Health insurance and mortality in US adults

Profiles and predictors of access to human and veterinary healthcare in multispecies households

This study extends a behavioral-ecological framework for healthcare access and utilization to explore patterns of healthcare and veterinary care access within pet-owning households in the United States. Using Latent Class Analysis, a person-centered analytic approach, we identified five subgroups of pet owners in a diverse national sample (n = 750), each characterized by unique patterns of perceived access and actual usage of both human and veterinary healthcare. The first subgroup, "Good access/unfair system" (27%) and the second subgroup, "Good access/fair system" (30%) reported high probabilities of good healthcare and veterinary care access and limited financial burden but differed in their perceptions of healthcare fairness. The third subgroup, "Good access/Medicare" (14%), primarily comprised of older adults with Medicare, reported good access to both human and veterinary care and limited financial burden, underscoring Medicare's role in stable healthcare access. The fourth subgroup, "Moderate access" (11%), characterized by financial barriers despite non-employer health insurance, showed a lower likelihood of recent dental and veterinary visits. The fifth subgroup, "Poor access" (18%), with the poorest healthcare access and highest probability of Medicaid or no insurance, highlighted significant inequalities in healthcare and veterinary care access. Sociodemographic and social environmental factors were associated with subgroup membership. For example, the groups with better access were likely to have low financial fragility (Good access/unfair system OR = 4.61, p < 0.001), and those with poorer access were unlikely (Poor access OR = 0.14). Additionally, the groups with better access were less likely to experience discrimination (Good access/fair system OR = 0.58, p < 0.001) and those with poorer access were more likely (Moderate and Poor access both ORs = 1.37, p < 0.001). These findings emphasize the need for policies addressing factors such as economic inequality and discrimination to improve healthcare and veterinary care access and utilization. Tailored interventions at individual and systemic levels are also suggested (i.e., the Colorado "Peticaid" proposal and the Seattle One Health Clinic) to mitigate disparities and enhance healthcare and veterinary care access for vulnerable populations.

20-Year income volatility and cognitive function in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979) cohort: A replication and extension of CARDIA findings

Grasset et al. previously reported that income volatility throughout early-to-mid adulthood (occurring during 1990-2010) in the CARDIA cohort was associated with worse midlife cognitive function. However, CARDIA lacked earlier-life cognition data, a major potential confounder. We replicate and extend this study in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979), which collected cognition measures in approximate adolescence. Following Grasset, we estimated associations between 20-year income volatility throughout early-to-mid adulthood (mean ages 27-47 in 1990-2010) and midlife cognitive function using confounder-adjusted linear regression models. Income volatility was assessed as the standard deviation (SD) of the percent change in income between successive annual or biennial surveys and as the number of income drops >25% between surveys. For cognition, we averaged z-scores on immediate and delayed 10-word recall, backwards counting, and serial 7's tasks. We found that income volatility and number of income drops were negatively associated with midlife cognitive function (e.g., each SD increase in income volatility was associated with 0.081 SD lower cognition z-scores, 95% CI: -0.121, -0.041) independent of earlier-life cognitive skills (e.g., before adjustment, βˆ = -0.095, 95% CI: -0.136, -0.054). Our study adds to a growing literature suggesting life course financial volatility may adversely impact cognitive aging.

Navigating the Journey: Transitioning Spinal Cord Injuries from Acute Care to Rehabilitation

PM&R plays an essential role in managing the individual with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Receiving care at an acute hospital and a rehabilitation center familiar with SCIs is critical. PM&R can guide the health care team and the patient/family through such a potentially life-changing event. Early consultation can help prevent complications and decrease stay length and mortality. A life-long relationship with the rehabilitation team is often recommended; team members such as navigators and multiple inpatient rehabilitation stays can help enhance care and opportunities for individuals with SCI.

The association of the four social vulnerability themes and COVID-19 mortality rates in U.S. Counties

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between social vulnerability and COVID-19 mortality rates during the whole outbreak in U.S. counties. COVID-19 deaths were gleaned from the USA Facts. Independent variables were gleaned from the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index. Spatial autoregressive models were used for data analysis. Results show that counties with more social vulnerability (socioeconomic) were positively associated with higher COVID-19 mortality rates. Counties with more social vulnerability (household composition & disability) were positively associated with higher COVID-19 mortality rates. Counties with more social vulnerability (minority status & language) were negatively associated with higher COVID-19 mortality rates. Counties with more social vulnerability (housing type & transportation) were negatively associated with higher COVID-19 mortality rates. In conclusion, county-level social vulnerability provides an useful framework for identifying unequal distribution of deaths from COVID-19 in the United States.

