The impact of insurance status on patient placement into inpatient and outpatient orthopaedic surgical centers.

BACKGROUND: Innovation has fueled the shift from inpatient to outpatient care for orthopaedic joint arthroplasty. Given this transformation, it becomes imperative to understand what factors help assign care-settings to specific patients for the same procedure. While the comorbidities suffered by patients are important considerations, recent research may point to a more complex determination. Differences in reimbursement structures and patient characteristics across various insurance statuses could potentially influence these decisions. METHODS: Retrospective binary logistic and ordinary least square (OLS) regression analyses were employed on de-identified inpatient and outpatient orthopaedic arthroplasty data from Albany Medical Center from 2018 to 2022. Data elements included surgical setting (inpatient vs. outpatient), covariates (age, sex, race, obesity, smoking status), Elixhauser comorbidity indices, and insurance status. RESULTS: Patients insured by Medicare were significantly more likely to be placed in inpatient care-settings for total hip, knee, and ankle arthroplasty when compared to their privately insured counterparts even after Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) removed each individual surgery from its inpatient-only-list (1.65 (p < 0.05), 1.27 (p < 0.05), and 12.93 (p < 0.05) times more likely respectively). When compared to patients insured by the other payers, Medicare patients did not have the most comorbidities (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Medicare patients were more likely to be placed in inpatient care-settings for hip, knee, and ankle arthroplasty. However, Medicaid patients were shown to have the most comorbidities. It is of value to note Medicare patients billed for outpatient services experience higher coinsurance rates. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

The Cost of Poverty: The Relationship Between Insurance Status, Length of Stay, and Discharge Disposition in Trauma Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Insurance status (IS) is known to be associated with length of stay (LOS). The impact of IS on excess LOS (ELOS), days between medical readiness and discharge date, has not been explored. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of patients with pelvic fractures at a level I trauma center. Outcomes included ELOS (primary), discharge disposition (secondary), and ELOS-associated complications (secondary). RESULTS: 185 patients were included. Uninsured patients were the youngest and had the least baseline comorbidities (31.3 years (median), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) .1) while publicly insured patients were the oldest and had the most baseline comorbidities (58.4 years (median), CCI 2.32). Excess LOS and associated complications did not differ among groups. After regression analysis, UIPs had longer LOS than PRPs (2.07 days, 95% CI .28-3.85). UIPs were recommended to go to inpatient rehabilitation 51.6% of the time but were discharged home 93.6% of the time; 81.0% of these changes were attributed to insufficient financial resources. CONCLUSIONS: Excess LOS and complications associated with ELOS were not associated with IS. Although UIPs were younger and had fewer baseline comorbidities, they had longer LOS after regression analysis. While discharge recommendations differed based on insurance status, UIPs had limited access to rehabilitation due to financial disparities. Despite initial treatment team recommendations, UIPs had to be sent home as their lack of insurance precluded inpatient rehabilitation placement.

Impact of being underweight before pregnancy on preterm birth by race/ethnicity and insurance status in California: an analysis of birth records.

