Electronic health records vs Medicaid claims: completeness of diabetes preventive care data in community health centers.

PURPOSE: Electronic Health Record (EHR) databases in community health centers (CHCs) present new opportunities for quality improvement, comparative effectiveness, and health policy research. We aimed (1) to create individual-level linkages between EHR data from a network of CHCs and Medicaid claims from 2005 through 2007; (2) to examine congruence between these data sources; and (3) to identify sociodemographic characteristics associated with documentation of services in one data set vs the other. METHODS: We studied receipt of preventive services among established diabetic patients in 50 Oregon CHCs who had ever been enrolled in Medicaid (N = 2,103). We determined which services were documented in EHR data vs in Medicaid claims data, and we described the sociodemographic characteristics associated with these documentation patterns. RESULTS: In 2007, the following services were documented in Medicaid claims but not the EHR: 11.6% of total cholesterol screenings received, 7.0% of total influenza vaccinations, 10.5% of nephropathy screenings, and 8.8% of tests for glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)). In contrast, the following services were documented in the EHR but not in Medicaid claims: 49.3% of cholesterol screenings, 50.4% of influenza vaccinations, 50.1% of nephropathy screenings, and 48.4% of HbA(1c) tests. Patients who were older, male, Spanish-speaking, above the federal poverty level, or who had discontinuous insurance were more likely to have services documented in the EHR but not in the Medicaid claims data. CONCLUSIONS: Networked EHRs provide new opportunities for obtaining more comprehensive data regarding health services received, especially among populations who are discontinuously insured. Relying solely on Medicaid claims data is likely to substantially underestimate the quality of care.

Impact of policy changes on emergency department use by Medicaid enrollees in Oregon.

OBJECTIVE: In 2003, Oregon's Medicaid expansion program, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP), implemented premiums and copayments and eliminated outpatient behavioral health services. We ascertained whether these changes, including $50 copayments for emergency department (ED) visits, affected ED use. METHODS: This study used statewide administrative data on 414,009 adult OHP enrollees to compare ED utilization rates (adjusted for patient characteristics) in 3 time periods: (1) before the cutbacks, (2) after the cutbacks, and (3) after partial restoration of benefits. We examined overall ED visits and several subsets of ED visits: visits requiring hospital admission, injury-related, drug-related, alcohol-related, and other psychiatric visits. Because the policy changes affected only the expansion program (OHP Standard), we ascertained the impact of these changes compared with a control group of categorically eligible Medicaid enrollees (OHP Plus). RESULTS: Compared with the control group, case-mix-adjusted ED utilization rates fell 18% among OHP Standard enrollees after the cutbacks. The rate of ED visits leading to hospitalization fell 24%. Injury-related visits and psychiatric visits excluding chemical dependency exhibited a similar pattern to overall ED visits. Drug-related ED visits increased 32% in the control group, perhaps reflecting the closure of drug treatment programs after the cutbacks reduced their revenue. CONCLUSION: The policy changes were followed by a substantial reduction in ED use. That ED visits requiring hospital admission fell to about the same extent as overall ED use suggests that OHP enrollees may have been discouraged from using EDs for emergencies as well as less-serious problems.

Immunization milestones: a more comprehensive picture of age-appropriate vaccination.

A challenge facing immunization registries is developing measures of childhood immunization coverage that contain more information for setting policy than present vaccine series up-to-date (UTD) rates. This study combined milestone analysis with provider encounter data to determine when children either do not receive indicated immunizations during medical encounters or fail to visit providers. Milestone analysis measures immunization status at key times between birth and age 2, when recommended immunizations first become late. The immunization status of a large population of children in the Oregon ALERT immunization registry and in the Oregon Health Plan was tracked across milestone ages. Findings indicate that the majority of children went back and forth with regard to having complete age-appropriate immunizations over time. We also found that immunization UTD rates when used alone are biased towards relating non-UTD status to a lack of visits to providers, instead of to provider visits on which recommended immunizations are not given.

How effective are copayments in reducing expenditures for low-income adult Medicaid beneficiaries? Experience from the Oregon health plan.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of introducing copayments on medical care use and expenditures for low-income, adult Medicaid beneficiaries. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: The Oregon Health Plan (OHP) implemented copayments and other benefit changes for some adult beneficiaries in February 2003. STUDY DESIGN: Copayment effects were measured as the "difference-in-difference" in average monthly service use and expenditures among cohorts of OHP Standard (intervention) and Plus (comparison) beneficiaries. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: There were 10,176 OHP Standard and 10,319 Plus propensity score-matched subjects enrolled during November 2001-October 2002 and May 2003-April 2004 that were selected and assigned to 59 primary care-based service areas with aggregate outcomes calculated in six month intervals yielding 472 observations. RESULTS: Total expenditures per person remained unchanged (+2.2 percent, p=.47) despite reductions in use (-2.7 percent, p<.001). Use and expenditures per person decreased for pharmacy (-2.2 percent, p<.001; -10.5 percent, p<.001) but increased for inpatient (+27.3 percent, p<.001; +20.1 percent, p=.03) and hospital outpatient services (+13.5 percent, p<.001; +19.7 percent, p<.001). Ambulatory professional (-7.7 percent, p<.001) and emergency department (-7.9 percent, p=.03) use decreased, yet expenditures remained unchanged (-1.5 percent, p=.75; -2.0 percent, p=.68, respectively) as expenditures per service user rose (+6.6 percent, p=.13; +7.9 percent, p=.03, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In the Oregon Medicaid program applying copayments shifted treatment patterns but did not provide expected savings. Policy makers should use caution in applying copayments to low-income Medicaid beneficiaries.

Benefit policy and disenrollment of adult Medicaid beneficiaries from the Oregon health plan.

Oregon's Medicaid program experienced a dramatic decrease in its non-categorically eligible adult members after implementing a new benefit policy in February 2003 for these beneficiaries. The policy included four main elements: premium increases for some enrollees; a more stringent premium payment policy; elimination of some benefits, including mental health and substance abuse treatment; and, the imposition of co-payments. The study compared monthly disenrollment rates eight months before and after the policy change. The new premium payment policy was found to be the main driver of disenrollment, followed by benefit elimination. Premium increases and co-payments had limited impact. Disenrollment was particularly high among vulnerable beneficiary groups, including people with no reported income, those previously obtaining premium waivers, methadone users, and other enrollees with substance abuse conditions. Better understanding of the relationship between benefit design and retention in public health insurance programs could help avoid the unintended policy effects experienced in Oregon.

Effect of eliminating behavioral health benefits for selected medicaid enrollees.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which the elimination of behavioral health benefits for selected beneficiaries of Oregon's Medicaid program affected general medical expenditures among enrollees using outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment services. DATA SOURCE/STUDY SETTING: Twelve months of claims before and 12 months following a 2003 policy change, which included the elimination of the behavioral health benefit for selected Oregon Medicaid enrollees. STUDY DESIGN: We use a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the change in general medical expenditures following the 2003 policy change. We compare two methodological approaches: regression with propensity score weighting; and one-to-one covariate matching. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Enrollees who had accessed the substance abuse treatment benefit demonstrated substantial and statistically significant increases in expenditures. Individuals who accessed the outpatient mental health benefit demonstrated a decrease or no change in expenditures, depending on model specification. CONCLUSIONS: Elimination of the substance abuse benefit led to increased medical expenditures, although this offset was still smaller than the total cost of the benefit. In contrast, individuals who accessed the outpatient mental health benefit did not exhibit a similar increase, although these individuals did not include a portion of the Medicaid population with severe mental illnesses.