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SHADAC at the Minnesota Health Services Research Conference
March 7, 2016:The 2016 Minnesota Health Services Research Conference took place last week in St. Paul, MN, with the goal of showcasing innovative research across public, private, and academic arenas. We are pleased to highlight several SHADAC-sponsored presentations.
Health Insurance Coverage and Access: The Minnesota Experience Before and After ACA Implementation
SHADAC Investigator Kathleen Call, together with Stefan Gildemeister of the Health Economics Program (HEP) at the Minnesota Department of Health, convened a panel that highlighted the work of both SHADAC and HEP researchers. The panel opened with a discussion of the Minnesota Health Access (MNHA) Survey and what it tells us about both the short and long-term uninsured population, as well as where disparities in access exist. Research Assistant Giovann Alarcon explored trends in the newly released 2015 MNHA data. Among notable results - Respondents with public insurance coverage felt the most financially protected and the most satisfied with their coverage of any insurance group.
Pent-Up Health Care Demand among New Medicaid Enrollees after the Affordable Care ActAngie Fertig of Medica Research Institute discussed the most recent findings from her SHARE-funded analysis of pent-up demand for health care among newly-adults who were newly-enrolled in Medicaid. Dr. Fertig’s analysis of claims data provides evidence of pent-up demand among new enrollees based on a higher percentage of new patient visits in the first six months compared with existing Medicaid enrollees. New Medicaid enrollees also had lower overall utilization over the first six months suggesting that the long-term costs of insuring new enrollees may be lower than expected.
Minnesota State Innovation Model Evaluation
SHADAC is currently under contract with the Minnesota Department of Human Services to evaluate Minnesota’s State Innovation Model (SIM), which is a federally funded (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation) effort to develop and test multi-payer health care payment and service delivery reform models. Two presentations at the conference were centered on preliminary evaluation results:
SIM-Minnesota Continuum of Accountability Assessment Tool: Evaluation Data Source and More
The MN Department of Human Services and MN Department of Health jointly collaborated with external stakeholders to develop an assessment tool to not only track organizational progress through SIM, but to also educate participating organizations on the functions and capabilities contained within the Model aims. Senior Research Fellow Christina Worrall and Research Assistant Oliver-John Bright presented preliminary assessment tool data to give a snapshot of where organizations were at the beginning of SIM.
Minnesota’s Accountable Communities for Health: Lessons from the First Year
Senior Research Fellow Dr. Donna Spencer convened a panel that opened with a short description of the Accountable Communities for Health (ACHs) grant program, followed by presentations from 3 ACHs from around the state. Grantees discussed their different models for community engagement and how this augments their efforts to address health issues in their target populations. Success stories from care coordination clients were also shared.
Other SHADAC presentations included: The Changing Demographics of the Uninsured in Minnesota and the Nation (Elizabeth Lukanen), Changing Trends in Employer-Sponsored Insurance After the Affordable Care Act (Carrie Suplick Benton), and Adding Complexity to an Already Difficult Task: Monitoring the Impact of the ACA on the Misreporting of Medicaid Coverage (Brett Fried).
Publication
Overview of the MNHA Survey, Methodology, and Evidence of the Impact of the ACA on Health Insurance Coverage in Minnesota
Presentation by Kathleen Call at the 2016 Minnesota Health Services Research Conference, March 1, 2016, in St. Paul, MN.
Publication
Health Insurance Coverage in Minnesota: Results from the 2015 Minnesota Health Access Survey
This issue brief summarizes a set of findings from the 2015 Minnesota Health Access Survey (MNHA). The MNHA is a biennial state population telephone survey, conducted in partnership between the Health Economics Program at the Minnesota Department of Health and the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health. It covers trends in uninsurance, changes in sources of health insurance coverage and characteristics of the remaining uninsured in Minnesota. Drawing on responses from 11,178 Minnesotans who participated in the survey, this issue brief aims to broaden understanding about gains in coverage and those who remain uninsured.
Blog & News
Lots to Celebrate: Minnesota Sees Lowest Uninsured Rate Ever at 4.3%
May 12, 2017:
New estimates from the Minnesota Health Access Survey reveal a significant reduction in rates of uninsured for Minnesota from 8.2% in 2013 to 4.3% in 2015 (Figure 1). Some 200,000+ uninsured now have coverage thanks in part to the access provisions included in the Affordable Care Act – the expansion of our Medical Assistance program, our state-based marketplace, MNsure, and the continuation of our successful MinnesotaCare program. While Minnesota has always been in the top tier of states with high levels of health insurance coverage – these new estimates solidify our role as a leader in coverage, access and commitment to improving health.
Perhaps the most rewarding news is the significant reduction in the number of Minnesotans that have been without any health insurance coverage for a significant period of time – the long-term uninsured from 6.1% to 2.1%. Also significant is that employer-based group coverage has remained stable since 2013. Employer-based coverage is the most common source of health insurance coverage in Minnesota, providing coverage for 56% of all Minnesotans.
Due in part to an aging population and the ACA expansion of the Medicaid program, there are more Minnesotans on public programs (such as Medicaid and Medicare) – with an increase from 31.1% to 33.6% between 2013 and 2015, still less than the national average of 36.5%. Although uninsurance rates dropped for all groups, the analysis also finds persistent disparities in access to health insurance coverage for Latino, American Indian and Black Minnesotans (Figure 4).
But we have lots to celebrate – with new pathways to coverage provided in the ACA and new federal funding for programs such as MinnesotaCare that were once supported with general fund dollars only – Minnesota has taken advantage of these new opportunities to provide coverage, access and financial stability to thousands of Minnesotans.
--Lynn Blewett
SHADAC Director and Principal Investigator
Survey Information: The Minnesota Health Access Survey is conducted every two years through a collaboration between the Minnesota Department of Health's Health Economics Program and the University of Minnesota’s State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC). The survey has been conducted seven times since 2001 and provides information on access to coverage, changes in the distribution of the type of health insurance coverage over time, characteristics of the uninsured, and access to care. The estimates are based on over 11,000 completed telephone interviews with Minnesotans and included both and landline and cell phones (including pre-paid cell phones).
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