The mortality implications of a unionized career

An emerging literature has documented a wide range of protections and benefits that union membership provides for health and wellbeing. However, this literature primarily focuses on point-in-time associations between unionization and health, whereas the theoretical benefits of union membership should accrue over a long period of time through such mechanisms as predictable upward attainment and greater employment security. Moreover, studies have not examined union membership's association with mortality, a core health outcome in medical research. We build on recent research that examines the contributions of a unionized career to middle- and older-adulthood mortality using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics between 1969 and 2019. We track respondents born between 1935 and 1965 and predict mortality using discrete time hazard regression models. We find that more time spent in a union predicts lower rates of mortality, with an additional year as a union member decreasing the odds of mortality by about 1.5%. This magnitude is about half that of consistent attachment to paid employment. Moreover, we find that male, White, and less educated respondents were most protected by unionized careers, while union protection was found between ages 41 and 67. Our findings extend knowledge of the noneconomic consequences of union benefits and point to a source of emerging health disparities among older adults.

The Incidence, Prevalence and Mortality Rates of Black and White Persons with HIV in the United States in 2019

INTRODUCTION

This study examines the experience of non-Hispanic Black Americans (hereinafter referred to as Black persons) and non-Hispanic White Americans (hereinafter referred to as White persons) with regard to the incidence (i.e., number of persons diagnosed with HIV), prevalence (i.e., number of persons living with HIV), and mortality rates of persons with HIV in the United States in 2019. With regard to mortality rates, this study examines the mortality rate of all Black persons and White persons with HIV in 2019 as well as the mortality rate of hospitalized Black persons and White persons with HIV in 2019.

METHODS

Data on the racial characteristics of all persons in the United States in 2019 were obtained from the United States Census Bureau, and data on the racial characteristics of all persons with HIV in the United States were obtained from HIV Surveillance Reports produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, data on all hospital patients in seven states (California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina and Wisconsin) in 2019 were obtained from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Hospital Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Database (SID). These seven states included 44 percent of all persons living with HIV in the United States in 2019.

RESULTS

This study found that Black persons were more likely to be diagnosed with HIV, live with HIV, and die with HIV than White persons in the United States. This is illustrated by the fact that in 2019 Black persons comprised 13.4 percent of the population, yet they comprised 42.1 percent of persons diagnosed with HIV, 40.4 percent of persons living with HIV, and 42.9 percent of persons who died with HIV. By comparison, in 2019 White persons comprised 76.3 percent of the population, yet they comprised 24.8 percent of persons diagnosed with HIV, 29.1 percent of persons living with HIV, and 31.8 percent of persons who died with HIV. Nevertheless, this study did not find a statistically significant difference between the in-hospital mortality rates of Black and White persons in seven states in 2019.

CONCLUSIONS

The burden of HIV was considerably greater on Black persons than White persons in the United States in 2019.

The Impact of Frailty on Patients With AF and HFrEF Undergoing Catheter Ablation: A Nationwide Population Study

Background

Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome often coexisting with cardiovascular diseases such as atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). While catheter ablation (CA) has demonstrated efficacy in reducing major adverse cardiovascular events and improving mortality and quality of life, the influence of frailty among this population remains unknown.

Objectives

The authors aimed to identify the prevalence of frailty among patients with HFrEF and AF undergoing CA and its influence on cardiovascular mortality and discharge disposition.

Methods

From January 2016 to December 2019, we used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample to identify patients with AF and HFrEF. Frailty was identified by the presence of ≥1 diagnostic cluster utilizing the Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Groups with malnutrition, dementia, impaired vision, decubitus ulcer, urinary incontinence, loss of weight, poverty, barriers to access to care, difficulty walking, and falls as indicators. We compared clinical outcomes among frail vs nonfrail patients, including all-cause in-hospital mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, other major complications, discharge disposition, and hospital length of stay using multivariable regression analysis.

Results

Of 113,115 weighted admissions, 11,725 (10.4%) were classified as frail. Frail patients were older (median age: 76 [IQR: 15] years vs 70 [IQR: 15] years, P < 0.001) than nonfrail patients. Frailty was associated with increased odds of all-cause hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.87-3.72; P < 0.001), major adverse cardiovascular events (aOR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.62-2.47; P < 0.001), and nonhome discharge (aOR: 3.31; 95% CI: 2.78-3.94; P < 0.001). Frail patients also experienced longer hospital length of stay (median 9 [IQR: 10] days vs 5 [IQR: 5] days, P < 0.001) after adjustment by Poisson regression (coefficient: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.46-0.59; P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Frailty is associated with worse outcomes in patients with HFrEF undergoing CA for AF. The integration of frailty models in clinical practice may facilitate prognostication and risk stratification to optimize patient selection for CA.

Mitigating health disparities by improving access to catheter-based therapies for vulnerable patients with acute pulmonary embolism

INTRODUCTION

This study explores the implementation and outcomes of catheter-based thrombectomy (CBT) for acute pulmonary embolism (PE) within a safety-net hospital (SNH), addressing a critical gap in the literature concerning CBT in underserved and vulnerable populations.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study of patients undergoing CBT between October 2020 and January 2024 at a SNH. The primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality.

