Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26928221›Full record

ArticlePloS one2016

Effects of Expanded Coverage for Chiropractic Services on Medicare Costs in a CMS Demonstration.

William B Stason, Grant A Ritter, Timothy Martin, Jeffrey Prottas, Christopher Tompkins, Donald S Shepard

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

William B StasonSchneider Institutes for Health Policy, The Heller School, MS 035, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Grant A RitterSchneider Institutes for Health Policy, The Heller School, MS 035, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Timothy MartinSchneider Institutes for Health Policy, The Heller School, MS 035, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Jeffrey ProttasSchneider Institutes for Health Policy, The Heller School, MS 035, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Christopher TompkinsSchneider Institutes for Health Policy, The Heller School, MS 035, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Donald S ShepardSchneider Institutes for Health Policy, The Heller School, MS 035, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Brandeis University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundModerately convincing evidence supports the benefits of chiropractic manipulations for low back pain. Its effectiveness in other applications is less well documented, and its cost-effectiveness is not known. These questions led the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to conduct a two-year demonstration of expanded Medicare coverage for chiropractic services in the treatment of beneficiaries with neuromusculoskeletal (NMS) conditions affecting the back, limbs, neck, or head.

methodsThe demonstration was conducted in 2005-2007 in selected counties of Illinois, Iowa, and Virginia and the entire states of Maine and New Mexico. Medicare claims were compiled for the preceding year and two demonstration years for the demonstration areas and matched comparison areas. The impact of the demonstration was analyzed through multivariate regression analysis with a difference-in-difference framework.

resultsExpanded coverage increased Medicare expenditures by $50 million or 28.5% in users of chiropractic services and by $114 million or 10.4% in all patients treated for NMS conditions in demonstration areas during the two-year period. Results varied widely among demonstration areas ranging from increased costs per user of $485 in Northern Illinois and Chicago counties to decreases in costs per user of $59 in New Mexico and $178 in Scott County, Iowa.

conclusionThe demonstration did not assess possible decreases in costs to other insurers, out-of-pocket payments by patients, the need for and costs of pain medications, or longer term clinical benefits such as avoidance of orthopedic surgical procedures beyond the two-year period of the demonstration. It is possible that other payers or beneficiaries saved money during the demonstration while costs to Medicare were increased.

Indexed as

Health Care CostsInsurance CoverageMedicareAgedAged, 80 and overChiropracticCost-Benefit AnalysisHumansManipulation, ChiropracticTreatment OutcomeUnited States

Identifiers

PMID26928221
PMCPMC4771157
OpenAlexW2292609971

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.