Kristin Bergman1, Nina E Forestieri1, Vito L Di Bona2, Scott D Grosse3, Cynthia A Moore3. 1. Birth Defects Monitoring Program, State Center for Health Statistics, North Carolina Division of Public Health, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. 2. Statistical Services Branch, State Center for Health Statistics, North Carolina Division of Public Health, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. 3. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In 2016, Zika virus (ZIKV) was recognized as a human teratogen. North Carolina (NC) had no local transmission of ZIKV but infants with relevant birth defects, including severe brain anomalies, microcephaly, and eye abnormalities, require specialized care and services, the costs of which have not yet been quantified. The objective of this study is to examine NC Medicaid healthcare expenditures for infants with defects potentially related to ZIKV compared to infants with no reported defects. METHODS: Data sources for this retrospective cohort study include NC birth certificates, Birth Defects Monitoring Program data, and Medicaid enrollment and paid claims files. Infants with relevant defects were identified and expenditure ratios were calculated to compare distributions of estimated expenditures during the first year of life for infants with relevant defects and infants with no reported defects. RESULTS: This analysis included 551 infants with relevant defects and 365,318 infants with no reported defects born 2011-2016. Mean total expenditure per infant with defects was $69,244 (median $30,544) for the first year. The ratio of these expenditures relative to infants with no reported defects was 14.5. Expenditures for infants with select brain anomalies were greater than those for infants with select eye abnormalities only. CONCLUSIONS: Infants with defects potentially related to ZIKV had substantially higher Medicaid expenditures than infants with no reported defects. These results may be informative in the event of a future outbreak and are a resource for program planning related to care for infants in NC. Published 2022. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
BACKGROUND: In 2016, Zika virus (ZIKV) was recognized as a human teratogen. North Carolina (NC) had no local transmission of ZIKV but infants with relevant birth defects, including severe brain anomalies, microcephaly, and eye abnormalities, require specialized care and services, the costs of which have not yet been quantified. The objective of this study is to examine NC Medicaid healthcare expenditures for infants with defects potentially related to ZIKV compared to infants with no reported defects. METHODS: Data sources for this retrospective cohort study include NC birth certificates, Birth Defects Monitoring Program data, and Medicaid enrollment and paid claims files. Infants with relevant defects were identified and expenditure ratios were calculated to compare distributions of estimated expenditures during the first year of life for infants with relevant defects and infants with no reported defects. RESULTS: This analysis included 551 infants with relevant defects and 365,318 infants with no reported defects born 2011-2016. Mean total expenditure per infant with defects was $69,244 (median $30,544) for the first year. The ratio of these expenditures relative to infants with no reported defects was 14.5. Expenditures for infants with select brain anomalies were greater than those for infants with select eye abnormalities only. CONCLUSIONS: Infants with defects potentially related to ZIKV had substantially higher Medicaid expenditures than infants with no reported defects. These results may be informative in the event of a future outbreak and are a resource for program planning related to care for infants in NC. Published 2022. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Entities:
Keywords:
Medicaid; North Carolina; Zika virus; birth defects; expenditures
Authors: Regina M Simeone; Matthew E Oster; Charlotte A Hobbs; James M Robbins; R Thomas Collins; Margaret A Honein Journal: Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol Date: 2015-06-10
Authors: Nelangi M Pinto; Norman Waitzman; Richard Nelson; L LuAnn Minich; Sergey Krikov; Lorenzo D Botto Journal: J Pediatr Date: 2018-09-26 Impact factor: 4.406
Authors: Cora Peterson; April Dawson; Scott D Grosse; Tiffany Riehle-Colarusso; Richard S Olney; Jean Paul Tanner; Russell S Kirby; Jane A Correia; Sharon M Watkins; Cynthia H Cassell Journal: Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol Date: 2013-09-02
Authors: Benjamin Basseri; Benjamin D Kianmahd; Jason Roostaeian; Emil Kohan; Kristy L Wasson; Robert J Basseri; James P Bradley Journal: Plast Reconstr Surg Date: 2011-03 Impact factor: 4.730
Authors: Jitesh B Shewale; Cecilia M Ganduglia Cazaban; D Kim Waller; Laura E Mitchell; Peter H Langlois; A J Agopian Journal: Travel Med Infect Dis Date: 2019-01-09 Impact factor: 6.211
Authors: Ciaran S Phibbs; Susan K Schmitt; Matthew Cooper; Jeffrey B Gould; Henry C Lee; Jochen Profit; Scott A Lorch Journal: J Pediatr Date: 2018-10-05 Impact factor: 4.406
Authors: Wan-Hsiang Hsu; Kristin M Sommerhalter; Claire E McGarry; Sherry L Farr; Karrie F Downing; George K Lui; Ali N Zaidi; Daphne T Hsu; Alissa R Van Zutphen Journal: Birth Defects Res Date: 2020-09-29 Impact factor: 2.661
Authors: Annelise C Arth; Sarah C Tinker; Regina M Simeone; Elizabeth C Ailes; Janet D Cragan; Scott D Grosse Journal: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Date: 2017-01-20 Impact factor: 17.586