DD) analyses. Changes in insurance coverage and outcomes from before (2011-2013) to after (2014-2017) Medicaid expansion and open enrollment were examined in trauma patients aged 19 to 44 years.

RESULTS

Medicaid expansion was associated with a decrease in the percentage of uninsured patients (DD -16.5 percentage points; 95% CI, -17.1 to -15.9 percentage points). This decrease was larger among Black patients but smaller among Hispanic patients than White patients. It was also larger among patients from lower-income ZIP codes (p < 0.05 for all). Medicaid expansion was associated with an increase in discharge to inpatient rehabilitation (DD 0.6 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.2 to 0.9 percentage points). This increase was larger among patients from the lowest-compared with highest-income ZIP codes (p < 0.05). Medicaid expansion was not associated with changes in in-hospital mortality or readmission or return ED visit rates overall, but was associated with decreased in-hospital mortality among Black patients (DD -0.4 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.8 to -0.1 percentage points).

CONCLUSIONS

The Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion, in its first 4 years, increased insurance coverage and access to rehabilitation among young adult trauma patients. It also reduced the socioeconomic disparity in inpatient rehabilitation access and the disparity in in-hospital mortality between Black and White patients.

Analysis of Contraceptive Use Among Immigrant Women Following Expansion of Medicaid Coverage for Postpartum Care

IMPORTANCE

Access to postpartum care is restricted for low-income women who are recent or undocumented immigrants enrolled in Emergency Medicaid.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of a policy extending postpartum coverage to Emergency Medicaid recipients with attendance at postpartum visits and use of postpartum contraception.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cohort study linked Medicaid claims and birth certificate data from 2010 to 2019 to examine changes in postpartum care coverage on postpartum care and contraception use. A difference-in-difference design was used to compare the rollout of postpartum coverage in Oregon with a comparison state, South Carolina, which did not cover postpartum care. The study used 2 distinct assumptions to conduct the analyses: first, preintervention differences in postpartum visit attendance and contraceptive use would have remained constant if the policy expanding coverage had not been passed (parallel trends assumption), and second, differences in preintervention trends would have continued without the policy change (differential trend assumption). Data analysis was performed from September 2020 to October 2021.

EXPOSURES

Medicaid coverage of postpartum care.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Attendance at postpartum visits and postpartum contraceptive use, defined as receipt of any contraceptive method within 60 days of delivery.

RESULTS

The study population consisted of 27 667 live births among 23 971 women (mean [SD] age, 29.4 [6.0] years) enrolled in Emergency Medicaid. The majority of all births were to multiparous women (21 289 women [76.9%]; standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.08) and were delivered vaginally (20 042 births [72.4%]; SMD = 0.03) and at term (25 502 births [92.2%]; SMD = 0.01). Following Oregon's expansion of postpartum coverage to women in Emergency Medicaid, there was a large and significant increase in postpartum care visits and contraceptive use. Assuming parallel trends, postpartum care attendance increased by 40.6 percentage points (95% CI, 34.1-47.1 percentage points; P < .001) following the policy change. Under the differential trends assumption, postpartum visits increased by 47.9 percentage points (95% CI, 41.3-54.6 percentage points; P < .001). Postpartum contraception use increased similarly. Under the parallel trends assumption, postpartum contraception within 60 days increased by 33.2 percentage points (95% CI, 31.1-35.4 percentage points; P < .001). Assuming differential trends, postpartum contraception increased by 28.2 percentage points (95% CI, 25.8-30.6 percentage points; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

These findings suggest that expanding Emergency Medicaid benefits to include postpartum care is associated with significant improvements in receipt of postpartum care and contraceptive use.

Association of Surprise-Billing Legislation with Prices Paid to In-Network and Out-of-Network Anesthesiologists in California, Florida, and New York: An Economic Analysis

Importance

Several states have passed surprise-billing legislation to protect patients from unanticipated out-of-network medical bills, yet little is known about how state laws influence out-of-network prices and whether spillovers exist to in-network prices.

