Researchers at Saint Louis University Release New Data on Disability Research (Changes in health insurance coverage and health care access as teens with disabilities transition to adulthood)

2019 JUL 18 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Researchers detail new data in Disability Research. According to news reporting originating from St. Louis, United States, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Pre-ACA, less than 6% of children with disabilities were uninsured, compared with more than 42% of young adults with disabilities ages 19-25. Individuals with disabilities face greater barriers to health care access upon transition into adulthood.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Saint Louis University, “We examined whether the ACA dependent coverage provision and Medicaid expansion improved the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare systems by reducing the gap in insurance coverage and access to care between teens and young adults with disabilities. Using cross-sectional data from the 2006-2009 and 2011-2015 National Health Interview Survey (n=10,136), we estimate the change in insurance coverage and access to care from pre-to post-ACA time periods for teens (ages 13-18) and young adults (ages 19-25) with disabilities in a difference-in-differences model. We completed the same analyses for these groups in Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states. Both teens and young adults with disabilities made significant gains in insurance coverage (4.55 and 8.96% point gains respectively, p<.001) and access to care (4.01 and 3.14% points decline in delayed care due to cost, p<.05) under the dependent coverage provision and Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion had a greater impact on both insurance coverage and on access to care than did the dependent coverage provision.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “The benefits of these changes flowed primarily to young adults with disabilities, reducing the gaps in insurance coverage between teens and young adults, and expanding access to care for both groups, providing a more seamless transition from pediatric to adult health care systems, post-ACA.”

For more information on this research see: Changes in health insurance coverage and health care access as teens with disabilities transition to adulthood. Disability and Health Journal, 2019;():. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Disability and Health Journal - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/disability-and-health-journal/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting J. Huang, School of Social Work, St. Louis University, Tegeler Hall, 3550 Lindell Blvd, Room 309, St. Louis, MO 63103, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2019.06.009. 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.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)