Investigators from Yale University Target Managed Care (Access To Urological Care for Medicaid-insured Patients At Urology Practices Acquired By Private Equity Firms): Managed Care

2022 AUG 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in Managed Care. According to news reporting originating in New Haven, Connecticut, by NewsRx editors, the research stated, “To characterize appointment access for Medicaid-insured patients seeking care at urology practices affiliated with private equity firms in light of the recent national trends in practice consolidation. We identified 214 urology offices affiliated with private equity firms that were geographically matched with 231 non-private equity affiliated urology offices.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Yale University, “Using a standardized script, researchers posed as an adult patient with either Medicaid or commercial insurance in the clinical setting of new onset, painless hematuria. The primary outcome was whether the patient’s insurance was accepted for an appointment. The secondary outcome was appointment wait time. We conducted 815 appointment inquiry calls to 214 private equity (PE) and 231 non-PE-affiliated urology offices across 12 states. Appointment availability was higher for commercially-insured interval [CI]: 55.0%-64.6%) (P < .0001). Medicaid acceptance was higher at non-PE affiliated (66.8%; CI 60.4%-73.2%) than PE-affiliated practices (52.1%; 95% CI 45.0%-59.2%) (P = .003). On multivariable logistic regression analysis, state Medicaid expansion status (odds ratio [OR] 2.20; CI 1.14-4.28; P = .020) was independently associated with Medicaid appointment availability, whereas PE-affiliation (OR 0.55; CI 0.37-0.83; P = .004) was independently associated with lower Medicaid access. Appointment wait times did not differ significantly for commerciallyinsured vs Medicaid patients (19.2 vs 20.1 days; p = .59), but PE-affiliated practices offered shorter mean wait times than non-PE offices (17.5 vs 21.4 days; P = .017).”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Access disparities for urologic evaluation in patients with Medicaid insurance at urology practices and were more pronounced at private equity acquired practices.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Access To Urological Care for Medicaid-insured Patients At Urology Practices Acquired By Private Equity Firms. Urology, 2022;164:112-117. Urology can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Urology - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/urology/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Michael S. Leapman, Yale University, Dept. of Urology, School of Medicine, 310 Cedar St, Bml 238C, New Haven, CT 06520, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2022.01.0550090-4295. 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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