J. Timothy Whitmire

Children who are medically fragile in North Carolina: using Medicaid data to estimate prevalence and medical care costs in 2004.

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a method of using medical insurance paid claims and enrollment data to estimate the prevalence of selected health conditions in a population and to profile associated medical care costs. The examples presented here use North Carolina Medicaid data to produce estimates for children ages 0–19 who are medically fragile. These children with serious health conditions are a small subset of all children with special health care needs. Methods: The children who are medically fragile were identified through selected procedure and durable medical equipment codes. We profiled the expenditures for all medical services provided to these children during 2004. Results: 1,914 children ages 0–19 enrolled in Medicaid were identified as medically fragile (0.22 percent). The amount paid by Medicaid for these children during 2004 for all medical services was

Comparison of medication adherence and associated health care costs after introduction of pioglitazone treatment in African Americans versus all other races in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A retrospective data analysis

133.8 million, or

Outcomes Associated with Initiation of Different Controller Therapies in a Medicaid Asthmatic Population: A Retrospective Data Analysis

69,906 per child. By comparison, the average expenditure by Medicaid during 2004 for a randomly selected group of children receiving well-child care visits was

Healthcare costs and prescription adherence with introduction of thiazolidinedione therapy in Medicaid type 2 diabetic patients: a retrospective data analysis

3,181 per child. The

Differences in Use of Health Services Between White and African American Children Enrolled in Medicaid in North Carolina

133.8 million of Medicaid expenditures for the children who are medically fragile represents 6.8 percent of the nearly

Changes in North Carolina maternal health service use and outcomes among medicaid-enrolled pregnant women during state budget cuts.

2 billion spent by Medicaid in 2004 for all medical services for all children ages 0–19. Conclusions: This study presents a standard methodology to identify children with specific health conditions and describe their medical care costs. Our example uses Medicaid claims and enrollment data to measure prevalence and costs among children who are medically fragile. This approach could be replicated for other health care payer data bases and also in other geographic areas.

Determinants of perceived risk for HIV infection among police officers

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare treatment adherence and health care costs in African Americans versus all other races (All Others) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus starting treatment with pioglitazone. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, the North Carolina Medicaid database was used (query dates: July 1, 2000, to June 30, 2003). Using at least 1 code from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification for type 2 diabetes (250.xx) and 1 National Drug Code for antidiabetic medication, we identified a cohort of male and female patients aged > or =18 years with type 2 diabetes who maintained continuous Medicaid eligibility for the entire 36-month follow-up period. Race was categorized as African American and All Others (white, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, other) based on self-reported data collected at the time of Medicaid enrollment. Medication adherence was expressed as medication possession ratio (calculated as the number of days of antidiabetic prescription supply dispensed [eg, a 30-day supply] divided by the number of days between the first and last dispensation). Reimbursements made by Medicaid were used to calculate diabetes-related and total health care costs, which included medical and dental care, including costs for regular checkups, office visits, home health care, inpatient and outpatient care, long-term care facility care, and prescription drugs. To compare the differences in medication adherence and annual total and diabetes-related health care costs between African Americans and All Others, multivariate regression analysis was performed using only data from the year after (year 2) the year in which pioglitazone treatment was started (year 1). RESULTS Among the 1073 patients treated with pioglitazone (26.1% men; mean [SD] age, 49.5 [10.6] years; 50.2% African American; mean [SD] total health care costs in year 1, US

Race and medication adherence in Medicaid enrollees with type-2 diabetes.

7906 [

Medication adherence and health care costs associated with biologics in Medicaid‐enrolled patients with psoriasis

12,256]; year 2,

Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Medical Care Expenditures for North Carolina Adolescents Enrolled in Medicaid in 2004

9546 [