Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Hospital Transportation; Medicaid Expansion; Obesity Treatment
JAMA Surgery: Association Of Prehospital Mode Of Transport With Mortality In Penetrating Trauma
In this cohort study of 103 029 patients included in the National Trauma Data Bank, individuals transported by private vehicle were significantly less likely to die than similarly injured patients transported by ground emergency medical services, even when controlling for injury severity. (Wandling, Nathens, Shapiro et. al., 9/20)
Urban Institute: The Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansions And Personal Finance
Results demonstrate financial improvements in states that expanded their Medicaid programs as measured by improved credit scores, reduced balances past due as a percent of total debt, reduced probability of a medical collection balance of $1,000 or more, reduced probability of having one or more recent medical bills go to collections, reduction in the probability of experiencing a new derogatory balance of any type, reduced probability of incurring a new derogatory balance equal to $1,000 or more, and a reduction in the probability of a new bankruptcy filing. (Caswell and Waidmann, 9/17)
Health Affairs: Networks In ACA Marketplaces Are Narrower For Mental Health Care Than For Primary Care
Using data for 2016 from 531 unique provider networks in the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces, we evaluated how network size and the percentage of providers who participate in any network differ between mental health care providers and a control group of primary care providers. Compared to primary care networks, participation in mental health networks was low, with only 42.7 percent of psychiatrists and 19.3 percent of nonphysician mental health care providers participating in any network. (Zhu, Zhang and Polsky, 9/1)
Pediatrics: Cost-Effectiveness Of Family-Based Obesity Treatment
We translated family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) to treat children with overweight and obesity and their parents in the patient-centered medical home. ... For families consisting of children and parents with overweight, FBT presents a more cost-effective alternative than an IC group. (Quattrin, Cao, Paluch et. al., 9/1)
