Michael Barna

Understanding engineering transfer students: Demographic characteristics and educational outcomes

Transfer students make up a significant share of engineering college graduates, yet their persistence is seldom studied, largely because of the lack of longitudinal data. This analysis used longitudinal data from 11 universities enrolling large numbers of engineering students to investigate the demographic characteristics and educational outcomes of transfer students in engineering relative to non-transfers. We find that students who transfer to four-year engineering programs are more likely to come from under-represented minority groups (URMs) and less likely to be women, although both groups are over-represented at two-year colleges. The findings confirm existing research indicating that, on average, non-transfers outperform transfer students, and non-URMs outperform URMs. But we also find that URM transfers, and especially Black transfers, are no less successful than nontransfer students - indicating that the transfer pathway is an effective bridge to a four-year degree. This is partly true for women transfers who do as well as men but are outperformed by women non-transfers. Finally, we find significant variation in outcomes between full- and part-time students, which may be driving the observed differences by transfer status. Our results should inform debates regarding the efficacy of the transfer pathway in engineering, particularly for women and URMs.

The Affordable Care Act and Access to Care for People Changing Coverage Sources.

OBJECTIVES We investigated how access to and continuity of care might be affected by transitions between health insurance coverage sources, including the Marketplace (also called the Exchange), Medicaid, and the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP). METHODS From January to February 2014 and from August to September 2014, we searched provider directories for networks of primary care physicians and selected pediatric specialists participating in Marketplace, Medicaid, and CHIP in 6 market areas of the United States and calculated the degree to which networks overlapped. RESULTS Networks of physicians in Medicaid and CHIP were nearly identical, meaning transitions between those programs may not result in much physician disruption. This was not the case for Marketplace and Medicaid and CHIP networks. CONCLUSIONS Transitions from the Marketplace to Medicaid or CHIP may result in different degrees of physician disruption for consumers depending on where they live and what type of Marketplace product they purchase.

The Effectiveness of a Peer-Staffed Crisis Respite Program as an Alternative to Hospitalization

OBJECTIVE This study assessed whether peer-staffed crisis respite centers implemented in New York City in 2013 as an alternative to hospitalization reduced emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and Medicaid expenditures for individuals enrolled in Medicaid. METHODS This study used Medicaid claims and enrollment data for January 2009 through April 2016 to estimate impacts on ED visits, hospitalizations, and total Medicaid expenditures by using a difference-in-differences model with a matched comparison group. The study sample included 401 respite center clients and 1,796 members of the comparison group. RESULTS In the month of crisis respite use and the 11 subsequent months, Medicaid expenditures were on average

Transitions Across the Marketplace, Medicaid, and CHIP: How Similar are Primary Care Physician Networks Across Programs?

2,138 lower per Medicaid-enrolled month and there were 2.9 fewer hospitalizations for crisis respite clients than would have been expected in the absence of the intervention (p<.01). CONCLUSIONS Peer-staffed crisis respite services resulted in lowered rates of Medicaid-funded hospitalizations and health expenditures for participants compared with a comparison group. The findings suggest that peer-staffed crisis respites can achieve system-level impacts.