Health Care Expenditures Among Adults With Diabetes After Oregon's Medicaid Expansion.

objectiveTo compare trends in Medicaid expenditures among adults with diabetes who were newly eligible due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion to trends among those previously eligible. RESEARCH DESIGN AND

methodsUsing Oregon Medicaid administrative data from 1 January 2014 to 30 September 2016, a retrospective cohort study was conducted with propensity score-matched Medicaid eligibility groups (newly and previously eligible). Outcome measures included total per-member per-month (PMPM) Medicaid expenditures and PMPM expenditures in the following 12 categories: inpatient visits, emergency department visits, primary care physician visits, specialist visits, prescription drugs, transportation services, tests, imaging and echography, procedures, durable medical equipment, evaluation and management, and other or unknown services.

resultsTotal PMPM Medicaid expenditures for newly eligible enrollees with diabetes were initially considerably lower compared with PMPM expenditures for matched previously eligible enrollees during the first postexpansion quarter (mean values $561 vs. $793 PMPM,

conclusionsNewly eligible Medicaid enrollees with diabetes had slightly lower PMPM expenditures than previously eligible Medicaid enrollees. The increase in PMPM prescription drug expenditures suggests greater access to treatment over time.