Justin Blackburn

Did copayment changes reduce health service utilization among CHIP enrollees? Evidence from Alabama.

OBJECTIVE To explore whether health care utilization changed among enrollees in Alabamas CHIP program, ALL Kids, following copayment increases at the beginning of fiscal year 2004. DATA SOURCES Data on all ALL Kids enrollees over 1999-2009 are obtained from claims files and the states administrative database. STUDY DESIGN We use pooled month-level data for all enrollees and conduct covariate-adjusted segmented regression models. Health services considered are inpatient care, emergency department (ED) visits, brand-name prescription drugs, generic prescription drugs, physician office visits and outpatient-services, ambulance services, allergy treatments, and non-preventive dental services. Physician well-visits, preventive dental services, and service use by Native-Americans--which saw no copayment increases--serve as counterfactuals. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS There are significant declines in utilization for inpatient care, physician visits, brand-name medications, and ED visits following the copayment increases. By and large, utilization did not decline, or declined only temporarily, for those services and for those enrollees that who not subject to increased copayments. CONCLUSIONS Copayment increases reduced utilization of many health services among ALL Kids enrollees. Concerns remain regarding the long-term health consequences to low-income children of copayment-induced reductions in health care utilization.

Effectiveness of Preventive Dental Visits in Reducing Nonpreventive Dental Visits and Expenditures

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Although preventive dental visits are considered important for maintaining pediatric oral health, there is relatively little research showing that they reduce subsequent nonpreventive dental visits or costs. At least 1 study seemed to find that early preventive dental care is associated with more restorative and emergency visits. Previous studies are limited by their inability to account for unmeasurable factors that may lead children to “select” into using both more preventive and nonpreventive dental care. We used econometric techniques that minimize selection bias to assess the effectiveness of preventive dental care in reducing subsequent nonpreventive dental service utilization among children. METHODS: Using data from Alabama’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), 1998–2010., a cohort study of children’s dental service utilization was conducted. Outcomes were 1-year lagged nonpreventive dental care and expenditures, and overall dental and medical expenditures. Children who were continuously enrolled for at least 3 years were included. Separate models were estimated for children aged <8 years (n = 14 972) and those aged ≥8 years (n = 21 833). RESULTS: More preventive visits were associated with fewer subsequent nonpreventive dental visits and lower nonpreventive dental expenditures for both groups. However, more preventive visits did not reduce overall dental or medical (inclusive of dental) expenditures. CONCLUSIONS: Preventive dental visits can reduce subsequent nonpreventive visits and expenditures for children continuously enrolled in CHIP. However, they may not reduce overall program costs. Effective empirical research in this area must continue to address unobserved confounders and selection issues.

Impact of Texting Laws on Motor Vehicular Fatalities in the United States

Using a panel study design, we examined the effects of different types of texting bans on motor vehicular fatalities. We used the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and a difference-in-differences approach to examine the incidence of fatal crashes in 2000 through 2010 in 48 US states with and without texting bans. Age cohorts were constructed to examine the impact of these bans on age-specific traffic fatalities. Primarily enforced laws banning all drivers from texting were significantly associated with a 3% reduction in traffic fatalities in all age groups, and those banning only young drivers from texting had the greatest impact on reducing deaths among those aged 15 to 21 years. Secondarily enforced restrictions were not associated with traffic fatality reductions in any of our analyses.

Mortality following bone metastasis and skeletal-related events among patients 65 years and above with lung cancer: A population-based analysis of U.S. Medicare beneficiaries, 1999-2006

Background: To quantify the impact of bone metastasis and skeletal-related events (SREs) on mortality among older patients with lung cancer. Materials and Methods: Using the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare database, we identified patients aged 65 years or older diagnosed with lung cancer between July 1, 1999 and December 31, 2005 and followed them to determine deaths through December 31, 2006. We classified patients as having possible bone metastasis and SREs using discharge diagnoses from inpatient claims and diagnoses paired with procedure codes from outpatient claims. We used Cox regression to estimate mortality hazards ratios (HR) among patients with bone metastasis with or without SRE, compared to patients without bone metastasis. Results: Among 126,123 patients with lung cancer having a median follow-up of 0.6 years, 24,820 (19.8%) had bone metastasis either at lung cancer diagnosis (9,523, 7.6%) or during follow-up (15,297, 12.1%). SREs occurred in 12,665 (51%) patients with bone metastasis. The HR for death was 2.4 (95% CI = 2.4-2.5) both for patients with bone metastasis but no SRE and for patients with bone metastasis plus SRE, compared to patients without bone metastasis. Conclusions: Having a bone metastasis, as indicated by Medicare claims, was associated with mortality among patients with lung cancer. We found no difference in mortality between patients with bone metastasis complicated by SRE and patients with bone metastasis but without SRE.

The impact of texting bans on motor vehicle crash-related hospitalizations

We used a panel design and the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 19 states between 2003 and 2010 to examine the impact of texting bans on crash-related hospitalizations. We conducted conditional negative binomial regressions with state, year, and month fixed effects to examine changes in crash-related hospitalizations in states after the enactment of a texting ban relative to those in states without such bans. Results indicate that texting bans were associated with a 7% reduction in crash-related hospitalizations among all age groups. Texting bans were significantly associated with reductions in hospitalizations among those aged 22 to 64 years and those aged 65 years or older. Marginal reductions were seen among adolescents. States that have not passed strict texting bans should consider doing so.

Outcomes Associated With Early Preventive Dental Care Among Medicaid-Enrolled Children in Alabama

Importance There is a recommendation for children to have a dental home by 6 months of age, but there is limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of early preventive dental care or whether primary care providers (PCPs) can deliver it. Objective To investigate the effectiveness of preventive dental care in reducing caries-related treatment visits among Medicaid enrollees. Design, Setting, and Participants High-dimensional propensity scores were used to address selection bias for a retrospective cohort study of children continuously enrolled in coverage from the Alabama Medicaid Agency from birth between 2008 and 2012, adjusting for demographics, access to care, and general health service use. Exposures Children receiving preventive dental care prior to age 2 years from PCPs or dentists vs no preventive dental care. Main Outcome and Measures Two-part models estimated caries-related treatment and expenditures. Results Among 19 658 eligible children, 25.8% (n = 3658) received early preventive dental care, of whom 44% were black, 37.6% were white, and 16.3% were Hispanic. Compared with matched children without early preventive dental care, children with dentist-delivered preventive dental care more frequently had a subsequent caries-related treatment (20.6% vs 11.3%, P < .001), higher rate of visits (0.29 vs 0.15 per child-year, P < .001), and greater dental expenditures (

A case-crossover study of risk factors for occupational eye injuries

168 vs

Co-payments and the Use of Emergency Department Services in the Children’s Health Insurance Program:

87 per year, P < .001). Dentist-delivered preventive dental care was associated with an increase in the expected number of caries-related treatment visits by 0.14 per child per year (95% CI, 0.11-0.16) and caries-related treatment expenditures by

The epidemiology of chemical eye injuries.

40.77 per child per year (95% CI,

Tattoo Frequency and Types Among Homicides and Other Deaths, 2007-2008: A Matched Case-Control Study

30.48-