BACKGROUND: The US still has a high burden of preterm birth (PTB), with important disparities by race/ethnicity and poverty status. There is a large body of literature looking at the impact of pre-pregnancy obesity on PTB, but fewer studies have explored the association between underweight status on PTB, especially with a lens toward health disparities. Furthermore, little is known about how weight, specifically pre-pregnancy underweight status, and socio-economic-demographic factors such as race/ethnicity and insurance status, interact with each other to contribute to risks of PTB. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to measure the association between pre-pregnancy underweight and PTB and small for gestational age (SGA) among a large sample of births in the US. Our secondary objective was to see if underweight status and two markers of health disparities - race/ethnicity and insurance status (public vs. other) - on PTB. STUDY DESIGN: We used data from all births in California from 2011 to 2017, which resulted in 3,070,241 singleton births with linked hospital discharge records. We ran regression models to estimate the relative risk of PTB by underweight status, by race/ethnicity, and by poverty (Medi-cal status). We then looked at the interaction between underweight status and race/ethnicity and underweight and poverty on PTB. RESULTS: Black and Asian women were more likely to be underweight (aRR = 1.0, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.1 and aRR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.4, 1.5, respectively), and Latina women were less likely to be underweight (aRR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.7, 0.7). Being underweight was associated with increased odds of PTB (aRR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.3-1.3) and, after controlling for underweight, all nonwhite race/ethnic groups had increased odds of PTB compared to white women. In interaction models, the combined effect of being both underweight and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) statistically significantly reduced the relative risk of PTB (aRR = 0.9, 95% CI: 0.8, 0.9) and SGA (aRR = 1.0, 95% CI: 0.9, 1.0). The combined effect of being both underweight and on public insurance increased the relative risk of PTB (aRR = 1.1, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.2) but there was no additional effect of being both underweight and on public insurance on SGA (aRR = 1.0, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.0). CONCLUSIONS: We confirm and build upon previous findings that being underweight preconception is associated with increased risk of PTB and SGA - a fact often overlooked in the focus on overweight and adverse birth outcomes. Additionally, our findings suggest that the effect of being underweight on PTB and SGA differs by race/ethnicity and by insurance status, emphasizing that other factors related to inequities in access to health care and poverty are contributing to disparities in PTB.

Disparities in Provider Ordering Practices of Image-Guided Interventions and Surgery for Patients With Low Back Pain: A Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess individual- and neighborhood-level sociodemographic factors associating with providers' ordering of nonpharmacologic treatments for patients with low back pain (LBP), specifically physical therapy, image-guided interventions, and lumbar surgery. METHODS: Our cohort included all patients diagnosed with LBP from 2000 to 2017 in a statewide database of all hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities within Utah. We compared sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of (1) patients with LBP who received any treatment with those who received none and (2) patients with LBP who received invasive LBP treatments with those who only received noninvasive LBP treatments using the Student's t test, Wilcoxon's rank-sum tests, and Pearson's χ2 tests, as applicable, and two separate multivariate logistic regression models: (1) to determine whether sociodemographic characteristics were risk factors for receiving any LBP treatments and (2) risk factors for receiving invasive LBP treatments. RESULTS: Individuals in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods were less likely to receive any nonpharmacologic treatment orders (odds ratio [OR] 0.74 for most disadvantaged, P < .001) and received fewer invasive therapies (0.92, P = .018). Individual-level characteristics correlating with lower rates of treatment orders were female sex, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander race (OR 0.50, P < .001), Hispanic ethnicity (OR 0.77, P < .001), single or unmarried status (OR 0.69, P < .001), and no insurance or self-pay (OR 0.07, P < .001). CONCLUSION: Neighborhood and individual sociodemographic variables associated with treatment orders for LBP with Area Deprivation Index, sex, race or ethnicity, insurance, and marital status associating with receipt of any treatment, as well as more invasive image-guided interventions and surgery.

Effect of insurance status on perioperative outcomes after robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy: a propensity-score matched analysis.

The influence of Medicaid or being uninsured is prevailingly thought to negatively impact a patient's socioeconomic and postoperative course, yet little has been published to support this claim specifically in reference to robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy. This study was undertaken to determine impact of health insurance type on perioperative outcomes in patients undergoing robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy. Following IRB approval, we prospectively followed 364 patients who underwent robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy. Patients were stratified by insurance status (i.e., Private, Medicare, and Medicaid/Uninsured); 100 patients were 2:2:1 propensity-score matched by age, BMI, ASA class, pathology, 8th edition AJCC staging, and tumor size. Perioperative variables were compared utilizing contingency testing and ANOVA. Statistical significance was accepted at a p-value ≤ 0.05 and data are presented as median (mean ± SD). The 100 patients undergoing propensity-score matching were 64 (65 ± 9.1) years old with a BMI of 27 (27 ± 4.9) kg/m2 and ASA class of 3 (3 ± 0.5). Operative duration was 421 (428 ± 105.9) minutes and estimated blood loss was 200 (385 ± 795.0) mL. There were 4 in-hospital deaths and 8 readmissions within 30 days of discharge. Total hospital cost was $32,064 (38,014 ± 22,205.94). After matching, no differences were found in pre-, intra-, and short-term postoperative variables among patients with different insurances, including hospital cost and time to initiate adjuvant treatment, which was 8 (9 ± 7.9) weeks for patients with malignant disease. In our hepatopancreaticobiliary program, health insurance status did not impact perioperative outcomes or hospital costs. These findings highlight that financial coverage does not influence quality of perioperative care, reinforcing the equity of robotic surgery.