RESULTS

A total of 107 patients (47.6 % female, mean age 58.4 years) underwent CBT for acute PE, with 23 (21.5 %) high-risk and 84 (78.5 %) intermediate-risk PE. Demographically, 64 % identified as Black, 10 % White, 19 % Hispanic or Latino, and 5 % Asian. In terms of insurance coverage, 50 % had private insurance or Medicare, 36 % had Medicaid, and 14 % were uninsured. Notably, 67 % of the patients resided in high poverty rate zip codes and 11 % were non-citizen non-residents. Over a median follow up period of 30 days, 6 (5.6 %) patients expired (all high-risk PE), 3 of whom presented with cardiac arrest. No patients who presented with intermediate-risk PE died at 30 days. There was no difference in 30-day mortality based on race, insurance type, poverty level or citizenship status.

CONCLUSION

Our study findings reveal no disparities in access or outcomes to CBT at our SNH, emphasizing the feasibility and success of implementing PERT and CBT at a SNH, offering a potential model to address healthcare disparities in acute PE on a broader scale.

Toward an emerging model of healthcare access: A theoretical framework

AIM

To conceptualize an emerging framework of healthcare access for foreign-born persons based on well-known access models in the United States.

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 outbreak significantly impacted all global communities, disproportionately affecting people of color and highlighting preexisting health disparities. Health and immigration policies concerning healthcare access for foreign-born people were examined. Regarding access to social benefits in the United States, the Affordable Care Act underscored initial restrictions imposed by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996 on certain underserved groups.

METHODS

Guided by the study's aim, electronic databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL, were queried for relevant nursing-related literature published on Penchansky's and Andersen's models from 1968 to 2022. Compared with Penchansky's model, Andersen's model outcome measures have evolved over the years in response to dynamic health policy issues.

RESULTS

Penchansky's model has five constructs in its original form, whereas Andersen's model has three. The current study shows that each existing access model provides a unique method for evaluating various policies. In some cases, the studies are limited to a simple application of the original model with few modifications in studies specific to foreign-born groups in the United States.

DISCUSSION

There is a dearth of systematic theorization of access that incorporates social justice and health equity. Health disparities were further explained using metrics from existing access models.

CONCLUSIONS

An emerging access model conceptualizing existing access models was proposed, using constructs framed within the basic tenets of health equity and social justice.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

Applying the emerging model's constructs to future studies is anticipated to highlight opportunities for stakeholders such as policymakers, healthcare providers, nursing professionals, and community leaders to support programs that could further reduce health disparities.

Hospital Presumptive Eligibility Emergency Medicaid Programs: An Opportunity for Continuous Insurance Coverage?

BACKGROUND

Lack of health insurance is a public health crisis, leading to foregone care and financial strain. Hospital Presumptive Eligibility (HPE) is a hospital-based emergency Medicaid program that provides temporary (up to 60 d) coverage, with the goal that hospitals will assist patients in applying for ongoing Medicaid coverage. It is unclear whether HPE is associated with successful longer-term Medicaid enrollment.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize Medicaid enrollment 6 months after initiation of HPE and determine sociodemographic, clinical, and geographic factors associated with Medicaid enrollment.

DESIGN

This was a cohort study of all HPE approved inpatients in California, using claims data from the California Department of Healthcare Services.

SETTING

The study was conducted across all HPE-participating hospitals within California between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017.

PARTICIPANTS

We studied California adult hospitalized inpatients, who were uninsured at the time of hospitalization and approved for HPE emergency Medicaid. Using multivariable logistic regression models, we compared HPE-approved patients who enrolled in Medicaid by 6 months versus those who did not.

EXPOSURES

HPE emergency Medicaid approval at the time of hospitalization.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcome was full-scope Medicaid enrollment by 6 months after the hospital's presumptive eligibility approval.

RESULTS

Among 71,335 inpatient HPE recipients, a total of 45,817 (64.2%) enrolled in Medicaid by 6 months. There was variability in Medicaid enrollment across counties in California (33%-100%). In adjusted analyses, Spanish-preferred-language patients were less likely to enroll in Medicaid (aOR 0.77, P <0.001). Surgical intervention (aOR 1.10, P <0.001) and discharge to another inpatient facility or a long-term care facility increased the odds of Medicaid enrollment (vs. routine discharge home: aOR 2.24 and aOR 1.96, P <0.001).

CONCLUSION

California patients who enroll in HPE often enroll in Medicaid coverage by 6 months, particularly among patients requiring surgical intervention, repeated health care visits, and ongoing access to care. Future opportunities include prospective evaluation of HPE recipients to understand the impact that Medicaid enrollment has on health care utilization and financial solvency.

Health insurance system fragmentation and COVID-19 mortality: Evidence from Peru

Peru has a fragmented health insurance system in which most insureds can only access the providers in their insurer's network. The two largest sub-systems covered about 53% and 30% of the population at the start of the pandemic; however, some individuals have dual insurance and can thereby access both sets of providers. We use data on 24.7 million individuals who belonged to one or both sub-systems to investigate the effect of dual insurance on COVID-19 mortality. We estimate recursive bivariate probit models using the difference in the distance to the nearest hospital in the two insurance sub-systems as Instrumental Variable. The effect of dual insurance was to reduce COVID-19 mortality risk by 0.23% compared with the sample mean risk of 0.54%. This implies that the 133,128 COVID-19 deaths in the sample would have been reduced by 56,418 (95%CI: 34,894, 78,069) if all individuals in the sample had dual insurance.

