UMass Medical School experts will present how Medicaid expansion affects the way medical frailty is defined in states, and the positive impact of patient-centered care on children enrolled in the Massachusetts Medicaid program, at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting June 25-27 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Sunday, June 25
State Differences in the Application of Medical Frailty Under the Affordable Care Act- 2017
This poster details the effects of Medicaid coverage expansion since the Affordable Care Act began the inclusion of childless adults below the poverty level. This change has created a divide in how different states handle Medicaid coverage and this study examines how states undergoing Medicaid expansion differ in their treatment of individuals who may need the extra benefits offered by traditional Medicaid. Researchers studied 14 different states and found substantial differences in how each state assessed eligibility for Medicaid coverage. In states like Massachusetts, individuals who were applying for disability-based Medicaid could self-declare that they had special medical needs, while in other states like North Dakota, applicants are given a questionnaire which is evaluated by a medical professional and then reviewed by the State Department of Human Services to determine Medicaid eligibility.
Peter Mosbach, Disability Evaluation Services
Sherry Campanelli, Disability Evaluation Services
This presentation discusses the impact patient-centered medical homes have on the frequency of emergency room visits by children who are members of MassHealth, the Massachusetts Medicaid program. The study analyzed 13 child-serving practices over a period of 29 months to test whether the effect of the intervention differed for children with and without chronic conditions. Researchers found direct medical practice participation in patient centered medical homes helped drastically reduce emergency department visits for children in both of the aforementioned groups.
Paul Kirby, Office of Clinical Affairs
Anna Christensen, Mathematica Policy Research
Louise Bannister, Office of Clinical Affairs
Valerie Konar, Center for Health Policy and Research