Medicaid expansion initiative in Massachusetts: enrollment among substance-abusing homeless adults. 2013

Julia Zur, and Ramin Mojtabai
At the time of the study, Julia Zur and Ramin Mojtabai were with the Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.

OBJECTIVE We assessed whether homeless adults entering substance abuse treatment in Massachusetts were less likely than others to enroll in Medicaid after implementation of the MassHealth Medicaid expansion program in 1997. METHODS We used interrupted time-series analysis in data on substance abuse treatment admissions from the Treatment 0Episode Data Set (1992-2009) to evaluate Medicaid coverage rates in Massachusetts and to identify whether trends differed between homeless and housed participants. We also compared Massachusetts data with data from 17 other states and the District of Columbia combined. RESULTS The percentage of both homeless and housed people entering treatment with Medicaid increased approximately 21% after expansion (P = .01), with an average increase of 5.4% per year over 12 years (P = .01). The increase in coverage was specific to Massachusetts, providing evidence that the MassHealth policy was the cause of this increase. CONCLUSIONS Findings provide evidence in favor of state participation in the Medicaid expansion in January 2014 under the Affordable Care Act and suggest that hard-to-reach vulnerable groups such as substance-abusing homeless adults are as likely as other population groups to benefit from this policy.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008404 Massachusetts State bounded on the north by New Hampshire and Vermont, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Connecticut and Rhode Island, and on the west by New York.
D008484 Medicaid Federal program, created by Public Law 89-97, Title XIX, a 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act, administered by the states, that provides health care benefits to indigent and medically indigent persons. Dental Medicaid Program,Medical Assistance, Title 19,Dental Medicaid Programs,Medicaid Program, Dental,Medicaid Programs, Dental,Program, Dental Medicaid,Programs, Dental Medicaid
D010343 Patient Admission The process of accepting patients. The concept includes patients accepted for medical and nursing care in a hospital or other health care institution. Voluntary Admission,Admission, Patient,Admission, Voluntary,Admissions, Patient,Admissions, Voluntary,Patient Admissions,Voluntary Admissions
D006291 Health Policy Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system. Health Care Policies,Health Policies,Healthcare Policy,National Health Policy,Care Policies, Health,Health Care Policy,Health Policy, National,Healthcare Policies,National Health Policies,Policies, Health,Policies, Health Care,Policies, Healthcare,Policy, Health,Policy, Health Care,Policy, Healthcare
D006703 Ill-Housed Persons Persons without adequate housing or without permanent residence. The concept excludes nomadic peoples. Homeless Persons,Homeless Shelters,Shelterless Persons,Shelters for Homeless Persons,Street People,Unhoused Persons,Homelessness,Homeless Person,Homeless Shelter,Ill Housed Persons,Ill-Housed Person,People, Street,Person, Homeless,Person, Ill-Housed,Person, Shelterless,Person, Unhoused,Persons, Homeless,Persons, Ill-Housed,Persons, Shelterless,Persons, Unhoused,Shelter, Homeless,Shelterless Person,Shelters, Homeless,Unhoused Person
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D016320 Substance Abuse Treatment Centers Health facilities providing therapy and/or rehabilitation for substance-dependent individuals. Methadone distribution centers are included. Drug Abuse Treatment Centers,Drug Treatment Centers,Rehabilitation Centers, Drug,Drug Rehabilitation Center,Drug Rehabilitation Centers,Rehabilitation Center, Drug,Treatment Centers, Drug,Treatment Centers, Drug Abuse,Treatment Centers, Substance Abuse,Center, Drug Rehabilitation,Center, Drug Treatment,Centers, Drug Rehabilitation,Centers, Drug Treatment,Drug Treatment Center,Treatment Center, Drug

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