Objective

To identify any changes in prices paid to out-of-network anesthesiologists at in-network facilities and to in-network anesthesiologists before and after states passed surprise-billing legislation.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This retrospective economic analysis used difference-in-differences methods to compare price changes before and after the passage of legislation in California, Florida, and New York, which passed comprehensive surprise-billing legislation between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2017, to 45 states that did not. Commercial claims data from the Health Care Cost Institute were used to identify prices paid to anesthesiologists in hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers. The final analytic sample comprised 2 713 913 anesthesia claims across the 3 treated states and the 45 control states.

Exposures

Temporal and state-level variation in exposure to surprise-billing legislation.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The unit price (allowed amounts standardized per unit of service) paid to out-of-network anesthesiologists at in-network facilities and to in-network anesthesiologists.

Results

This retrospective economic analysis of 2 713 913 anesthesia claims found that after surprise-billing laws were passed in 3 states, the unit price paid to out-of-network anesthesiologists at in-network facilities decreased significantly in 2 of them: California, -$12.71 (95% CI, -$25.70 to -$0.27; P = .05) and Florida, -$35.67 (95% CI, -$46.27 to -$25.07; P < .001). In New York, a decline in the overall out-of-network price was not statistically significant (-$7.91; 95% CI, -$17.48 to -$1.68; P = .10); however, by the fourth quarter of 2017, the decline was -$41.28 (95% CI, -$70.24 to -$12.33; P = .01). In-network prices decreased in California by -$10.68 (95% CI, -$12.70 to -$8.66; P < .001); in Florida, -$3.18 (95% CI, -$5.17 to -$1.19; P = .002); and in New York, -$8.05 (95% CI, -$11.46 to -$4.64; P < .001).

Conclusions and Relevance

This retrospective study found that prices paid to in-network and out-of-network anesthesiologists in hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers decreased after the introduction of surprise-billing legislation, providing early insights into how prices may change under the federal No Surprises Act and in states that have recently passed their own legislation.

Stabilizing and Strengthening the Affordable Care Act: Opportunities for a New Administration

For the past decade, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has successfully reduced uninsurance and improved access to and affordability of health care services for millions of Americans. But the law was weakened when the Trump administration shortened the open enrollment period in the federal Marketplace, reduced outreach and enrollment funding, and revised the public charge rule, among other actions. The Biden administration will have the chance to reverse some of these changes and further strengthen the law to improve health care access and affordability. In this article, the author explores options for expanding access to affordable coverage and care for those who do not qualify for Medicaid or marketplace financial assistance and further discusses opportunities for increasing enrollment among those who are already eligible. The author also examines opportunities for expanding access to specific services, including reproductive health care, among those with insurance. Any attempts to modify or build on the ACA will likely be complicated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as well as slim Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, but regulatory solutions will likely be easier to achieve than those that require changes to federal law or state policy.

Prescription Drug Priorities under the Biden Administration

In January 2021, the incoming Biden administration inherited urgent priorities for curbing health care spending and expanding health care coverage to millions of Americans while also addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn. Among these competing priorities is the issue of access to and affordability of prescription drugs. Here, the authors outline Biden's plan for directly lowering prescription drug spending for payers and patients and for expanding access to prescription medications through improved health insurance coverage. These policies could provide important financial protections for Americans against high prescription drug prices. Despite widespread public support for addressing prescription drug prices, many of Biden's plans rely on congressional action, which will be complicated by the narrow majority held by Democrats in the House and an evenly divided Senate. However, there may be other opportunities for reducing prescription drug spending and improving health insurance enrollment among the uninsured. While directly lowering drug prices would provide the most widespread savings for payers and patients alike, any successful effort for increasing the number of Americans enrolled in health insurance or rendering it more affordable will still likely effectively lower patients' out-of-pocket costs and improve access to prescription drugs.

