The Health and Cost Consequences of Interruptions in Medicaid Enrollment
Award Amount:
$176,698
Approval Date:
April 11, 2006
Start Date:
May 1, 2006
End Date:
June 30, 2007
Regents of the University of California
SFGH, 1001 Potrero Avenue
Building 10, Ward 13, 1320C
San Francisco, California 94110
Principal Investigator:
Andrew B. Bindman
Relatively little is known about how instability in health insurance coverage affects people's health, or what the cost consequences are for public insurance programs and the health system overall. For this project, researchers will examine California hospital discharge data to investigate whether interruptions in Medicaid coverage are associated with a higher rate of hospital admissions, deaths, or costs for medical conditions that could have been prevented with early primary care. The findings will help federal and state policymakers who are currently weighing policy options—including changes in Medicaid enrollment policy and higher premiums—to control the program's escalating costs.