Childless adults will likely represent a substantial fraction of individuals that will gain Medicaid coverage under the ACA, and relatively little is known about the effect of public insurance coverage on their use of care. In order to accurately anticipate health system capacity and cost requirements going forward, policymakers need to know the likely utilization patterns of this population.
The State of Wisconsin offers a case study on this topic: In 2009, the State introduced the BadgerCare Core Plan for childless adults with incomes up to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) who do not have access to other forms of health insurance. The Core Plan provides a set of benefits that is similar to, but more limited than, those offered by Wisconsin’s Medicaid/CHIP program.
Dr. Thomas DeLeire, Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, is leading an evaluation of utilization patterns among Wisconsin’s BadgerCare Core Plan enrollees, and the findings from this evaluation can inform what we might expect to see under the broader coverage expansions of the ACA.
On a March 28th SHARE webinar at noon Eastern, Dr. DeLeire will present findings from his analysis of the Wisconsin experience, using the State’s administrative eligibility and enrollment records, administrative claims data, and claims from a large private integrated health system to examine a variety of utilization measures for Core Plan enrollees. These measures include outpatient visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalization. Dr. DeLeire will provide this analysis for three different populations in Wisconsin:
- An urban population that was previously involved in a safety net program;
- A rural population that was previously involved with a safety net program; and
- A rural population that was not previously involved with a safety net program.
Webinar attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions following Dr. DeLeire’s presentation.