Patient Characteristics Associated With Phone and Video Visits at a Tele-Urgent Care Center During the Initial COVID-19 Response: Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Health systems rapidly adopted telemedicine as an alternative health care delivery modality in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic factors, such as age and gender, may play a role in patients' choice of a phone or video visit. However, it is unknown whether there are differences in utilization between phone and video visits. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate patients' characteristics, patient utilization, and service characteristics of a tele-urgent care clinic during the initial response to the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of urgent care patients using a statewide, on-demand telemedicine clinic with board-certified physicians during the initial phases of the pandemic. The study data were collected from March 3, 2020, through May 3, 2020. RESULTS: Of 1803 telemedicine visits, 1278 (70.9%) patients were women, 730 (40.5%) were aged 18 to 34 years, and 1423 (78.9%) were uninsured. There were significant differences between telemedicine modalities and gender (P<.001), age (P<.001), insurance status (P<.001), prescriptions given (P<.001), and wait times (P<.001). Phone visits provided significantly more access to rural areas than video visits (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that offering patients a combination of phone and video options provided additional flexibility for various patient subgroups, particularly patients living in rural regions with limited internet bandwidth. Differences in utilization were significant based on patient gender, age, and insurance status. We also found differences in prescription administration between phone and video visits that require additional investigation.

Health insurance status, lifestyle choices and the presence of non-communicable diseases: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Although health insurance (HI) has effectively mitigated healthcare financial burdens, its contribution to healthy lifestyle choices and the presence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is not well established. We aimed to systematically review the existing evidence on the effect of HI on healthy lifestyle choices and NCDs. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted across PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library and CINAHLComplet@EBSCOhost from inception until 30 September 2022, capturing studies that reported the effect of HI on healthy lifestyle and NCDs. A narrative synthesis of the studies was done. The review concluded both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. A critical appraisal checklist for survey-based studies and the National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies were used for the quality assessment. RESULT: Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. HI was associated with the propensity to engage in physical activities (6/11 studies), consume healthy diets (4/7 studies), not to smoke (5/11 studies) or take alcohol (5/10 studies). Six (of nine) studies showed that HI coverage was associated with a lowered prevalence of NCDs. CONCLUSION: This evidence suggests that HI is beneficial. More reports showed that it propitiated a healthy lifestyle and was associated with a reduced prevalence of NCDs.

Association between sociodemographic factors and diagnosis of lethal prostate cancer in early life.