Acquisition of Medicaid at the time of injury: An opportunity for sustainable insurance coverage

INTRODUCTION

Uninsured trauma patients are at higher risk of mortality, limited access to postdischarge resources, and catastrophic health expenditure. Hospital Presumptive Eligibility (HPE), enacted with the 2014 Affordable Care Act, enables uninsured patients to be screened and acquired emergency Medicaid at the time of hospitalization. We sought to identify factors associated with successful acquisition of HPE insurance at the time of injury, hypothesizing that patients with higher Injury Severity Score (ISS) (ISS >15) would be more likely to be approved for HPE.

METHODS

We identified Medicaid and uninsured patients aged 18 to 64 years with a primary trauma diagnosis (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision) in a large level I trauma center between 2015 and 2019. We combined trauma registry data with review of electronic medical records, to determine our primary outcome, HPE acquisition. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Among 2,320 trauma patients, 1,374 (59%) were already enrolled in Medicaid at the time of hospitalization. Among those uninsured at arrival, 386 (40.8%) acquired HPE before discharge, and 560 (59.2%) remained uninsured. Hospital Presumptive Eligibility patients had higher ISS (ISS >15, 14.8% vs. 5.7%; p < 0.001), longer median length of stay (2 days [interquartile range, 0-5 days] vs. 0 [0-1] days, p < 0.001), were more frequently admitted as inpatients (64.5% vs. 33.6%, p < 0.001), and discharged to postacute services (11.9% vs. 0.9%, p < 0.001). Patient, hospital, and policy factors contributed to HPE nonapproval. In adjusted analyses, Hispanic ethnicity (vs. non-Hispanic Whites: aOR, 1.58; p = 0.02) and increasing ISS (p ≤ 0.001) were associated with increased likelihood of HPE approval.

CONCLUSION

The time of hospitalization due to injury is an underused opportunity for intervention, whereby uninsured patients can acquire sustainable insurance coverage. Opportunities to increase HPE acquisition merit further study nationally across trauma centers. As administrative and trauma registries do not capture information to compare HPE and traditional Medicaid patients, prospective insurance data collection would help to identify targets for intervention.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Economic, level IV.

Extending Postpartum Medicaid: State and Federal Policy Options during and after COVID-19

The United States is facing a maternal health crisis with rising rates of maternal mortality and morbidity and stark disparities in maternal outcomes by race and socioeconomic status. Among the efforts to address this issue, one policy proposal is gaining particular traction: extending the period of Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women beyond 60 days after childbirth. The authors examine the legislative and regulatory pathways most readily available for extending postpartum Medicaid, including their relative political, economic, and public health trade-offs. They also review the state and federal policy activity to date and discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prospects for policy change.

The effects of oral anticancer parity laws on out-of-pocket spending and adherence among commercially insured patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

BACKGROUND: Over the past 12 years, 43 states and Washington DC have implemented oral anticancer medication parity laws in response to the burden of pharmacy cost sharing. Parity laws are designed to provide equal coverage and cost sharing between orally and parenterally administered anticancer medications for patients in commercial, fully insured health plans (FIHPs). However, there is considerable state-level variation in the requirements to achieve compliance with parity laws, and the clinical and economic effectiveness of parity is not fully known. OBJECTIVES: To (a) understand the impact of parity laws on out-of-pocket (OOP) spending and adherence to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) among commercially insured patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and (b) compare these effects across states with and without per prescription or per 30-day OOP spending limits as part of their parity laws. METHODS: Patients aged 18-64 years with CML, at least 1 pharmacy claim for a TKI, and residence in a state that implemented oral anticancer parity legislation between January 1, 2007, and January 1, 2017, were identified from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database. A propensity score-weighted difference-in-difference approach was used to measure the impact of parity on OOP spending and adherence in the 6 months after the first pharmacy claim for a TKI (index date) for patients enrolled in FIHPs (subject to parity) and self-funded health plans (SFHPs; exempt from parity). OOP spending was standardized to a 30-day equivalent amount and adjusted to 2017 US dollars. Adherence was assessed using the proportion of days covered (PDC), and patients were categorized as adherent with PDC ≥ 0.80. RESULTS: Of 1,887 patients initiating a TKI before or after their state's parity law, 678 (35.9%) were enrolled in FIHPs (480 before vs 198 after parity), and 1,209 (64.1%) were enrolled in SFHPs (688 before vs 521 after parity). Implementation of parity laws was not associated with any changes in mean OOP spending; however, it was associated with a reduced likelihood of paying $0 per 30 days across all states (adjusted difference-in-difference [aDD] OR = 0.662; 95% CI = 0.535-0.820) and states without OOP spending limits (aDD OR = 0.654; 95% CI = 0.508-0.848), but not in states with limits. Nonsignificant but directionally opposite changes at each end of the OOP spending distribution were observed for states with and without OOP spending limits, with increased spending observed at the 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles in states without limits. Mean PDC and adherence showed a nonsignificant increase among FIHP and SFHP patients across all states, states with limits, and states without limits. CONCLUSIONS: Oral anticancer parity laws are not associated with reduced OOP spending or improved adherence in a commercially insured sample of patients with CML. These findings were consistent for states that included OOP spending limits as a component of their parity laws. DISCLOSURES: This study did not receive any external funding. Spargo, Yost, Raju, and Schroader are or were employees of Xcenda, which receives contracts from various industry partners unrelated to this work. There are no other conflicts of interest to disclose.

