Study Data from Johns Hopkins University Update Knowledge of HIV/AIDS (Expenditures for Persons Living With HIV Enrolled in Medicaid, 2006-2010)

Insurance Weekly News

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Research findings on Immune System Diseases and Conditions - HIV/AIDS are discussed in a new report. According to news reporting from Baltimore, Maryland, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "Costs of care for persons living with HIV have been high historically. Cost estimates based on data from 1 health care site may underestimate total expenditures; using insurance claims avoids this limitation."

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Johns Hopkins University, "We used Medicaid claims data to comprehensively assess payments for care for persons living with HIV between 2006 and 2010. Five sites from the HIV Research Network (HIVRN) provided information on patients with Medicaid coverage. Medicaid data were obtained from the sites' states (MD, NY, and MA) and 3 surrounding states and matched to HIVRN medical record-based data. Individuals less than 18, those with Medicare, and those in Medicaid managed care plans were excluded. Medicaid and HIVRN data were compared to ascertain concordance in capturing any inpatient event and any antiretroviral (ART) medication use. Of 6892 unique HIVRN identifiers, 6196 (90%) were linked to Medicaid data. The analytic sample included 11,341 person-years of Medicaid claims data from 3695 individuals in fee-for-service (FFS) programs. The mean annual FFS payment for all services was $47,434; mean annual FFS payment for only medical services was $38,311. Concordance between Medicaid and HIVRN data was excellent for ART use, but HIVRN data did not record a substantial proportion of years in which Medicaid recorded inpatient use. Estimated Medicaid payment amounts in this study are higher than some previous estimates. More complete capture of expensive inpatient hospitalizations in Medicaid data may partially explain this finding."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Although inpatient care and ART medications contribute the most, expenditures for nonmedical services are substantial."

For more information on this research see: Expenditures for Persons Living With HIV Enrolled in Medicaid, 2006-2010. Jaids-Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 2016;72(4):408-415. Jaids-Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes can be contacted at: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting J.A. Fleishman, Johns Hopkins Sch Med, Div Infect Dis, Dept. of Med, Baltimore, MD, United States. Additional authors for this research include A.K. Monroe, C.C. Voss, R.D. Moore and K.A. Gebo.

Keywords for this news article include: Baltimore, Maryland, United States, North and Central America, Immune System Diseases and Conditions - HIV/AIDS, Viral Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Primate Lentiviruses, Vertebrate Viruses, HIV Infections, Health Policy, Retroviridae, RNA Viruses, Medicaid, HIV/AIDS, Johns Hopkins University.