title: Impact of Health Insurance Expansions on Nonelderly Adults With Hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in the United States. The treatment and control of hypertension is inadequate, especially among patients without health insurance coverage. The Affordable Care Act offered an opportunity to improve hypertension management by increasing the number of people covered by insurance. This study predicts the long-term effects of improved hypertension treatment rates due to insurance expansions on the prevalence and mortality rates of CVD of nonelderly Americans with hypertension.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed a state-transition model to simulate the lifetime health events of the population aged 25 to 64 years. We modeled the effects of insurance coverage expansions on the basis of published findings on the relationship between insurance coverage, use of antihypertensive medications, and CVD-related events and deaths.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The model projected that currently anticipated health insurance expansions would lead to a 5.1% increase in treatment rate among hypertensive patients. Such an increase in treatment rate is estimated to lead to 111,000 fewer new coronary heart disease events, 63,000 fewer stroke events, and 95,000 fewer CVD-related deaths by 2050. The estimated benefits were slightly greater for men than for women and were greater among nonwhite populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Federal and state efforts to expand insurance coverage among nonelderly adults could yield significant health benefits in terms of CVD prevalence and mortality rates and narrow the racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes for patients with hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Milken Institute School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20052. Email: suhuili@gwu.edu.
authors.forename: Suhui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, The George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Bruen
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, The George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Paula M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lantz
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Policy, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mendez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000453:epidemiology; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D061345:Early Medical Intervention / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D008390:Markov Chains; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D018803:Models, Economic; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013221:State Health Plans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents