Data on Medical Research Discussed by Researchers at Inova Health System

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- Researchers detail new data in Health and Medicine - Medical Research. According to news reporting originating from Falls Church, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "Before the patient protection and affordable care act (ACA), young adults (20 to 34) had the highest uninsured rates in the United States (US) and frequently sought care in emergency departments (EDs). We aimed to determine if there was a measurable effect of expanded coverage, specifically the dependent coverage provision and Medicaid expansion, on the payer mix of young adults in EDs."

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Inova Health System, "We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study of ED utilization among young adults across the US using the national hospital ambulatory medical care survey (NHAMCS) (2005-2015). We examined the effect of health reform changes on the prevalence and odds of having an insurance type among ED utilizers (1930) in 3 time periods (2005-2010), (2011-2013), and (2014-2015). Additionally, we compared the national and ED payer mix proportions among 19 to 25 and 26 to 30-year-olds. Our results indicate significant proportional changes in the national and ED payer mix relative to a pre-ACA time period. The 2 greatest changes to the national payer mix were the reduction in the proportion of uninsured/self-payers and the increase in the proportion covered by Medicaid. Furthermore, the dependent coverage provision was effective in increasing the proportion of those (19-25) utilizing private insurance coverage. Lastly, there is now a lower proportion of uninsured young adults in the ED, and an increased proportion of those covered by Medicaid."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "The change in payer mix among young adults has potential long-term consequences for the provision of emergency department services in the U.S."

For more information on this research see: Impact of healthcare reform on the payer mix among young adult emergency department utilizers across the United States (2005-2015). Medicine, 2018;97(49):e13556. Medicine can be contacted at: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Medicine - www.journals.elsevier.com/medicine/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting H. Bush, Inova Hlth Syst, Betty & Guy Beatty Center Integrated Res, Falls Church, VA, United States. Additional authors for this research include L.H. Gerber, M. Stepanova, C. Escheik and Z.M. Younossi (see also Health and Medicine - Medical Research).

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000013556. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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