Insurance expansions and adolescent use of substance use disorder treatment

OBJECTIVE

To provide evidence on the effects of expansions to private and public insurance programs on adolescent specialty substance use disorder (SUD) treatment use.

DATA SOURCE/STUDY SETTING

The Treatment Episodes Data Set (TEDS), 1996 to 2017.

STUDY DESIGN

A quasi-experimental difference-in-differences design using observational data.

DATA COLLECTION

The TEDS provides administrative data on admissions to specialty SUD treatment.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Expansions of laws that compel private insurers to cover SUD treatment services at parity with general health care increase adolescent admissions by 26% (P < .05). These increases are driven by nonintensive outpatient admissions, the most common treatment episodes, which rise by 30% (P < .05) postparity law. In contrast, increases in income eligibility for public insurance targeting those 6-18 years old are not statistically associated with SUD treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Private insurance expansions allow more adolescents to receive SUD treatment, while public insurance income eligibility expansions do not appear to influence adolescent SUD treatment.

Insurance coverage and financing landscape for HIV treatment and prevention in the USA

In 2010, the US health insurance system underwent one of its most substantial transformations with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which increased coverage for millions of people in the USA, including those with and at risk of HIV. Even so, the system of HIV care and prevention services in the USA is a complex patchwork of payers, providers, and financing mechanisms. People with HIV are primarily covered by Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, or a combination of these; many get care through other programmes, particularly the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which serves as the nation's safety net for people with HIV who remain uninsured or underinsured but offers modest to no support for prevention services. While uninsurance has drastically declined over the past decade, the USA trails other high-income countries in key HIV-specific metrics, including rates of viral suppression. In this paper in the Series, we provide an overview of the coverage and financing landscape for HIV treatment and prevention in the USA, discuss how the Affordable Care Act has changed the domestic health-care system, examine the major programmes that provide coverage and services, and identify remaining challenges.

Has the Affordable Care Act Been Associated with Increased Insurance Coverage and Early-stage Diagnoses of Bone and Soft-tissue Sarcomas in Adults?

BACKGROUND

Treatment of bone and soft-tissue sarcomas can be costly, and therefore, it is not surprising that insurance status of patients is a prognostic factor in determining overall survival. Furthermore, uninsured individuals with suspected bone and/or soft-tissue masses routinely encounter difficulty in obtaining access to basic healthcare (such as office visits, radiology scans), and therefore are more likely to be diagnosed with later stages at presentation. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandate of 2010 aimed to increase access to care for uninsured individuals by launching initiatives, such as expanding Medicaid eligibility, subsidizing private insurance, and developing statewide mandates requiring individuals to have a prescribed minimum level of health insurance. Although prior reports have demonstrated that the ACA increased both coverage and the proportion of early-stage diagnoses among patients with common cancers (including breast, colon, prostate, and lung), it is unknown whether similar improvements have occurred for patients with bone and soft-tissue sarcomas. Understanding changes in insurance coverages and stage at diagnosis of patients with bone and soft-tissue sarcomas would be paramount in establishing policies that will ensure orthopaedic cancer care is made equitable and accessible to all.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES

(1) Has the introduction of the ACA been associated with changes in insurance coverage for adult patients with newly diagnosed bone and soft-tissue sarcomas? (2) Did the introduction of health reforms under the ACA lead to an increased proportion of sarcoma diagnoses occurring at earlier disease stages?

