Association between physician practice Medicaid acceptance and employing nurse practitioners and physician assistants: A longitudinal analysis

Nurse practitioner race and ethnicity and interest in independent primary care practice and serving Medicaid enrollees

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are important providers of primary care to underserved populations, particularly in areas with lower physician supply. In 2023, California implemented new regulations aimed at improving access to care, especially primary care services, by providing a pathway for NPs to practice without formal supervision after 3 years of practice and without any physician relationship after 5 years of practice. This study used data from a representative survey of California-licensed NPs fielded in late 2022 to examine NPs' current practice and intentions following implementation of the new regulations. Results indicated notable differences in the characteristics of NPs who are considering establishing an independent primary care practice and who are considering changing their practice to serve more Medicaid enrollees at the advent of expanded scope of practice. The strong association between racial/ethnic identity and greater interest in practice change suggests that after the elimination of physician collaboration requirements, increasing the diversity of the NP workforce may be one of the most important strategies for increasing access to care for Californians and especially for people receiving Medicaid.

An Analysis of Trainee Salaries Offered in Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant/Associate Postgraduate Residency and Fellowship Programs in the United States

Background Although there has been steady growth in the number of postgraduate nurse practitioner (NP) and physician assistant/associate (PA) residency and fellowship programs in the United States, little is known about annual salaries paid to trainees across a national sample of postgraduate programs and specialties. We describe postgraduate program NP and PA trainee salaries and the relationship to specific variables. Methodology An electronic survey was distributed via email to 336 postgraduate NP, PA, and joint NP/PA residency/fellowship programs between November 2023 and December 2023. Frequency tables (for categorical variables) and descriptive statistics (for continuous variables) were used to summarize the data. Chi-square tests of independence were used to determine the relationship between trainee salary and program type, geographical location, and clinical setting. Results There was a statistically significant association between trainee salary for primary care and clinical profession (χ2(6) = 13.993, p = 0.022). Over half of NP respondents (52.1%) reported that their trainees had an annual salary between $76000 and $86000. The majority of PA respondents (57.1%) reported that their trainees had an annual salary below $75000. Respondents who were non-clinical professionals (50.0%) reported that their trainees had an annual salary of over $86000. The single physician respondent also reported that their trainees' had an annual salary of over $86000. It appears that PA respondents were more likely to report lower trainee salaries than respondents who were NPs and non-clinical professionals. Additionally, respondents associated with primary care joint NP/PA cohorts were more likely to report higher trainee salaries than participants having NP-only cohorts. Lastly, there was a statistically significantly positive relationship between trainee salary and the number of postgraduate advanced practice provider (APP) trainees in psychiatric mental health (τb = 0.451, p = 0.006). Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this national study is the first of its kind to examine and summarize APP postgraduate trainee annual salaries across multiple specialties. Additional studies are needed to clarify the relationships between trainee salaries and other variables.

Provision of evaluation and management visits by nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the USA from 2013 to 2019: cross-sectional time series study

OBJECTIVE

To examine the proportion of healthcare visits are delivered by nurse practitioners and physician assistants versus physicians and how this has changed over time and by clinical setting, diagnosis, and patient demographics.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional time series study.

SETTING

National data from the traditional Medicare insurance program in the USA.

PARTICIPANTS

Of people using Medicare (ie, those older than 65 years, permanently disabled, and people with end stage renal disease), a 20% random sample was taken.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The proportion of physician, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant visits in the outpatient and skilled nursing facility settings delivered by physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, and how this proportion varies by type of visit and diagnosis.

RESULTS

From 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2019, 276 million visits were included in the sample. The proportion of all visits delivered by nurse practitioners and physician assistants in a year increased from 14.0% (95% confidence interval 14.0% to 14.0%) to 25.6% (25.6% to 25.6%). In 2019, the proportion of visits delivered by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant varied across conditions, ranging from 13.2% for eye disorders and 20.4% for hypertension to 36.7% for anxiety disorders and 41.5% for respiratory infections. Among all patients with at least one visit in 2019, 41.9% had one or more nurse practitioner or physician assistant visits. Compared with patients who had no visits from a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, the likelihood of receiving any care was greatest among patients who were lower income (2.9% greater), rural residents (19.7%), and disabled (5.6%).