Comprehensive Evidence-Based Health Maintenance

The potential of primary prevention to prevent, delay, or ameliorate disease is immense. However, the total spending on preventive services in the United States remains astoundingly small and represents a meager 3.5% of total health care spending. Moreover, training focused on prevention in medical schools is often neglected, and time-constrained primary providers frequently omit effective preventive and early detection measures, or perform them perfunctorily. Indeed, preventable conditions of serious consequences including "premature" mortality, cardiovascular events, and major organ failure are ubiquitous with the global obesity and diabetes epidemics, and the ongoing high prevalence of noxious habits and drug abuse. Although each aspect has been the subject of extensive research, a succinct evidence-based summary is scarce. We have conducted a review of high-quality evidence (systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and practice guidelines) over the last 20 years to extract the best updated recommendations on comprehensive disease prevention and approved screening, briefly citing significant risk reductions by lifestyle interventions, pharmacological prevention, cancer screening, other endorsed screening, immunizations, and issues in the patient-provider interface.

Health Insurance Status and Access to Healthcare Among Young Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: from the Congenital Heart Survey To Recognize Outcomes, Needs and Well-beinG (CH STRONG), 2016-2019

Having health insurance is associated with better access to healthcare and lower rates of comorbidity in the general population, but data are limited on insurance's impact on adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). The Congenital Heart Survey To Recognize Outcomes, Needs and well-beinG (CH STRONG) was conducted among ACHD in three locations from 2016 to 2019. We performed multivariable logistic regression to determine the associations between health insurance and both access to healthcare and presence of comorbidities. We also compared health insurance and comorbidities among ACHD to similarly-aged individuals in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) as a proxy for the general population. Of 1354 CH STRONG respondents, the majority were ≤ 30 years old (83.5%), and 8.8% were uninsured versus 17.7% in the BRFSS (p < 0.01). Compared to insured ACHD, uninsured were less likely to report regular medical care (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.1-0.3) and visited an emergency room more often (aOR 1.6, CI 1.0-2.3). Among all ACHD reporting disability, uninsured individuals less frequently received benefits (aOR 0.1, CI 0.0-0.3). Depression was common among uninsured ACHD (22.5%), but insured ACHD had lower rates of depression than insured in the BRFSS (13.3% vs. 22.5%, p < 0.01). In conclusion, rates of insurance were higher among ACHD compared to the general population. Nonetheless, uninsured ACHD inconsistently accessed healthcare and benefits. Further studies are needed to determine if insurance ameliorates the risk of morbidity as ACHD age.

Moral economy and moral capital: A new approach to understanding health systems

Healthcare systems can be considered moral economies in which moral capital in the form of expectations toward norms, values, and virtues are exchanged and traded. Moral capital, as a concept, is an extension of Bourdieu's forms of symbolic, and in particular, cultural capital. This research set out to identify forms of moral capital evident in the accounts of health professionals and patients within the distinctive healthcare systems of Germany, New Zealand, and the Unites States. Here, we provide an overview of 15 forms of moral capital that were identified. An important form of moral capital is equality. The global coronavirus pandemic has illuminated inequalities in healthcare systems across the world. We suggest considering moral capital as a useful tool to reform healthcare systems and make the provision of healthcare a more equitable enterprise.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Intensity of Care at the End of Life for Patients With Lung Cancer: A 13-Year Population-Based Study

PURPOSE

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Disparities in lung cancer mortality among racial and ethnic minorities are well documented. Less is known as to whether racial and ethnic minority patients with lung cancer experience higher rates of intensity of care at the end of life (EOL) compared with non-Hispanic White (NHW) patients.

METHODS

We conducted a population-based analysis of patients 18 years and older with a lung cancer diagnosis who died between 2005 and 2018 using the California Cancer Registry linked to patient discharge data abstracts. Our primary outcome was intensity of care in the last 14 days before death (defined as any hospital admission or emergency department [ED] visit, intensive care unit [ICU] admission, intubation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR], hemodialysis, and death in an acute care setting). We used multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate associations between race and ethnicity and intensity of EOL care.

RESULTS

Among 207,429 patients with lung cancer who died from 2005 to 2018, the median age was 74 years (range, 18-107) and 106,821 (51%) were male, 146,872 (70.8%) were NHW, 1,045 (0.5%) were American Indian, 21,697 (10.5%) were Asian Pacific Islander (API), 15,490 (7.5%) were Black, and 22,325 (10.8%) were Hispanic. Compared with NHW patients, in the last 14 days before death, API, Black, and Hispanic patients had greater odds of a hospital admission, an ICU admission, intubation, CPR, and hemodialysis and greater odds of a hospital or ED death.

CONCLUSION

Compared with NHW patients, API, Black, and Hispanic patients who died with lung cancer experienced higher intensity of EOL care. Future studies should develop approaches to eliminate such racial and ethnic disparities in care delivery at the EOL.