OBJECTIVE: A subset of patients are diagnosed with lethal prostate cancer (CaP) early in life before prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening is typically initiated. To identify opportunities for improved detection, we evaluated patient sociodemographic factors associated with advanced vs. localized (CaP) diagnosis across the age spectrum. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the National Cancer Database, identifying patients diagnosed with CaP from 2004 to 2020. We compared characteristics of patients diagnosed at the advanced (cN1 or M1) versus localized (cT1-4N0M0) stage. Using multivariable logistic regression, we evaluated the associations among patient clinical and sociodemographic factors and advanced diagnosis, stratifying patients by age as ≤55 (before screening is recommended for most patients), 56 to 65, 66 to 75, and ≥76 years. RESULTS: We identified 977,722 patients who met the inclusion criteria. The mean age at diagnosis was 65.3 years and 50,663 (5.1%) had advanced disease. Overall, uninsured (OR = 3.20, 95% CI 3.03-3.78) and Medicaid-insured (OR 2.58, 95% CI 2.48-2.69) vs. privately insured status was associated with higher odds of diagnosis with advanced disease and this effect was more pronounced for younger patients. Among patients ≤55 years, uninsured (OR 4.14, 95% CI 3.69-4.65) and Medicaid-insured (OR 3.39, 95% CI 3.10-3.72) vs. privately insured patients were associated with higher odds of advanced cancer at diagnosis. Similarly, residence in the lowest vs. highest income quartile was associated with increased odds of advanced CaP in patients ≤55 years (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02-1.30). Black vs. White race was associated with increased odds of advanced CaP at diagnosis later in life (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.09-1.25); however, race was not significantly associated with advanced stage CaP in those ≤55 years (P = 0.635). CONCLUSIONS: Sociodemographic disparities in diagnosis at advanced stages of CaP were more pronounced in younger patients, particularly with respect to insurance status. These findings may support greater attention to differential use of early CaP screening based on patient health insurance.

Disparities in healthcare utilization by insurance status among patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common circulatory disorder associated with increased hospitalizations and significant health care-related expenditures. Among patients with PAD, insurance status is an important determinant of health care utilization, treatment of disease, and treatment outcomes. However, little is known about PAD-costs differences across different insurance providers. In this study we examined possible disparities in length of stay and total charge of inpatient hospitalizations among patients with PAD by insurance type. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of length of stay and total charge by insurance provider for all hospitalizations for individuals with PAD in South Carolina (2010-2018). Cross-classified multilevel modeling was applied to account for the non-nested hierarchical structure of the data, with county and hospital included as random effects. Analyses were adjusted for patient age, race/ethnicity, county, year of admission, admission type, all-patient refined diagnostic groups, and Charlson comorbidity index. RESULTS: Among 385,018 hospitalizations for individuals with PAD in South Carolina, the median length of stay was 4 days (IQR: 5) and the median total charge of hospitalization was $43,232 (IQR: $52,405). Length of stay and total charge varied significantly by insurance provider. Medicare patients had increased length of stay (IRR = 1.08, 95 CI%: 1.07, 1.09) and higher total charges (ß: 0.012, 95% CI: 0.007, 0.178) than patients with private insurance. Medicaid patients also had increased length of stay (IRR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.24,1.28) but had lower total charges (ß: -0.022, 95% CI: -0.003. -0.015) than patients with private insurance. CONCLUSIONS: Insurance status was associated with inpatient length of stay and total charges in patients with PAD. It is essential that Medicare and Medicaid individuals with PAD receive proper management and care of their PAD, particularly in the primary care settings, to prevent hospitalizations and reduce the excess burden on these patients.

Risk Factor Analysis of Hospital Readmissions at St. Petersburg General Hospital.

