Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31830987›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2019

Association of daily copayments with use of hospital care among medicare advantage enrollees.

John P McHugh, Laura Keohane, Regina Grebla, Yoojin Lee, Amal N Trivedi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. 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

5 authors.

John P McHughColumbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY, 10032, USA. jpm2192@cumc.columbia.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9454-7589
Laura KeohaneDepartment of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 2525 West End Avenue, Suite 1200, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA.
Regina GreblaCenter for Gerontology and Health care Research, Brown University, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI, 02903, USA.
Yoojin LeeCenter for Gerontology and Health care Research, Brown University, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI, 02903, USA.
Amal N TrivediDepartment of Health Services Policy and Practice, Brown University, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI, 02903, USA.

Funding

VARIATIONS IN LIFE'S FINAL CHAPTERP01AG027296 · NIA · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI AMAL N. TRIVEDI · 2007 to 2026
$38.9M
Cost-Sharing, Use, and Outcomes of Post-Acute Care in Medicare Advantage PlansR01AG044374 · NIA · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI TRIVEDI, AMAL N. · 2013 to 2015
$993k
NIA NIH HHS AG027296NIA NIH HHS AG044374NIA NIH HHS P01 AG027296NIA NIH HHS R01 AG044374
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile the traditional Medicare program imposes a deductible for hospital admissions, many Medicare Advantage plans have instituted per-diem copayments for hospital care. Little evidence exists about the effects of changes in cost-sharing for hospital care among the elderly. Changing inpatient benefits from a deductible to a per diem may benefit enrollees with shorter lengths of stay, but adversely affect the out-of-pocket burden for hospitalized enrollees with longer lengths of stay.

methodsWe used a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences study to compare longitudinal changes in proportion hospitalized, inpatient admissions and days per 100 enrollees, and hospital length of stay between enrollees in MA plans that changed inpatient benefit from deductible at admission to per diem, intervention plans, and enrollees in matched control plans - similar plans that maintained inpatient deductibles. The study population included 423,634 unique beneficiaries enrolled in 23 intervention plans and 36 matched control plans in the 2007-2010 period.

resultsThe imposition of per-diem copayments were associated with adjusted declines of 1.3 admissions/100 enrollees (95% CI - 1.8 to - 0.9), 6.9 inpatient days/100 enrollees (95% CI - 10.1 to - 3.8) and 0.7 percentage points in the probability of hospital admission (95% CI - 1.0 to - 0.4), with no significant change in adjusted length of stay in intervention plans relative to control plans. For persons with 2 or more hospitalizations in the year prior to the cost-sharing change, adjusted declines were 3.5 admissions/100 (95% CI - 8.4 to 1.4), 31.1 days/100 (95% CI - 75.2 to 13.0) and 2.2 percentage points in the probability of hospitalization (95% CI - 3.8 to - 0.6) in intervention plans relative to control plans.

conclusionsInstituting per-diem copayments was associated with reductions in number of admissions and hospital stays, but not length of stay once admitted. Effects of inpatient cost-sharing changes were magnified for persons with greater baseline use of hospital care.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overCost SharingFemaleHospitalizationHumansMaleMedicare Part CUnited StatesCost-sharingHospital utilizationManaged careMedicare advantage

Identifiers

PMID31830987
PMCPMC6909444

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.