Mortality and morbidity ramifications of proposed retractions in healthcare coverage for the United States

In the absence of universal healthcare in the United States, federal programs of Medicaid and Medicare are vital to providing healthcare coverage for low-income households and elderly individuals, respectively. However, both programs are under threat, with either enacted or proposed retractions. Specifically, raising Medicare age eligibility and the addition of work requirements for Medicaid qualification have been proposed, while termination of continuous enrollment for Medicaid was recently effectuated. Here, we assess the potential impact on mortality and morbidity resulting from these policy changes. Our findings indicate that the policy change to Medicare would lead to over 17,000 additional deaths among individuals aged 65 to 67 and those to Medicaid would lead to more than 8,000 deaths among those under the age of 65. To illustrate the implications for morbidity, we further consider a case study among those people with diabetes who would be likely to lose their health insurance under the policy changes. We project that these insurance retractions would lead to the loss of coverage for over 700,000 individuals with diabetes, including more than 200,000 who rely on insulin.

Unique Profiles of Postpartum Family Needs and Evidence of Racial and Ethnic Disparities: Insights from Community Implementation of Family Connects

OBJECTIVES

To delineate specific family needs during the postpartum period using data from Family Connects (FC), a universal home-visiting initiative, and to scrutinize potential racial and ethnic disparities in these needs.

METHOD

FC implementation data spanned from July 1, 2009, to August 31, 2021, in seven counties across the USA. Data encompassed nurse-led in-home assessments for 34,119 families. Nurses evaluated needs across four domains (healthcare, parenting/childcare, safe home, and parent support) comprising 12 risk factors.

FINDINGS

Overall, families reported high levels of need, and community connections were facilitated for 57% of visited families. Significant differences in need profiles between whites and minority groups were revealed, reflecting both disparity and uniqueness. Employing the Oaxaca decomposition approach, we found that racial/ethnic disparities in socioeconomic attributes were associated with racial/ethnic gaps in the need profiles.

CONCLUSIONS

The event of giving birth is both high risk and high opportunity for preventive intervention. Home-visiting programs, as an evidence-based approach, must address the diverse spectrum of familial needs comprehensively.

Cumulative All-Cause Mortality in Diverse Hispanic/Latino Adults : A Prospective, Multicenter Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

All-cause mortality among diverse Hispanic/Latino groups in the United States and factors underlying mortality differences have not been examined prospectively.

OBJECTIVE

To describe cumulative all-cause mortality (and factors underlying differences) by Hispanic/Latino background, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN

Prospective, multicenter cohort study.

SETTING

Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

PARTICIPANTS

15 568 adults aged 18 to 74 years at baseline (2008 to 2011) of Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South American, and other backgrounds from the Bronx, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and San Diego, California.

MEASUREMENTS

Sociodemographic, acculturation-related, lifestyle, and clinical factors were assessed at baseline, and vital status was ascertained through December 2021 (969 deaths; 173 444 person-years of follow-up). Marginally adjusted cumulative all-cause mortality risks (11-year before the pandemic and 2-year during the pandemic) were examined using progressively adjusted Cox regression.

RESULTS

Before the pandemic, 11-year cumulative mortality risks adjusted for age and sex were higher in the Puerto Rican and Cuban groups (6.3% [95% CI, 5.2% to 7.6%] and 5.7% [CI, 5.0% to 6.6%], respectively) and lowest in the South American group (2.4% [CI, 1.7% to 3.5%]). Differences were attenuated with adjustment for lifestyle and clinical factors. During the pandemic, 2-year cumulative mortality risks adjusted for age and sex ranged from 1.1% (CI, 0.6% to 2.0%; South American) to 2.0% (CI, 1.4% to 3.0%; Central American); CIs overlapped across groups. With adjustment for lifestyle factors, 2-year cumulative mortality risks were highest in persons of Central American and Mexican backgrounds and lowest among those of Puerto Rican and Cuban backgrounds.

LIMITATION

Lack of data on race and baseline citizenship status; correlation between Hispanic/Latino background and site.

CONCLUSION

Differences in prepandemic mortality risks across Hispanic/Latino groups were explained by lifestyle and clinical factors. Mortality patterns changed during the pandemic, with higher risks in persons of Central American and Mexican backgrounds than in those of Puerto Rican and Cuban backgrounds.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE

National Institutes of Health.

Wealth Redistribution to Extend Longevity in the US

Importance

The US is unique among wealthy countries in its degree of wealth inequality and its poor health outcomes. Wealth is known to be positively associated with longevity, but little is known about whether wealth redistribution might extend longevity.

Objective

To examine the association between wealth and longevity and estimate the changes in longevity that could occur with simulated wealth distributions that were perfectly equal, similar to that observed in Japan (among the most equitable of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] countries), generated by minimum inheritance proposals, and produced by baby bonds proposals.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This longitudinal cohort study analyzed the association between wealth and survival among participants in the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2018), a nationally representative panel study of middle-aged and older (≥50 years) community-dwelling, noninstitutionalized US adults. The data analysis was performed between November 15, 2022, and September 24, 2023.