CONCLUSION

The proportion of visits delivered by nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the USA is increasing rapidly and now accounts for a quarter of all healthcare visits.

Use of hospitals in the New York City Metropolitan Region, by race: how separate? How equal in resources and quality?

BACKGROUND

Although racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately use some hospitals, hospital-based racial and ethnic composition relative to geographic region and its association with quality indicators has not been systematically analyzed.

METHODS

We used four race and ethnicity categories: non-Hispanic white (NHW), non-Hispanic black (NHB), Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander/Alaskan Native/American Indian (API/AIAN), as well as a combined non-NHW category, from the 2010 (latest year publicly available) Medicare Institutional Provider & Beneficiary Summary public use file for 84 hospitals in the New York City region. We assessed the relative distribution of race and ethnicity across hospitals grouped at different geographic levels (region, county, hospital referral region [HRR], or hospital service areas [HSA]) using the dissimilarity index. Hospital characteristics included quality star ratings, essential professional services and diagnostic/treatment equipment, bed size, total expenses, and patients with dual Medicare and Medicaid enrollment. We assessed Spearman's rank correlation between hospital-based racial and ethnic composition and quality/structural measures.

RESULTS

Dissimilarity Index decreases from region (range 30.3-40.1%) to county (range 13.7-23.5%), HRR (range 10.5-27.5%), and HSA (range 12.0-16.9%) levels. Hospitals with larger non-NHW patients tended to have lower hospital ratings and higher proportions of dually-enrolled patients. They were also more likely to be safety net hospitals and non-federal governmental hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

In the NYC metropolitan region, there is considerable hospital-based racial and ethnic segregation of Medicare patients among non-NHW populations, extending previous research limited to NHB. Availability of data on racial and ethnic composition of hospitals should be made publicly available for researchers and consumers.

Comparison of Dental Care Visits Before and After Adoption of a Policy to Expand the Dental Workforce in Minnesota

Importance

Currently, 13 states and tribal nations have expanded their dental workforce by adopting use of dental therapists. To date, there has been no evaluation of the influence of this policy on dental care use.

Objective

To assess changes in dental care use in Minnesota after the implementation of the policy to authorize dental therapists in 2009.

Design Setting and Participants

In this cross-sectional study of 2 613 716 adults aged 18 years and older, a synthetic control method was used to compare changes in dental care use after the authorization of the policy in Minnesota relative to a synthetic control of nonadopting states. Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 2006 to 2018 were analyzed. Data analysis was conducted from June 1, 2021, to December 18, 2021.

Exposure

Authorization of dental therapy.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Self-reported indicator for whether a respondent had visited a dentist or a dental clinic in the past 12 months.

Results

Among 2 613 716 adults aged 18 years or older, the mean (SD) age at baseline was 46.0 (17.7) years, 396 501 were women (weighted percentage, 51.3%), 503 197 were White (weighted percentage, 67.9%), 54 568 were Black (weighted percentage, 10.1%), 39 282 were Hispanic (weighted percentage, 14.5%), and 34 739 were other race (weighted percentage, 6.7%). The proportion of adults visiting a dentist before the authorization of dental therapists in Minnesota was 76.2% (95% CI, 75.0%-77.4%) in the full sample, 61.5% (95% CI, 58.4%-64.6%) for low-income adults, and 58.4% (95% CI, 53.0%-63.5%) among Medicaid-eligible adults. Authorizing dental therapists in Minnesota was associated with an increase of 7.3 percentage points (95% CI, 5.0-9.5 percentage points) in dental care use among low-income adults, a relative increase of 12.5% (95% CI, 8.6%-16.4%), and an increase of 6.2 percentage points (95% CI, 2.4-10.0 percentage points) among Medicaid-eligible adults, a relative increase of 10.5% (95% CI, 3.9%-17.0%). In addition, the policy was associated with an increase in dental visits among White adults (low-income sample, 10.8 percentage points [95% CI, 8.5-13.0 percentage points]; Medicaid sample, 13.5 percentage points [95% CI, 9.1-17.9 percentage points]), with no corresponding increases among other racial and ethnic groups in the low-income and Medicaid population.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cross-sectional study, expanding the dental workforce through authorization of dental therapists appeared to be associated with an increase in dental visits. In Minnesota, the policy was associated with improved access to dental care among low-income adults overall. However, racial and ethnic disparities in dental use persist.