New Findings from Highmark Health in the Area of Health and Medicine Reported (Neighborhood opportunities and pediatric health care utilization: implications for Medicaid managed care): Health and Medicine

2026 APR 06 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Health and Medicine is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Disparities in health care utilization exist, particularly among children in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods. This study examined the relationship between neighborhood opportunity and health care utilization among pediatric Medicaid managed care beneficiaries, identifying key areas for interventions to address disparities and improve pediatric health outcomes.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Highmark Health, “We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of a merged 2022 administrative claims data set with the Child Opportunity Index (COI) 3.0 database for Medicaid managed care beneficiaries younger than 21 years who were continuously enrolled for 12 months (N = 157,261). Generalized linear models (logistic regression and zero-inflated negative binomial regression) were used to examine the association between neighborhood opportunities and health care utilization (measured by primary care physician [PCP] visits, emergency department [ED] visits, and hospitalizations) while adjusting for confounders. Compared with those in high-opportunity neighborhoods, pediatric beneficiaries in very low-, low-, and moderate-opportunity neighborhoods were 11.5 percentage points, 5.1 percentage points, and 2.2 percentage points less likely to have PCP visits, respectively, and 1.4 times, 1.2 times, and 1.1 times more likely to visit the ED. Hospitalizations were 0.5 percentage points more likely in very low-opportunity neighborhoods. The results corroborate that health care utilization varies by neighborhood opportunity levels. Managed care organizations can use the COI to address disparities in pediatric beneficiaries’ health care utilization.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Findings underscore the differences in health care utilization that may be a basis for researchers, policy analysts, and decision makers to further investigate underlying unmet needs that affect pediatric health care utilization in lower opportunity neighborhoods.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Neighborhood opportunities and pediatric health care utilization: implications for Medicaid managed care. The American Journal of Managed Care, 2026;32(3):154-161. The American Journal of Managed Care can be contacted at: Managed Care & Healthcare Communications Llc, 666 Plainsboro Rd, Ste 300, Plainsboro, NJ 08536, USA.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Shamly Austin, Highmark Health, 501 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Additional authors for this research include Abisola Olaniyan and Haiyan Qu.

Publisher contact information for the The American Journal of Managed Care is: Managed Care & Healthcare Communications Llc, 666 Plainsboro Rd, Ste 300, Plainsboro, NJ 08536, USA.

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