Exposure

Household wealth on study entry, calculated as the sum of all assets minus the value of debts and classified into deciles.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Weibull survival models were used to estimate the association between per-person wealth decile and survival, adjusting for age, sex, marital status, household size, and race and ethnicity. Changes in longevity that might occur under alternative wealth distributions were then estimated.

Results

The sample included 35 164 participants (mean [SE] age at study entry, 59.1 [0.1] years; 50.1% female and 49.9% male [weighted]). The hazard of death generally decreased with increasing wealth, wherein participants in the highest wealth decile had a hazard ratio of 0.59 for death (95% CI, 0.53-0.66) compared with those in the lowest decile, corresponding to a 13.5-year difference in survival. A simulated wealth distribution of perfect equality would increase populationwide median longevity by 2.2 years (95% CI, 2.2-2.3 years), fully closing the mortality gap between the US and the OECD average. A simulated minimum inheritance proposal would increase populationwide median longevity by 1.7 years; a simulated wealth distribution similar to Japan's would increase populationwide median longevity by 1.2 years; and a simulated baby bonds proposal would increase populationwide median longevity by 1.0 year.

Conclusions and Relevance

These findings suggest that wealth inequality in the US is associated with significant inequities in survival. Wealth redistribution policies may substantially reduce those inequities and increase population longevity.

Association between insurance type and suicide-related behavior among US adults: The impact of the Affordable Care Act

This study examined the association between insurance type and suicidal ideation and attempts among adults in the United States, incorporating a comparative analysis of the pre- and post-Affordable Care Act (ACA) periods. We used a nationally representative, cross-sectional, population-based survey of individuals aged 18 years and older from the 2010-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The higher rates of suicidal ideation and attempts among Medicaid and uninsured groups compared with those with private insurance. After implementation of the ACA policy, the difference-in-differences analysis showed a significantly reduced risk of suicide in the Medicare group compared with the privately insured group, with no significant differences observed in the other groups. These findings highlight the importance of improving access to mental health services, particularly for those with lower levels of insurance coverage, such as Medicaid and Medicare.

Examination of Pediatric Burn Incidence and the Impact of Social Determinants of Health in Florida

Introduction Burn injuries are a major mechanism of trauma worldwide, caused by friction, cold, heat, radiation, chemical, or electric sources. Most often, burn injuries occur due to heat contact from hot liquids, solids, or fire, termed scald burns and flame burns, respectively. These types of injuries are complex and carry major injury and mortality risks, especially in pediatric populations. Burn trauma prevention has been a major focus in the US, with initiatives to increase public health outreach and safety measures. Unfortunately, children in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations may face these types of injuries at disproportionately higher rates, and we aim to highlight these disparities, if any, within our Florida community. Materials and methods This study was designed as a retrospective observational analysis using publicly available data from the Florida Health Community Health Assessment Resource Tool Set (CHARTS). Data was extracted for nonfatal burn injuries resulting in ED visits in the years 2018-2020. This data was limited to those ranging from 0 to 19 years old and converted to rates of burn injuries per 100,000. Sociodemographic details for each county were recorded from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps and compared with burn data in each respective county. Frequencies were generated for categorical data, and statistical analyses for burn rates and sociodemographic details were performed with a generalized linear model using a Poisson distribution and bivariate correlation for a p < 0.05. Results In Florida, the median annual burn rate per 100,000 was 136 (IQR: 96-179), with Jackson county holding the highest rate of 323 and Glades, Hardee, and Lafayette each holding a rate of 0. Of the 18 socioeconomic factors examined, a total of five were found to have no statistically significant effect on nonfatal burn injury ED visits: severe housing problems, percentage of Asians, teen births, percentage of children (<18 years) in poverty, and severe housing cost burden. The two most important factors to be found in nonfatal burn ED visits of pediatric patients were the percentage of those younger than 19 years old without health insurance and the average grade level performance of third-grader reading scores. When adjusting for the small sample size using Firth's bias-adjusted estimates and overdispersion, both reading scores and those without insurance play a significant role in pediatric burn injuries. For each increase in a single point in reading scores, the incidence rate ratio decreases by 97.1% (95% CI). For every percentage increase in children insured, there is a 28.8% decrease in pediatric burn injuries (95% CI). Conclusions This analysis highlights increased pediatric burn rates across multiple social determinants of health (SDOH) in all 67 Florida counties. The findings here demonstrate that there may continue to be a disproportionate distribution of burn rates among lower and higher sociodemographic areas. This study further highlights this trend within the Florida community, and continued research will be necessary to meet the needs of lower sociodemographic areas to improve burn rates in vulnerable populations, such as children, who are at increased risk of injury.

Spatial mapping of colorectal cancer screening uptake and associated factors

OBJECTIVE

Over the past decades, it has been understood that the availability of screening tests has contributed to a steady decline in incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, it is also seen that there is a geographic disparity in the use of such tests across small areas. The aim of this study is to examine small-area level barrier factors that may impact CRC screening uptake and to delineate coldspot (low uptake of screening) counties in Florida.