Background: Decreased readmission rates are largely seen as an indicator of effective care and improved resource management. The case management team at St. Petersburg General Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida identified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation, pneumonia, and sepsis as 3 of the leading diagnoses on index admission that later led to 30-day readmissions. By examining patients with these 3 diagnoses on index admission, we decided to investigate potential readmission risk factors including patient age, sex, race, body mass index (BMI), length of stay during the index admission, insurance type during index admission, discharge placement after index admission, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and type 2 diabetes. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study with data from 4180 patients at St. Petersburg General Hospital from 2016 through 2019 with index admission diagnoses of COPD exacerbation, pneumonia, and sepsis. A univariate analysis was conducted on patient sex, race, BMI, length of stay during the index admission, health insurance type during the index admission, discharge placement after the index admission, presence of coronary artery disease, presence of heart failure, and presence of type 2 diabetes. Subsequently, a bivariate analysis was run on these variables in relation to 30-day readmissions. Then a multivariable analysis was completed using binary logistic regression and pairwise analysis to determine the significance between variables within the categories of discharge disposition and insurance type. Results: Of the 4180 patients included in this study, 926 (22.2%) were readmitted within 30 days of discharge. In the bivariate analysis race, BMI, mean length of stay during the index admission, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and type 2 diabetes were not significantly associated with readmission. The bivariate analysis revealed that patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities had the highest readmission rates (28%), followed by home care (26%) (P = .001). Medicaid patients (24%) and Medicare patients (23%) demonstrated higher read-mission rates than those with private insurance (17%) (P = .001). Readmitted patients were slightly younger (62.14 vs. 63.69 years; P = .02) in the bivariate analysis. However, in the multi-variable analysis, only patients with type 2 diabetes and patients with non-private insurance were associated with increased readmission rates. Pairwise analysis of the variables within insurance and discharge disposition categories demonstrates decreased readmission for individuals with Private/Other when compared to other insurance subtypes and decreased readmission for Other when compared to discharge disposition subtypes. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that hospital readmissions are associated with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and having a non-private insurance status. Our findings lead us to suggest further investigation into changes in hospital policies and procedures for these groups that will aim to decrease readmission rates in the future.

Association Between Health Insurance and Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury: A National ACS-TQP-PUF Database Study.

INTRODUCTION: According to the US Census Bureau, roughly 8.6% of the population lacks health care coverage. Increasing evidence suggests that insurance status plays a role in outcomes after trauma. However, its role in the setting of traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains poorly understood. METHODS: The Trauma Quality Programs Participant Use Files were queried from 2017 to 2019. All patients with isolated TBI were identified. Isolated TBI was defined as: 1) Head Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) > 3 and 2) AIS <3 in all other anatomical regions. Patients dead on arrival, with Head AIS = 6, or missing key data were excluded. Demographic and clinical information was compared between those with and without insurance. Multivariate regressions were used to assess associations between insurance status and TBI outcomes (inhospital mortality, discharge to facility, total ventilator days, Intensive Care Unit length of stay (ICU LOS), and hospital LOS). RESULTS: In total, 199,556 patients met inclusion criteria; 18,957 (9.5%) were uninsured. Compared to the insured, uninsured TBI patients were younger with a greater proportion of males. Uninsured patients were less severely injured and less comorbid. Uninsured patients had shorter unadjusted LOS in the ICU and hospital. Yet, uninsured patients experienced greater unadjusted inhospital mortality (12.7% versus 8.4%, P < 0.001). When controlling for covariates, lack of insurance was significantly associated with increased likelihood of mortality (OR 1.62; P < 0.001). This effect was most noticeable in patients with Head AIS = 4 (OR 1.55; P < 0.001) and Head AIS = 5 (OR 1.80; P < 0.001). Lack of insurance was also significantly associated with decreased likelihood of discharge to facility (OR 0.38), decreased ICU LOS (Coeff. -0.61), and decreased hospital LOS (Coeff. -0.82; all P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that insurance status is independently associated with outcome disparities after isolated TBI. Despite the Affordable Care Act (ACA) reform, lack of insurance appears significantly associated with inhospital mortality, decreased likelihood of discharge to facility, and decreased time spent in the ICU and hospital.

Impact of insurance status on healthcare resource utilization and outcomes in adolescent patients presenting with spinal cord injuries.

