Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Researchers Provide Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Healthcare Management (Medicaid Expansion and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Access to Health Care: Applying the National …)

Health Policy and Law Daily

2021 FEB 23 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- New research on healthcare management is the subject of a new report. According to news originating from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education by NewsRx editors, the research stated, “Since 2014, 32 states implemented Medicaid expansion by removing the categorical criteria for childless adults and by expanding income eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level (FPL) for all non-elderly adults. Previous studies found that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion improved rates of being insured, unmet needs for care due to cost, number of physician visits, and health status among low-income adults.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education: “However, a few recent studies focused on the expansion’s effect on racial/ethnic disparities and used the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) disparity approach with a limited set of access measures. This quasi-experimental study examined the effect of Medicaid expansion on racial/ethnic disparities in access to health care for U.S. citizens aged 19 to 64 with income below 138% of the federal poverty line. The difference-in-differences model compared changes over time in 2 measures of insurance coverage and 8 measures of access to health care, using National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2010 to 2016. Analyses used the NAM definition of disparities. Medicaid expansion was associated with significant decreases in uninsured rates and increases in Medicaid coverage among all racial/ethnic groups. There were differences across racial/ethnic groups regarding which specific access measures improved.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “For delayed care and unmet need for care, decreases in racial/ethnic disparities were observed. After the ACA Medicaid expansion, most access outcomes improved for disadvantaged groups, but also for others, with the result that disparities were not significantly reduced.”

For more information on this research see: Medicaid Expansion and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Access to Health Care: Applying the National Academy of Medicine Definition of Health Care Disparities. Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 2021,58. (Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing - https://journals.sagepub.com/home/inq). The publisher for Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing is SAGE Publishing.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958021991293.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Hyunjung Lee PhD, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, USA. Additional authors for this research include Dominic Hodgkin PhD, Michael P. Johnson PhD, Frank W. Porell PhD.