METHODS

The 2007 to 2015 Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database was queried using International Classification of Diseases for Oncology codes for primary malignant bone tumors of the upper and lower extremity (C40.0 to C40.3), unspecified or other overlapping bone, articular cartilage, and joint and/or ribs, sternum, or clavicle (C40.8 to C40.9, C41.3, and C41.8 to C41.9), vertebral column (C41.2), pelvis (C41.4, C41.8, and C41.9), and soft-tissue sarcomas of the upper or lower extremity and/or pelvis (C49.1, C49.2, and C49.5). A total of 15,287 patients with newly diagnosed cancers were included, of which 3647 (24%) were malignant bone tumors and 11,640 (76%) were soft-tissue sarcomas. The study sample was divided into three cohorts according to specified time periods: pre-ACA from 2007 to 2010 (6537 patients), pre-Medicaid expansion from 2011 to 2013 (5076 patients), and post-Medicaid expansion from 2014 to 2015 (3674 patients). The Pearson chi square tests were used to assess for changes in the proportion of Medicaid and uninsured patients across the specified time periods: pre-ACA, pre-expansion and post-expansion. A differences-in-differences analysis was also performed to assess changes in insurance coverage for Medicaid and uninsured patients among states that chose to expand Medicaid coverage in 2014 under the ACA's provision versus those who opted out of Medicaid expansion. Since the database switched to using the American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) 7th edition staging system in 2010, linear regression using data only from 2010 to 2015 was performed that assessed changes in cancer stage at diagnosis from 2010 to 2015 alone. After stratifying by cancer type (bone or soft-tissue sarcoma), Pearson chi square tests were used to assess for changes in the proportion of patients who were diagnosed with early, late, and unknown stage at presentation before Medicaid expansion (2011-2013) and after Medicaid expansion (2014-2015) among states that chose to expand versus those who did not.

RESULTS

After stratifying by time cohorts: pre-ACA (2007 to 2010), pre-expansion (2011 to 2013) and post-expansion (2014 to 2015), we observed that the most dramatic changes occurred after Medicaid eligibility was expanded (2014 onwards), with Medicaid proportions increasing from 12% (pre-expansion, 2011 to 2013) to 14% (post-expansion, 2014 to 2015) (p < 0.001) and uninsured proportions decreasing from 5% (pre-expansion, 2011 to 2013) to 3% (post-expansion, 2014 to 2015) (p < 0.001). A differences-in-differences analysis that assessed the effect of Medicaid expansion showed that expanded states had an increase in the proportion of Medicaid patients compared with non-expanded states, (3.6% [95% confidence interval 0.4 to 6.8]; p = 0.03) from 2014 onwards. For the entire study sample, the proportion of early-stage diagnoses (I/II) increased from 56% (939 of 1667) in 2010 to 62% (1137 of 1840) in 2015 (p = 0.003). Similarly, the proportion of unknown stage diagnoses decreased from 11% (188 of 1667) in 2010 to 7% (128 of 1840) in 2015 (p = 0.002). There was no change in proportion of late-stage diagnoses (III/IV) from 32% (540 of 1667) in 2010 to 31% (575 of 1840) in 2015 (p = 0.13).

CONCLUSION

Access to cancer care for patients with primary bone or soft-tissue sarcomas improved after the ACA was introduced, as evidenced by a decrease in the proportion of uninsured patients and corresponding increase in Medicaid coverage. Improvements in coverage were most significant among states that adopted the Medicaid expansion of 2014. Furthermore, we observed an increasing proportion of early-stage diagnoses after the ACA was implemented. The findings support the preservation of the ACA to ensure cancer care is equitable and accessible to all vulnerable patient populations.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, therapeutic study.

