Comparing health care use and costs among new Medicaid enrollees before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Background and objective

To characterize health care use and costs among new Medicaid enrollees before and during the COVID pandemic. Results can help Medicaid non-expansion states understand health care use and costs of new enrollees in a period of enrollment growth.

Research design

Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of North Carolina Medicaid claims data (January 1, 2018 - August 31, 2020). We used modified Poisson and ordinary least squares regression analysis to estimate health care use and costs as a function of personal characteristics and enrollment during COVID. Using data on existing enrollees before and during COVID, we projected the extent to which changes in outcomes among new enrollees during COVID were pandemic-related.

Subjects

340,782 new enrollees

SUBMITTER: Wright B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8544632 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature