The Great Recession and Health Spending among Uninsured U.S. Immigrants: Implications for the Affordable Care Act Implementation

OBJECTIVE: We study the association between the timing of the Great Recession (GR) and health spending among uninsured adults distinguishing by citizenship/nativity status and time of U.S. residence. DATA SOURCE: Uninsured U.S. citizens and noncitizens from the 2005–2006 and 2008–2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. STUDY DESIGN: The probability of reporting any health spending and the natural logarithm of health spending are our main dependent variables. We compare health spending across population categories before/during the GR. Subsequently, we implement two-part regression analyses of total and specific health-spending measures. We predict average health spending before/during the GR with a smearing estimation. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The probability of reporting any spending diminished for recent immigrants compared to citizens during the GR. For those with any spending, recent immigrants reported higher spending during the GR (27 percent). Average reductions in total spending were driven by the decline in the share of the population reporting any spending among citizens and noncitizens. CONCLUSIONS: Our study findings suggest that recent immigrants could be forgoing essential care, which later translates into higher spending. It portrays the vulnerability of a population that would remain exposed to income shocks, even after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation

Persistence with secondary prevention medications after acute myocardial infarction: Insights from the TRANSLATE-ACS study

BACKGROUND: Persistent use of secondary prevention therapies after acute myocardial infarction (MI) is critical to optimizing long-term outcomes. METHODS: Medication persistence was assessed among 7,955 MI patients in 216 hospitals participating in the TRANSLATE-ACS study from 2010 to 2012. Persistence was defined as continuation of aspirin, adenosine diphosphate receptor inhibitors (ADPRi), beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), and statins from discharge to 6 months post-MI. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to determine factors associated with non-persistence, defined as <80% persistence with all medication classes. RESULTS: Overall, 31% of MI patients stopped taking a least one medication by 6 months. The most common reasons cited for medications discontinuation were side effects and physician instruction (57%), while financial concerns were cited in 8% overall. After multivariable modeling, black race (odds ratio [OR] 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–1.62), older age (OR 1.07; 95% CI 1.02–1.12), atrial fibrillation (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.33–2.09), dialysis (OR 1.79; 95% CI 1.15–2.78), and depression (OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.02–1.45) were associated with lower likelihood of persistence. Private insurance (OR 0.85, 95% 0.76–0.95), prescription cost assistance (OR 0.63; 95% CI 0.54–0.75), and outpatient follow-up arranged prior to discharge (OR 0.89. 95% CI 0.80–0.99) were associated with higher persistence. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly one-third of MI patients are no longer persistent with their prescribed medications by 6 months. Patients at high risk of non-persistence may be identified by clinical and sociodemographic features. These observations underscore key opportunities to optimize longitudinal use of secondary prevention therapies