Shailender Swaminathan1,2,3,4, Benjamin D Sommers5,6, Rebecca Thorsness1, Rajnish Mehrotra7, Yoojin Lee1, Amal N Trivedi1,2. 1. Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island. 2. Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island. 3. Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India. 4. SRM University, Amaravati, India. 5. Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. 6. Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 7. Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.
Abstract
Importance: The Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion may be associated with reduced mortality, but evidence to date is limited. Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are a high-risk group that may be particularly affected by Medicaid expansion. Objective: To examine the association of Medicaid expansion with 1-year mortality among nonelderly patients with ESRD initiating dialysis. Design, Setting, and Participants: Difference-in-differences analysis of nonelderly patients initiating dialysis in Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states from January 2011 to March 2017. Exposure: Living in a Medicaid expansion state. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was 1-year mortality. Secondary outcomes were insurance, predialysis nephrology care, and type of vascular access for hemodialysis. Results: A total of 142 724 patients in expansion states (mean age, 50.2 years; 40.2% women) and 93 522 patients in nonexpansion states (mean age, 49.7; 42.4% women) were included. In Medicaid expansion states, 1-year mortality following dialysis initiation declined from 6.9% in the preexpansion period to 6.1% after expansion (change, -0.8 percentage points; 95% CI, -1.1 to -0.5). In nonexpansion states, mortality rates were 7.0% before expansion and 6.8% after expansion (change, -0.2 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.5 to 0.2), yielding an adjusted absolute reduction in mortality in expansion states of -0.6 percentage points (95% CI, -1.0 to -0.2). Mortality reductions were largest for black patients (-1.4 percentage points; 95% CI, -2.2, -0.7; P=.04 for interaction) and patients aged 19 to 44 years (-1.1 percentage points; 95% CI, -2.1 to -0.3; P=.01 for interaction). Expansion was associated with a 10.5-percentage-point (95% CI, 7.7-13.2) increase in Medicaid coverage at dialysis initiation, a -4.2-percentage-point (95% CI, -6.0 to -2.3) decrease in being uninsured, and a 2.3-percentage-point (95% CI, 0.6-4.1) increase in the presence of an arteriovenous fistula or graft. Changes in predialysis nephrology care were not significant. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with ESRD initiating dialysis, living in a state that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act was associated with lower 1-year mortality. If this association is causal, further research is needed to understand what factors may have contributed to this finding.
Importance: The Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion may be associated with reduced mortality, but evidence to date is limited. Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are a high-risk group that may be particularly affected by Medicaid expansion. Objective: To examine the association of Medicaid expansion with 1-year mortality among nonelderly patients with ESRD initiating dialysis. Design, Setting, and Participants: Difference-in-differences analysis of nonelderly patients initiating dialysis in Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states from January 2011 to March 2017. Exposure: Living in a Medicaid expansion state. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was 1-year mortality. Secondary outcomes were insurance, predialysis nephrology care, and type of vascular access for hemodialysis. Results: A total of 142 724 patients in expansion states (mean age, 50.2 years; 40.2% women) and 93 522 patients in nonexpansion states (mean age, 49.7; 42.4% women) were included. In Medicaid expansion states, 1-year mortality following dialysis initiation declined from 6.9% in the preexpansion period to 6.1% after expansion (change, -0.8 percentage points; 95% CI, -1.1 to -0.5). In nonexpansion states, mortality rates were 7.0% before expansion and 6.8% after expansion (change, -0.2 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.5 to 0.2), yielding an adjusted absolute reduction in mortality in expansion states of -0.6 percentage points (95% CI, -1.0 to -0.2). Mortality reductions were largest for black patients (-1.4 percentage points; 95% CI, -2.2, -0.7; P=.04 for interaction) and patients aged 19 to 44 years (-1.1 percentage points; 95% CI, -2.1 to -0.3; P=.01 for interaction). Expansion was associated with a 10.5-percentage-point (95% CI, 7.7-13.2) increase in Medicaid coverage at dialysis initiation, a -4.2-percentage-point (95% CI, -6.0 to -2.3) decrease in being uninsured, and a 2.3-percentage-point (95% CI, 0.6-4.1) increase in the presence of an arteriovenous fistula or graft. Changes in predialysis nephrology care were not significant. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with ESRD initiating dialysis, living in a state that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act was associated with lower 1-year mortality. If this association is causal, further research is needed to understand what factors may have contributed to this finding.
Authors: Sameed Ahmed M Khatana; Anjali Bhatla; Ashwin S Nathan; Jay Giri; Changyu Shen; Dhruv S Kazi; Robert W Yeh; Peter W Groeneveld Journal: JAMA Cardiol Date: 2019-07-01 Impact factor: 14.676
Authors: Kenneth J Woodside; Kaitlyn J Repeck; Purna Mukhopadhyay; Douglas E Schaubel; Vahakn B Shahinian; Rajiv Saran; Ronald L Pisoni Journal: Am J Kidney Dis Date: 2021-04-20 Impact factor: 11.072
Authors: Rebecca Thorsness; Shailender Swaminathan; Yoojin Lee; Benjamin D Sommers; Rajnish Mehrotra; Kevin H Nguyen; Daeho Kim; Maricruz Rivera-Hernandez; Amal N Trivedi Journal: J Am Soc Nephrol Date: 2021-04-01 Impact factor: 14.978