OBJECTIVE: Insurance disparities have been suggested to influence the medical and surgical outcomes of adult patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), with a paucity of studies demonstrating their impact on the outcomes of pediatric and adolescent SCI patients. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of insurance status on healthcare utilization and outcomes in adolescent patients presenting with SCI. METHODS: An administrative database study was performed using the 2017 admission year from 753 facilities using the National Trauma Data Bank. Adolescent patients (11-17 years old) with cervical/thoracic SCIs were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification coding. Patients were categorized by governmental insurance versus private insurance/self-pay. Patient demographics, comorbidities, imaging, procedures, hospital adverse events (AEs), and length of stay (LOS) data were collected. Multivariate regression analyses were used to determine the effect of insurance status on LOS, any imaging or procedure, or any AE. RESULTS: Of the 488 patients identified, 220 (45.1%) held governmental insurance while 268 (54.9%) were privately insured. Age was similar between the cohorts (p = 0.616), with the governmental insurance cohort (GI cohort) having a significantly lower proportion of non-Hispanic White patients than the private insurance cohort (PI cohort) (GI: 43.2% vs PI: 72.4%, p < 0.001). While transportation accident was the most common mechanism of injury for both cohorts, assault was significantly greater in the GI cohort (GI: 21.8% vs PI: 3.0%, p < 0.001). A significantly greater proportion of patients in the PI cohort received any imaging (GI: 65.9% vs PI: 75.0%, p = 0.028), while there were no significant differences in procedures performed (p = 0.069) or hospital AEs (p = 0.386) between the cohorts. The median (IQR) LOS (p = 0.186) and discharge disposition (p = 0.302) were similar between the cohorts. On multivariate analysis, with respect to governmental insurance, private insurance was not independently associated with obtaining any imaging (OR 1.38, p = 0.139), undergoing any procedure (OR 1.09, p = 0.721), hospital AEs (OR 1.11, p = 0.709), or LOS (adjusted risk ratio -2.56, p = 0.203). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that insurance status may not independently influence healthcare resource utilization and outcomes in adolescent patients presenting with SCIs. Further studies are needed to corroborate these findings.

Association Between Mortality Due to Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Race in the United States From 2007 to 2016.

BACKGROUND: Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) exhibit increased incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, they are often excluded when the disease is studied. Risk-factors and incidence are well-researched while cancer-specific mortality trends remain unclear. We aimed to determine whether insurance status modifies the association between race and cancer-specific mortality in NPC patients. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used secondary data analysis from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database. Patients ≥18 years with histologically confirmed primary NPC from 2007 - 2016 were included. The main outcome assessed was 5-year survival and the main exposure variable was race (API, white, black). Insurance status was classified into uninsured, any Medicaid, and insured (with any insurance). Potential confounders included age, sex, marital status, stage at diagnosis, and surgical treatment. Adjusted Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: 1610 patients were included (72.98% male, 27.02% female). 49.8% were API, 40.5% were Whites, and 9.8% Blacks. Maximum follow-up was 5-years. The adjusted hazards of 5-year cancer-specific death for API and Blacks compared with Whites were 0.77 (95% CI 0.62 - 0.96) and 0.92 (95% CI 0.65 - 1.31), respectively. Cases decreased with age in API and Blacks. 8.2% of cases had localized disease, 45.3% had local spread, and 44.6% had distant metastasis. Insurance status did not modify the association between race and mortality. CONCLUSION: Race is an important prognostic factor to account for in NPC patients. Investigating risk-factors and subtypes stratified by race may explain our findings.

Public Insurance Is Associated With Decreased Rates of Surgical Management for Glenohumeral Instability: An Analysis of the Rhode Island All-Payers Claims Database.

