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The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs

Friday, March 26, 2021

Dear John,

Louisiana can serve as a model for states that have not adopted Medicaid
expansion. A new paper examines uncompensated care costs for hospitals
in Louisiana.

Medicaid Expansion Reduced Uncompensated Care Costs At Louisiana
Hospitals

On July 1, 2016, Louisiana expanded Medicaid eligibility under the
Affordable Care Act (ACA) to all adults earning up to 138 percent of the
federal poverty level. Evidence suggests that Medicaid expansion leads
to reductions in uncompensated care provision but few studies have
examined the experience of individual states.

In their recent Health Affairs paper, Kevin Callison and colleagues
compare changes in uncompensated care costs as a share of total
operating expenses

for hospitals in Louisiana with those in hospitals in nonexpansion
states before and after Louisiana's Medicaid expansion.

Expansion in Louisiana was associated with a 33 percent reduction in the
share of total operating expenses attributable to uncompensated care
costs for general medical and surgical hospitals, with the greatest
reductions in rural and public hospitals.

"For hospitals in nonexpansion states, trends in uncompensated care
costs remained relatively stable between 2015 and 2018. However, for
hospitals in Louisiana, uncompensated care costs as a share of total
operating expenses fell from approximately 7 percent, on average, in
2015 to just above 3 percent in 2018," the authors find.

In the wake of recent mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado, we are
revisiting some past Health Affairs articles about gun violence in the
October 2019 issue
.
Colleen L. Barry and colleagues tracked public opinion on US gun laws

and found increases in public support for universal background checks of
handgun purchasers, stronger regulation of gun dealers, and extreme risk
protection orders.

Also in that issue, Rebecca Cunningham and coauthors examined federal
research funding for the leading causes of child and adolescent death
.
Firearm injury is among the top three causes of death, but federal
research funding for firearms is less than $600 per death.

Today on Health Affairs Blog, Cornelius D. Jamison and Tammy Chang
discuss how expedited partner treatment, which treats the sexual
partners of people diagnosed with certain sextually transmitted
infections (STIs), can help curb the rising rates of STIs
.
Additionally, Erin C. Fuse Brown and coauthors discuss how the recent No
Surprises Act alone is unlikely to solve the issue of out-of-network air
ambulance bills
,
a particularly pernicious form of surprise medical bill.

Elevating Voices In Women's History Month: Health economist Katherine
Baicker served on the President's Council of Economic Advisors and is
widely known for her work regarding the Oregon Health Insurance
Experiment

to expand Medicaid in that state. She is dean of the University of
Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

Don't forget to listen to our latest podcasts
. On today's episode of Health
Affairs This Week
,
Vabren Watts and Jessica Bylander discuss Women's History Month.

Your Daily Digest

Medicaid Expansion Reduced Uncompensated Care Costs At Louisiana
Hospitals; May Be A Model For Other States

Kevin Callison, Brigham Walker, Charles Stoecker, Jeral Self, and Mark
L. Diana

Trends In Public Opinion On US Gun Laws: Majorities Of Gun Owners And
Non-Gun Owners Support A Range Of Measures

Colleen L. Barry, Elizabeth M. Stone, Cassandra K. Crifasi, Jon S.
Vernick, Daniel W. Webster, and Emma E. McGinty

Federal Funding For Research On The Leading Causes Of Death Among
Children And Adolescents

Rebecca M. Cunningham, Megan L. Ranney, Jason E. Goldstick, Sonia V.
Kamat, Jessica S. Roche, and Patrick M. Carter

COVID-19 Has Made It Harder To Slow The Rise In Sexually Transmitted
Infections. Expedited Partner Treatment Can Help

Cornelius D. Jamison and Tammy Chang

The Unfinished Business Of Air Ambulance Bills

Erin C. Fuse Brown, Loren Adler, Karan R. Chhabra, Barak D. Richman and
Erin Trish

The Effect Of Medicaid On Medication Use Among Poor Adults: Evidence
From Oregon

Katherine Baicker, Heidi L. Allen, Bill J. Wright, and Amy N.
Finkelstein

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Podcast: Elevating Women's Voices In Health Policy During Women's
History Month

Listen to Vabren Watts and Jessica Bylander discuss Women's History
Month, all the great work women have contributed to the Health Affairs
community, and the latest on COVID-19 vaccines and their impact on
pregnant women.

Listen Here

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About Health Affairs

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