New Managed Care Findings Has Been Reported by Investigators at University of Pittsburgh (Increased Likelihood of Psychiatric Readmission With Medicaid Expansion Vs Legacy Coverage): Managed Care

2021 DEC 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A new study on Managed Care is now available. According to news reporting originating from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “To compare patterns of psychiatric hospitalization and readmission within 30 days for Medicaid expansion (expansion) vs previously insured (legacy) samples. Retrospective analysis using Medicaid behavioral health service claims.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Pittsburgh, “We identified 24,044 individuals with hospitalizations in calendar years 2017 and 2018 within the network of a behavioral health managed care organization in Pennsylvania. Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with readmission. Individuals covered under expansion (n = 7747) vs legacy (n = 16,297) were older and more likely to be male and European American, with higher rates of cooccurring mental health (MH) and substance use disorder (SUD) diagnoses, as well as lower rates of MH and SUD services in the 30 days prior and any prior MH hospitalization. A higher proportion of individuals with expansion vs legacy status were readmitted (11.3% vs 9.0%; P< .0001). Controlling for factors associated with readmission, regression showed an increased likelihood of readmission for expansion vs legacy status (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.23; 95% CI, 1.12-1.35; P< .0001). Increased risk for readmission was also found across populations for male patients (AOR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.02-1.22; P = .0124), those with prior MH hospitalizations (AOR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.51-1.81; P< .0001) or other behavioral health services (AOR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03-1.26; P = .0142), those with longer hospitalization episodes (AOR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01; P< .0001), and those with cooccurring SUD (AOR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.44-1.74; P< .0001).”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Individuals with coverage through Medicaid expansion compared with legacy coverage have an increased risk of psychiatric readmission and may warrant targeted interventions that also address service utilization and cooccurring SUD.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Increased Likelihood of Psychiatric Readmission With Medicaid Expansion Vs Legacy Coverage. The American Journal of Managed Care, 2021;27(11):488-492. 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 Shari L. Hutchison, University of Pittsburgh, Community Care Behav Hlth Org, Insurance Serv Div, Med Ctr Upmc, Pittsburgh, PA, United States. Additional authors for this research include Irina O. Karpov, Amy D. Herschell, Deborah S. Wasilchak, Matthew O. Hurford and James M. Schuster.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.37765/ajmc.2021.88776. 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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