Background: Socioeconomic status has been shown to influence patients' ability to access health care. Purpose: To evaluate the socioeconomic status and/or insurance provider of patients and to determine whether these differences influence the management of shoulder instability. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: The Rhode Island All-Payers Claims Database (APCD) was used to identify all patients between the ages of 5 and 64 years who made an insurance claim related to a shoulder instability event between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2019. Chi-square analysis and multivariate logistic regression were utilized to determine whether insurance status, social deprivation index (SDI), or median income by zip code were significant predictors of treatment methodology and recurrent instability. Kaplan-Meier failure analysis and Cox regression were used to assess for variation in the cumulative rates of surgical intervention and recurrent instability over 20-year age groups (5-24, 25-44, and 45-64 years). Results: There were 3310 patients from the APCD query included in the analysis. Bivariate analysis demonstrated significant variation in the rates of surgical stabilization between patients with public and commercial insurance providers (P < .001). Patients with public insurance received surgery 1.8% of the time compared with 5.8% of the time in patients with commercial insurance. After controlling for recurrent instability, age, instability type (subluxation or dislocation) and directionality, and sex, patients with public insurance were 79% less likely to receive surgery within 30 days (P = .035) and 64% less likely to receive surgery within 1 year (P = .002). This disparity was most notable in the 5- to 24-year (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.28; 95% CI, 0.13-0.61) and 25- to 44-year (HR = 0.26; 95% CI, 0.08-0.89) age groups. Neither SDI quartile nor income quartile based on patient primary zip code had a clinically significant influence on rates of surgery or recurrent instability. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that patients with public insurance have a decreased likelihood of undergoing surgical stabilization to address glenohumeral instability compared with patients with commercial insurance.

A Qualitative Analysis of Access to Healthcare Among African American Adults in South Carolina.

Access to healthcare is a Social Determinant of Health that is associated with public health outcomes and barriers to access disproportionately affect African American adults. This study used a health and financial literacy approach to qualitatively assess how African American adults access healthcare and potential barriers faced (n = 20). Results indicated a wide range of experiences generally split between positive and negative experiences in access to healthcare. Specific themes that emerged included scheduling issues and appointment availability, expense of care, lack of transparency in insurance coverage, the need for more primary care clinics and enhanced community outreach and education on how to access healthcare. This research identifies a need for increased education surrounding health insurance coverage and an identified need for more local physicians or ease of scheduling. All participants in this study stated they were covered by health insurance of some form. Future research should examine these issues in the context of socioeconomic and insurance status.

Racial and insurance status disparities in imaging modality among pediatric patients diagnosed with appendicitis.

BACKGROUND: Studies have assessed the type of diagnostic imaging used in the treatment of appendicitis in children. Few studies investigated racial/ethnic and insurance disparities in imaging modalities used in pediatric patients diagnosed with appendicitis. Our study seeks to determine whether race/ethnicity and insurance status are associated with imaging modality chosen for pediatric patients diagnosed with appendicitis in the emergency department. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study utilizing data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) from 2010 to 2019. We included children <18 years old with a ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM diagnosis of appendicitis. Exposures were patient race/ethnicity and insurance status. Outcome of interest was imaging modality. We conducted adjusted survey logistic regression to evaluate the patient characteristics and receipt each of the imaging modalities among those with a diagnosis of appendicitis. RESULTS: Of 308,140,115 emergency department (ED) visits, 1,126,865 (0.37%) had a diagnosis of appendicitis. Overall, male patients were more likely to receive CAT scan in comparison to female children (OR=2.52, 95% CI= 1.16-5.49). Additionally, Hispanic children who had significantly greater odds of obtaining ultrasound (OR= 4.56, 95% CI=1.09-19.12). Hispanic children were also less likely to receive x-ray (OR= 0.31, 95% CI=0.11-0.89) or computed tomography (CT) scans (OR= 0.23, 95% CI=0.07-0.76). Children diagnosed with appendicitis who had insurance other than private, Medicare, Medicaid, or self-pay were significantly more likely to receive x-ray studies (OR=4.39, 95% CI= 1.23-15.69). CONCLUSIONS AND GLOBAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS: This study demonstrated the presence of racial/ethnic and insurance status disparities in the imaging modality chosen to assist in diagnosing appendicitis in pediatric patients.

Socioeconomic Factors and Pediatric Injury.

