Health Policy & Management

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End date: 2019Subject: search.filters.subject.Public policy

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    Addressing refugee health through evidence-based policies: A case study
    (Elsevier, 2018-06) Thiel de Bocanegra, Heike; Carter-Pokras, Olivia; Ingleby, J. David; Pottie, Kevin; Tchangalova, Nedelina; Allen, Sophia I.; Smith-Gagen, Julie; Hidalgo, Bertha
    The cumulative total of persons forced to leave their country for fear of persecution or organized violence reached an unprecedented 24.5 million by the end of 2015. Providing equitable access to appropriate health services for these highly diverse newcomers poses challenges for receiving countries. In this case study, we illustrate the importance of translating epidemiology into policy to address the health needs of refugees by highlighting examples of what works as well as identifying important policy-relevant gaps in knowledge. First, we formed an international working group of epidemiologists and health services researchers to identify available literature on the intersection of epidemiology, policy, and refugee health. Second, we created a synopsis of findings to inform a recommendation for integration of policy and epidemiology to support refugee health in the United States and other high-income receiving countries. Third, we identified eight key areas to guide the involvement of epidemiologists in addressing refugee health concerns. The complexity and uniqueness of refugee health issues, and the need to develop sustainable management information systems, require epidemiologists to expand their repertoire of skills to identify health patterns among arriving refugees, monitor access to appropriately designed health services, address inequities, and communicate with policy makers and multidisciplinary teams.
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    EFFECTS OF MEDICAID STATE PLAN DENTAL BENEFITS ON DENTAL VISITS AMONG NON-ELDERLY ADULTS
    (2018) Marthey, Daniel Joseph; Franzini, Luisa; Health Services Administration; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey and optional Health Care Access module, I analyzed dental visits between insurance types and between three levels of Medicaid dental coverage for non-elderly adults in each state defined as no benefits or emergency-only, offering 1-4 services and offering 5 or more service types. I find Medicaid adults are less likely to experience a dental visit compared with adults covered by private insurance. I also find a statistically significant relationship between the level of benefits offered to beneficiaries and the odds of experiencing a dental visit in the previous year. Understanding factors associated with the use of dental services is necessary to adequately address health needs of the Medicaid population and unnecessary emergency room use for non-emergency dental services.
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    Preventive Services Use - Disparities and Changes Following Health Care Reform
    (2015) Holden, Craig David; Dagher, Rada; Health Services Administration; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law on March 23, 2010, changes the landscape of U.S. health care through expanded insurance access, enhanced consumer protections, emphasis on wellness and disease prevention, and cost control. This dissertation is composed of three papers that investigate aspects of preventive services. The studies use nationally representative data from the National Survey of Family Growth and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and employs Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use as a theoretical model. The first study explores the relationships between use of various preventive services and being uninsured. The study employs multivariate logistic regression analyses to estimate variation in receipt of eight preventive services by race/ethnicity among adults aged 18 years and older uninsured in the previous year. The second article focuses on expanded access to health insurance in young adults and how this relates to the use of contraception and unintended pregnancy. This study used a difference-in-differences approach in order to identify a causal relationship between the policy and outcome. The third article examines colorectal cancer screening practices in the Medicare population before and after Medicare rules changes stemming from the ACA regarding reimbursement of screening procedures. Multivariate and single difference multivariate logistic regression models were estimated to examine trends and racial/ethnic differences in colorectal cancer screening over the 2007 to 2012 period. The results show how important it is to understand the determinants of preventive service access among a variety of population subgroups. With the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, health systems require strategies to determine what policy, system, and administrative methods are most effective in improving the uptake of preventive services and reducing disparities. This dissertation addressed policy influences on screenings and provided information on the impact of policies on use of preventive services as well as on reducing the disparities among subpopulations. Improved access to health insurance and better coverage of preventive services are necessary mechanisms to increase service utilization in the United States, but these may not be sufficient to actually realize improved utilization.