Method of linking Medicaid records to birth certificates may affect infant outcome statistics.
OBJECTIVE
This study assessed how different methods of matching Medicaid records to birth certificates affect Medicaid infant outcome statistics.


METHODS
Claims paid by Medicaid for hospitalization of the newborn and for the mother's delivery were matched separately to 1995 North Carolina live birth certificates.


RESULTS
Infant mortality and low-birthweight rates were consistently lower when Medicaid was defined by a matching newborn hospitalization record than when results were based on a matching Medicaid delivery record.


CONCLUSIONS
Studies of birth outcomes in the Medicaid population may have variable results depending on the method of matching that is used to identify Medicaid births.
Buescher
P A
PA
State Center for Health Statistics, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh 27626-0538, USA.paul_buescher@mail.ehnr.state.nc.us
D015982:Bias; D001719:Birth Certificates; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007344:Insurance Claim Reporting / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008498:Medical Record Linkage / Q000379:methods*; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014481:United States