METHODS

Data on the percentages of county-level CRC screening uptakes in 2016 and county-level barrier factors for screening were obtained from the Florida Department of Health, Division of Public Health Statistics & Performance Management. Bayesian spatial beta models were used to produce posterior probability of deceedance to identify coldspots for CRC screening rates.

RESULTS

Unadjusted screening rates using sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy test ranged from 56.8 to 85%. Bayesian spatial beta models were fitted to the proportion data. At an ecological level, we found that an increasing rate of CRC screening uptake for either of the test types (colon/rectum exam, stool-based test) was strongly associated with a higher health insurance coverage, and lower percentage of population that speak English less than very well (immigration) at county level. Eleven coldspot counties out of 67 total were also identified.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that health insurance disparities in the use of CRC screening tests are an important factor that may need more attention for resource allocation and health policy targeting small areas with low uptake of screening.

Changes in surgical mortality during COVID-19 pandemic by patients' race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status among US older adults: a quasi-experimental event study model

OBJECTIVES

To examine changes in the 30-day surgical mortality rate after common surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate whether its impact varies by urgency of surgery or patient race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

DESIGN

We used a quasi-experimental event study design to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical mortality rate, using patients who received the same procedure in the prepandemic years (2016-2019) as the control, adjusting for patient characteristics and hospital fixed effects (effectively comparing patients treated at the same hospital). We conducted stratified analyses by procedure urgency, patient race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status (dual-Medicaid status and median household income).

SETTING

Acute care hospitals in the USA.

PARTICIPANTS

Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged 65-99 years who underwent one of 14 common surgical procedures from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

30-day postoperative mortality rate.

RESULTS

Our sample included 3 620 689 patients. Surgical mortality was higher during the pandemic, with peak mortality observed in April 2020 (adjusted risk difference (aRD) +0.95 percentage points (pp); 95% CI +0.76 to +1.26 pp; p<0.001) and mortality remained elevated through 2020. The effect of the pandemic on mortality was larger for non-elective (vs elective) procedures (April 2020: aRD +0.44 pp (+0.16 to +0.72 pp); p=0.002 for elective; aRD +1.65 pp (+1.00, +2.30 pp); p<0.001 for non-elective). We found no evidence that the pandemic mortality varied by patients' race and ethnicity (p for interaction=0.29), or socioeconomic status (p for interaction=0.49).

CONCLUSIONS

30-day surgical mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic peaked in April 2020 and remained elevated until the end of the year. The influence of the pandemic on surgical mortality did not vary by patient race and ethnicity or socioeconomic status, indicating that once patients were able to access care and undergo surgery, surgical mortality was similar across groups.

Social determinants of health and incident postoperative delirium: Exploring key relationships in the SAGES study

BACKGROUND

Examining the associations of social determinants of health (SDOH) with postoperative delirium in older adults will broaden our understanding of this potentially devastating condition. We explored the association between SDOH factors and incident postoperative delirium.

METHODS

A retrospective study of a prospective cohort of patients enrolled from June 18, 2010, to August 8, 2013, across two academic medical centers in Boston, Massachusetts. Overall, 560 older adults age ≥70 years undergoing major elective non-cardiac surgery were included in this analysis. Exposure variables included income, lack of private insurance, and neighborhood disadvantage. Our main outcome was incident postoperative delirium, measured using the Confusion Assessment Method long form.

RESULTS

Older age (odds ratio, OR: 1.01, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.00, 1.02), income <20,000 a year (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.26), lack of private insurance (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.38), higher depressive symptomatology (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.04), and the Area Deprivation Index (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.04) were significantly associated with increased risk of postoperative delirium in bivariable analyses. In a multivariable model, explaining 27% of the variance in postoperative delirium, significant independent variables were older age (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00, 1.02), lack of private insurance (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.02, 1.36), and depressive symptoms (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00, 1.03). Household income was no longer a significant independent predictor of delirium in the multivariable model (OR:1.02, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.15). The type of medical insurance significantly mediated the association between household income and incident delirium.

CONCLUSIONS

Lack of private insurance, a social determinant of health reflecting socioeconomic status, emerged as a novel and important independent risk factor for delirium. Future efforts should consider targeting SDOH factors to prevent postoperative delirium in older adults.

Advancing Cardiovascular Risk Assessment with Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Implications in North Carolina

Cardiovascular disease mortality is increasing in North Carolina with persistent inequality by race, income, and location. Artificial intelligence (AI) can repurpose the widely available electrocardiogram (ECG) for enhanced assessment of cardiac dysfunction. By identifying accelerated cardiac aging from the ECG, AI offers novel insights into risk assessment and prevention.

Racial & ethnic disparities in geographic access to critical care in the United States: A geographic information systems analysis

OBJECTIVE

It is important to identify gaps in access and reduce health outcome disparities, understanding access to intensive care unit (ICU) beds, especially by race and ethnicity, is crucial. Our objective was to evaluate the race and ethnicity-specific 60-minute drive time accessibility of ICU beds in the United States (US).