New hypertension and diabetes diagnoses following the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion

OBJECTIVE

To assess the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion's impact on new hypertension and diabetes diagnoses in community health centres (CHCs).

DESIGN

Rates of new hypertension and diabetes diagnoses were computed using generalised estimating equation Poisson models and we tested the difference-in-difference (DID) pre-ACA versus post-ACA in states that expanded Medicaid compared with those that did not.

SETTING

We used electronic health record data (pre-ACA: 1 January 2012-31 December 2013-post-ACA: 1 January 2014-31 December 2016) from the Accelerating Data Value Across a National Community Health Center Network clinical data network. We included clinics with ≥50 patients contributing to person-time-at risk in each study year.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients aged 19-64 with ≥1 ambulatory visit in the study period were included. We then excluded patients who were pregnant during the study period (N=127 530). For the hypertension outcome, we excluded individuals with a diagnosis of hypertension prior to the start of the study period, those who had a hypertension diagnosis on their first visit to a clinic or their first visit after 3 years without a visit, and those who had a diagnosis more than 3 years after their last visit (pre-ACA non-expansion N=130 973; expansion N=193 198; post-ACA non-expansion N=186 341; expansion N=251 015). For the diabetes analysis, we excluded patients with a diabetes diagnosis prior to study start, on their first visit or first visit after inactive patient status, and diagnosis while not an active patient (pre-ACA non-expansion N=145 435; expansion N=198 558; post-ACA non-expansion N=215 039; expansion N=264 644).

RESULTS

In non-expansion states, adjusted hypertension diagnosis rates saw a relative decrease of 6%, while in expansion states, the adjusted rates saw a relative increase of 7% (DID 1.14, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.18). For diabetes diagnosis, adjusted rates in non-expansion states experienced a significant relative increase of 28% and in expansion states the relative increase was 25%; yet these differences were not significant pre-ACA to post-ACA comparing expansion and non-expansion states (DID 0.98, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.05).

CONCLUSION

There was a differential impact of Medicaid expansion for hypertension and diabetes diagnoses. Moderate increases were found in diabetes diagnosis rates among all patients served by CHCs post-ACA (both in expansion and non-expansion states). These increases suggest that ACA-related opportunities to gain health insurance (such as marketplaces and the Medicaid expansion) may have facilitated access to diagnostic tests for this population. The study found a small change in hypertension diagnosis rates from pre-ACA to post-ACA (a decrease in non-expansion and an increase in expansion states). Despite the significant difference between expansion and non-expansion states, the small change from pre-ACA to post-ACA suggests that the diagnosis of hypertension is likely documented for patients, regardless of health insurance availability. Future studies are needed to understand the impact of the ACA on hypertension and diabetes treatment and control.

Protecting Health Care for Transgender Older Adults Amidst a Backlash of U.S. Federal Policies

While transgender older adults and advocacy organizations have won important victories in health care for transgender older adults, significant barriers remain. New federal leadership in the United States has brought a bevy of backlash in federal policies that present challenges in accessing health care for transgender older adults. This article focuses on three key areas: insurance coverage for medically necessary care, discrimination, and religious-based exemptions to providing services. Social workers can play a pivotal role in supporting transgender older adults by staying informed of key policy issues and taking proactive steps to protecting the health care of this community.

