Development and Evaluation of a Process to Link Cancer Patients in the SEER Registries to National Medicaid Enrollment Data.

Cancer patients receiving Medicaid have worse prognosis. Patients in 14 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registries were linked to national Medicaid enrollment files, 2006-2013, to determine enrollment status during the year before and after diagnosis. A deterministic algorithm based on Social Security number, Medicare Health Insurance Claim number, sex, and date of birth was utilized. Results were compared with an independent linkage of Kentucky-based SEER and Medicaid data. A total 559 484 cancer cases were linked to national Medicaid enrollment files, representing 15-17% of persons with cancer yearly. About 60% of these cases were a complete match on all variables. There was 99% agreement on enrollment status compared with the Kentucky linked data. SEER data were successfully linked to national Medicaid enrollment data. NCI will make the linked data available to researchers, allowing for more detailed assessments of the impact Medicaid enrollment has on cancer diagnosis and outcomes.

Understanding factors associated with loss of medicaid coverage among dual eligibles can help identify vulnerable enrollees.

For people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits (dual-eligible beneficiaries), the loss of Medicaid coverage may lead to problems with care coordination, higher out-of-pocket expenses, or reduced access to services. Using administrative data, we followed 292,242 full-benefit and 91,020 partial-benefit dual eligibles from January 2009 through December 2011. Among those with full Medicaid benefits, 15.6 percent lost Medicaid coverage at least once, with more frequent losses among younger beneficiaries. Many of these losses lasted only one to three months and were followed by reinstatement. Loss of Medicaid coverage was more common (23.2 percent) among enrollees with partial Medicaid benefits. Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data indicate that most dual eligibles who lost Medicaid coverage had no other source of supplemental insurance. Medicaid coverage is relatively stable among dual eligibles. However, some lose Medicaid for several months or more, putting them at risk for poor outcomes and potentially complicating their care, especially when it needs to be integrated under the two programs.

The relationship of post-acute home care use to Medicaid utilization and expenditures.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: To describe the use of post-acute home care (PAHC) and total Medicaid expenditures among hospitalized nonelderly adult Medicaid eligibles and to test whether health services utilization rates or total Medicaid expenditures were lower among Medicaid eligibles who used PAHC compared to those who did not. STUDY POPULATION: 5,299 Medicaid patients aged 18-64 discharged in 1992-1996 from 29 hospitals in the Cleveland Health Quality Choice (CHQC) project. DATA SOURCES: Linked Ohio Medicaid claims and CHQC medical record abstract data. DATA EXTRACTION: One stay per patient was randomly selected. DESIGN: Observational study. To control for treatment selection bias, we developed a model predicting the probability (propensity) a patient would be referred to PAHC, as a proxy for the patient's need for PAHC. We matched 430 patients who used Medicaid-covered PAHC ("USE") to patients who did not ("NO USE") by their propensity scores. Study outcomes were inpatient re-admission rates and days of stay (DOS), nursing home admission rates and DOS, and mean total Medicaid expenditures 90 and 180 days after discharge. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Of 3,788 medical patients, 12.1 percent were referred to PAHC; 64 percent of those referred used PAHC. Of 1,511 surgical patients, 10.9 percent were referred; 99 percent of those referred used PAHC. In 430 pairs of patients matched by propensity score, mean total Medicaid expenditures within 90 days after discharge were $7,649 in the USE group and $5,761 in the NO USE group. Total Medicaid expenditures were significantly higher in the USE group compared to the NO USE group for medical patients after 180 days (p < .05) and surgical patients after 90 and 180 days (p < .001). There were no significant differences for any other outcome. Sensitivity analysis indicates the results may be influenced by unmeasured variables, most likely functional status and/or care-giver support. CONCLUSIONS: Thirty-six percent of the medical patients referred to PAHC did not receive Medicaid-covered services. This suggests potential underuse among medical patients. The high post-discharge expenditures suggest opportunities for reducing costs through coordinating utilization or diverting it to lower-cost settings. Controlling for patients' need for services, PAHC utilization was not associated with lower utilization rates or lower total Medicaid expenditures. Medicaid programs are advised to proceed cautiously before expanding PAHC utilization and to monitor its use carefully. Further study, incorporating non-economic outcomes and additional factors influencing PAHC use, is warranted.