Preventable hospitalizations among Medicaid patients vary based on the race of the patient and how that patient came to be eligible for Medicaid, according to a new analysis by the Urban Institute.
According to a review of preventable hospitalizations in 21 states, the report concluded that:
- … the three most common types of potentially preventable hospitalizations for Medicaid-enrolled adults were asthma/COPD (0.2 percent of enrollees had at least one such hospitalization in 2019), diabetes (0.4 percent of enrollees had at least one such hospitalization in 2019), and heart failure (0.2 percent of enrollees had at least one such hospitalization in 2019).
- For all three conditions… preventable hospitalization rates were substantially higher for adults eligible for Medicaid through SSI compared with adults eligible for Medicaid through other pathways.
- Preventable hospitalization rates for heart failure were substantially higher for Black, non- Hispanic Medicaid-enrolled adults than for white, non-Hispanic Medicaid-enrolled adults in the pooled sample of 11 states where we could assess differences by race. The differences by race persisted even after adjusting for age, sex, managed care status, rurality, and state. Differences by race were small for asthma/COPD and diabetes preventable hospitalizations.
Go here for an overview of the study and a direct link through which to download the Urban Institute report “Preventable Hospitalizations Among Adult Medicaid Enrollees in 2019.”