The Complex Cancer Care Coverage Environment - What is the Role of Legislation? A Case Study from Massachusetts

Over the past decades, anti-cancer treatments have evolved rapidly from cytotoxic chemotherapies to targeted therapies including oral targeted medications and injectable immuno-oncology and cell therapies. New anti-cancer medications come to markets at increasingly high prices, and health insurance coverage is crucial for patient access to these therapies. State laws are intended to facilitate insurance coverage of anti-cancer therapies.Using Massachusetts as a case study, we identified five current cancer coverage state laws and interviewed experts on their perceptions of the relevance of the laws and how well they meet the current needs of cancer care given rapid changes in therapies. Interviewees emphasized that cancer therapies, as compared to many other therapeutic areas, are unique because insurance legislation targets their coverage. They identified the oral chemotherapy parity law as contributing to increasing treatment costs in commercial insurance. For commercial insurers, coverage mandates combined with the realities of new cancer medications - including high prices and often limited evidence of efficacy at approval - compound a difficult situation. Respondents recommended policy approaches to address this challenging coverage environment, including the implementation of closed formularies, the use of cost-effectiveness studies to guide coverage decisions, and the application of value-based pricing concepts. Given the evolution of cancer therapeutics, it may be time to evaluate the benefits and challenges of cancer coverage mandates.

State-Level Transgender-Specific Policies, Race/Ethnicity, and Use of Medical Gender Affirmation Services among Transgender and Other Gender-Diverse People in the United States

Policy Points Protective transgender-specific policies (including those related to experiences of discrimination, health insurance coverage, and changing legal documents) are associated with increased access to medical gender affirmation services (hormone treatment, therapy/counseling) for transgender and other gender-diverse people. Restrictive transgender-specific policies are associated with less access to these services. The relationship between race/ethnicity and use of medical gender affirmation services varies across states and is context specific, indicating that race/ethnicity also plays a role in access to these types of care across states. Advocacy is needed to prevent or overturn restrictive policies and promote protective policies for transgender and other gender-diverse people, especially for people of color.

CONTEXT

In the 2010s, the number of federal, state, and local transgender-specific policies increased. Some of these policies advanced protections for transgender and other gender-diverse (TGGD) people, and others were restrictive. Little is known about the relationships between these policies and use of medical gender affirmation services (eg, hormone treatment, therapy/counseling), or about how these associations may vary among different racial and ethnic groups.

METHODS

Multilevel modeling was used to examine the associations between state-level transgender-specific policies and the use of medical gender affirmation services among TGGD people in the United States. Data are from the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey of nearly 28,000 TGGD people. The medical gender affirmation services examined in this study were hormone treatment and therapy/counseling. The state policies we analyzed addressed discrimination, health insurance coverage, and changing legal documents; these policies were measured individually and as a composite index. Race/ethnicity was included in the multilevel regression models as a random slope to determine whether the relationship between race/ethnicity and the use of medical gender affirmation services varied by state.

FINDINGS

Individual policies and the policy index were associated with both outcomes (use of therapy/counseling and hormone treatment services), indicating that protective policies were associated with increased care. Broad religious exemption laws and Medicaid policies that excluded transgender-specific care were both associated with less use of therapy/counseling, whereas transgender-care-inclusive Medicaid policies were associated with more use of therapy/counseling. Nondiscrimination protections that include gender identity were associated with increased use of hormone treatment services. The relationship between race/ethnicity and medical gender affirmation services varied across states.

CONCLUSIONS

State-level transgender-specific policies influence medical gender affirmation service use and seem to affect use by non-Hispanic white TGGD people and TGGD people of color differently. Advocacy is needed to repeal restrictive policies and promote protective policies in order to reduce health inequities among TGGD people, especially people of color.

Parity is Not Enough! Mental Health, Managed Care, and Medicaid

This commentary describes limitations of mental health parity requirements in ensuring access to insurance coverage for mental health treatment and surveys regulatory options employed by states in Medicaid managed care programs as supplements to parity that can further reduce the risk of inappropriate denials of coverage.

The Secretary Shall . . . : Implementing the Affordable Care Act's Private Insurance Expansions

The federal bureaucracy played a critical role in implementing most aspects of the Affordable Care Act's private insurance coverage expansion. Through brief case studies, the authors review three dimensions of this role: the development of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, rulemaking in the formulation of the essential health benefits package, and the implementation of the federal website. They relate these to themes in the public administration literature. Politics-both through state decisions and through continuing congressional action (and inaction)-pervaded the implementation process. The challenges of staffing and situating the new bureaucracy effectively changed vertical boundaries within the Department of Health and Human Services, with long-lasting consequences. Finally, the complex design of the policy itself made passage of the legislation easier but implementation much more difficult. Ultimately, however, implementation was remarkably successful, achieving improvements in coverage consistent with the Congressional Budget Office's projections.

