The impact of increased cost sharing on Medicaid enrollees.
Many state Medicaid programs are implementing cost-saving mechanisms, but little is known about the impact of those strategies on low-income people. Recent increases in cost sharing for Oregon Health Plan (OHP, Oregon's Medicaid program) members have created a natural experiment that is ideal for examining such impacts. Early results from an ongoing cohort study suggest that cost-sharing increases led to a large reduction in OHP membership. Those who left OHP because of the cost-sharing increase reported inferior access to needed care, used primary care less often, and used hospital emergency rooms more often than those who left OHP for other reasons.
Wright
Bill J
BJ
Providence Health System Center for Outcomes Research in Portland, Oregon, USA. bill.wright@providence.org
Carlson
Matthew J
MJ
Edlund
Tina
T
DeVoe
Jennifer
J
Gallia
Charles
C
Smith
Jeanene
J
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017047:Cost Sharing / Q000639:trends*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009922:Oregon; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013221:State Health Plans / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States