Purpose of Review: The goal of this review is to describe how socioeconomic status (SES) is evaluated in the pediatric trauma literature and further consider how differences in SES can lead to inequities in pediatric injury. Recent Findings: Insurance status, area-level income, and indices of socioeconomic deprivation are the most common assessments of socioeconomic status. Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds experience higher rates of firearm-related injuries, motor vehicle-related injuries, and violence-related injuries, contributing to inequities in morbidity and mortality after pediatric injury. Differences in SES may also lead to inequities in post-injury care and recovery, with higher rates of readmission, recidivism, and PTSD for children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Summary: Additional research looking at family-level measures of SES and more granular measures of neighborhood deprivation are needed. SES can serve as an upstream target for interventions to reduce pediatric injury and narrow the equity gap.

The Effect of Insurance Status on Bariatric Surgery Outcomes: A Retrospective Chart Review Study.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have shown socioeconomic factors and race to affect weight loss after bariatric surgery, but few have focused on the impact of insurance status. The purpose of this study was to determine if insurance status affects bariatric surgery patients' surgical outcomes and weight loss. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of 408 bariatric patients who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) or sleeve gastrectomy (SG). Patients were stratified by insurance status and surgery type to evaluate weight loss and surgical outcomes. RESULTS: Overall, patients experienced 71.0% excess weight loss at 1-year postoperatively. Patients undergoing LRYGB had greater percent excess weight loss (%EWL) at 1-year (74.5% vs 63.3%, P < .001) than SG patients. Upon multiple regression analysis, insurance type did not affect %EWL. Instead, younger age, female gender, LRYGB procedure, and lower initial BMI were all associated with greater %EWL. CONCLUSIONS: Insurance type is not a useful independent predictor of successful weight loss in bariatric surgery patients.

Insurance status is associated with urgent carotid endarterectomy and worse postoperative outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Underinsured patients can experience worse preoperative medical optimization. We aimed to determine whether insurance status was associated with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) urgency and postoperative outcomes. METHODS: We analyzed the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative Carotid Endarterectomy dataset from January 2012 to January 2021. Univariable and multivariable methods were used to analyze the differences across the insurance types for the primary outcome variable: CEA urgency. The analyses were limited to patients aged <65 years to minimize age confounding across insurers. We also examined differences in preoperative medical optimization and symptomatic disease and postoperative outcomes. A secondary analysis was performed to examine the effect of CEA urgency on the postoperative outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 27,331 patients had undergone first-time CEA. Of these patients, 4600 (17%) had Medicare, 3440 (13%) had Medicaid, 17,917 (65%) had commercial insurance, and 1374 (5%) were uninsured. The Medicaid and uninsured patients had higher rates of urgent operation compared with Medicare (20.0% and 34.7% vs 14.4%; P < .001), with no differences in the commercial group vs the Medicare group. Additionally, Medicaid and uninsured patients had lower rates of aspirin, statin, and/or antiplatelet use (93.6% and 93.5% vs 95.8%; P < .001) and higher rates of symptomatic disease (42.1% and 57.6% vs 36.2%; P < .001) compared with Medicare patients. The rate of perioperative stroke/death was higher for the Medicaid and uninsured patients than for the Medicare patients (1.63% and 1.89% vs 1.02%; P = .017 and P = .01, respectively), with no differences in the commercial group. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that compared with Medicare, Medicaid and uninsured status were associated with increased odds of an urgent operation (odds ratio [OR], 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-1.5; and OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 2.0-2.7, respectively), symptomatic disease (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.4; and OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.9-2.5, respectively), and perioperative stroke/death (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1-2.4; and OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1-3.0, respectively) and a decreased odds of aspirin, statin, and/or antiplatelet use (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.6-0.9; and OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.6-0.99, respectively). Additionally, the rates of perioperative stroke/death were higher for patients who had required urgent surgery compared with elective surgery (2.8% vs 1.0%; P < .001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated increased odds of perioperative stroke/death for patients who had required urgent surgery (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.9-3.1). CONCLUSIONS: Medicaid and uninsured patients were more likely to require urgent CEA, in part because of poor preoperative medical optimization. Additionally, urgent operation was independently associated with worse postoperative outcomes. These results highlight the need for improved preoperative follow-up for underinsured populations.