The Affordable Care Act's Medicaid Expansion and Impact Along the Cancer-Care Continuum: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Health reform and the merits of Medicaid expansion remain at the top of the legislative agenda, with growing evidence suggesting an impact on cancer care and outcomes. A systematic review was undertaken to assess the association between Medicaid expansion and the goals of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the context of cancer care. The purpose of this article is to summarize the currently published literature and to determine the effects of Medicaid expansion on outcomes during points along the cancer care continuum.

METHODS

A systematic search for relevant studies was performed in the PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane databases. Three independent observers used an abstraction form to code outcomes and perform a quality and risk of bias assessment using predefined criteria.

RESULTS

A total of 48 studies were identified. The most common outcomes assessed were the impact of Medicaid expansion on insurance coverage (23.4% of studies), followed by evaluation of racial and/or socioeconomic disparities (17.4%) and access to screening (14.5%). Medicaid expansion was associated with increases in coverage for cancer patients and survivors as well as reduced racial- and income-related disparities.

CONCLUSIONS

Medicaid expansion has led to improved access to insurance coverage among cancer patients and survivors, particularly among low-income and minority populations. This review highlights important gaps in the existing oncology literature, including a lack of studies evaluating changes in treatment and access to end-of-life care following implementation of expansion.

Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Insurance Coverage Rates Among Adult Populations with Low Income and by Obesity Status

OBJECTIVE

This study examines insurance coverage rates among working-age adults with low income and with or without obesity before and after Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

METHODS

Individual-level data on noninstitutionalized and nonpregnant adult participants aged 18 to 64 years with household income below $15,000 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006-2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used. A difference-in-differences design with logistic regression was used to examine the likelihood of insurance coverage before and after Medicaid expansion.

RESULTS

Working-age adults (analytic sample N = 316,151) who were white, female, less educated, unemployed, and living in a Medicaid-expansion state were more likely to have insurance coverage. The insurance coverage rate in Medicaid-expanded states in years after expansion increased for both subgroups with and without obesity. However, the increase was slightly lower for the subpopulation with obesity (5.59%, 95% CI: 2.35%-8.83%) compared with the subpopulation without obesity (7.35%, 95% CI: 5.35%-9.34%).

CONCLUSIONS

Increased attention should be paid to reduce insurance coverage barriers for working-age adults with low income and obesity to address potential health disparities caused by lack of access to care. This is important, as access to care provides opportunities to increase prevention and treatment-oriented services to address obesity and associated health care costs.

The Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Diabetes Management

OBJECTIVE

Diabetes is a chronic health condition contributing to a substantial burden of disease. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 10.9 million people were newly insured by Medicaid between 2013 and 2016. Considering this coverage expansion, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could significantly affect people with diabetes in their management of the disease. This study evaluates the impact of the Medicaid expansion under the ACA on diabetes management.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This study includes 22,335 individuals with diagnosed diabetes from the 2011 to 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. It uses a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the impact of the Medicaid expansion on self-reported access to health care, self-reported diabetes management, and self-reported health status. Additionally, it performs a triple-differences analysis to compare the impact between Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states considering diabetes rates of the states.

RESULTS

Significant improvements in Medicaid expansion states as compared with non-Medicaid expansion states were evident in self-reported access to health care (0.09 score; P = 0.023), diabetes management (1.91 score; P = 0.001), and health status (0.10 score; P = 0.026). Among states with large populations with diabetes, states that expanded Medicaid reported substantial improvements in these areas in comparison with those that did not expand.

CONCLUSIONS

The Medicaid expansion has significant positive effects on self-reported diabetes management. While states with large diabetes populations that expanded Medicaid have experienced substantial improvements in self-reported diabetes management, non-Medicaid expansion states with high diabetes rates may be facing health inequalities. The findings provide policy implications for the diabetes care community and policy makers.