DESIGN

We conducted a cross-sectional study using road network analysis to determine the number of ICU beds within a 60-minute drive time, and calculated adult intensive care bed ratios per 100,000 adults. We evaluated the US population at the Census block group level and stratified our analysis by race and ethnicity and by urbanicity. We classified block groups into four access levels: no access (0 adult intensive care beds/100,000 adults), below average access (>0-19.5), average access (19.6-32.0), and above average access (>32.0). We calculated the proportion of adults in each racial and ethnic group within the four access levels.

SETTING

All 50 US states and the District of Columbia.

PARTICIPANTS

Adults ≥15 years old.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Adult intensive care beds/100,000 adults and percentage of adults national and state) within four access levels by race and ethnicity.

RESULTS

High variability existed in access to ICU beds by state, and substantial disparities by race and ethnicity. 1.8% (n = 5,038,797) of Americans had no access to an ICU bed, and 26.8% (n = 73,095,752) had below average access, within a 60-minute drive time. Racial and ethnic analysis showed high rates of disparities (no access/below average access): American Indians/Alaskan Native 12.6%/28.5%, Asian 0.7%/23.1%, Black or African American 0.6%/16.5%, Hispanic or Latino 1.4%/23.0%, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 5.2%/35.0%, and White 2.1%/29.0%. A higher percentage of rural block groups had no (5.2%) or below average access (41.2%), compared to urban block groups (0.2% no access, 26.8% below average access).

CONCLUSION

ICU bed availability varied substantially by geography, race and ethnicity, and by urbanicity, creating significant disparities in critical care access. The variability in ICU bed access may indicate inequalities in healthcare access overall by limiting resources for the management of critically ill patients.

Demographic and economic correlates of health security in West Sumatra province - Indonesia

OBJECTIVES

Access to health insurances could indicate the degree of health security among communities. Indonesia made a commitment to attain universal health insurance coverage by the end of 2019. However, until today it has not reached the goal of 100% coverage. Therefore, there is a need to portray the demographic and economic correlates of health insurance coverage in an area to improve health security achievement.

METHODS

This secondary analysis was based on the 2017 Indonesian national socio-economic survey conducted in the West Sumatra province. Multivariable models using logistic regression were used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) for being uninsured.

RESULTS

The results showed that health security, in terms of insurance coverage, was influenced by demographic and economic factors. Young and middle-aged individuals were more likely to be uninsured than older ones (OR = 1.49 and OR = 1.21, respectively). People from a lower educated family, or with lower consumption per capita have higher risk of being uninsured (OR = 3.00 and OR = 1.26, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Insurance coverage was influenced by demographic and economic factors. Policymakers should consider demographic and economic factors related to the implementation of universal health coverage. Campaign about the importance of universal health coverage should reach all citizens.

Varsity Medical Ethics Debate 2019: is authoritarian government the route to good health outcomes?

Authoritarian governments are characterised by political systems with concentrated and centralised power. Healthcare is a critical component of any state. Given the powers of an authoritarian regime, we consider the opportunities they possess to derive good health outcomes. The 2019 Varsity Medical Ethics Debate convened on the motion: 'This house believes authoritarian government is the route to good health outcomes' with Oxford as the Proposition and Cambridge as the Opposition. This article summarises and extends key arguments made during the 11th annual debate between medical students from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. By contrasting the principles underlying authoritarianism and democracy, it enables a discussion into how they translate into healthcare provision and the outcomes derived. Based on the foundation of said principles, an exploration of select cases represents examples of applications and the results. We analyse the past, present and future implications on the basis of fundamental patient-centred care.

Area Deprivation Index is not predictive of worse outcomes after open lower extremity revascularization

OBJECTIVE

Prior research has shown that socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with higher rates of diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and amputation. We sought to determine whether SES or insurance type increases the risk of mortality, major adverse limb events (MALE), or hospital length of stay (LOS) after open lower extremity revascularization.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent open lower extremity revascularization at a single tertiary care center from January 2011 to March 2017 (n = 542). SES was determined using state Area Deprivation Index (ADI), a validated metric determined by income, education, employment, and housing quality by census block group. Patients undergoing amputation in this same time period (n = 243) were included to compare rates of revascularization to amputation by ADI and insurance status. For patients undergoing revascularization or amputation procedures on both limbs, each limb was treated individually for this analysis. We performed a multivariate analysis of the association between ADI and insurance type with mortality, MALE, and LOS using Cox proportional hazard models, including confounding variables such as age, gender, smoking status, body mass index, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. The cohort with an ADI quintile of 1, meaning least deprived, and the Medicare cohort were used for reference. P values of <.05 were considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

We included 246 patients undergoing open lower extremity revascularization and 168 patients undergoing amputation. Controlling for age, gender, smoking status, body mass index, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes, ADI was not an independent predictor of mortality (P = .838), MALE (P = .094), or hospital LOS (P = .912). Controlling for the same confounders, uninsured status was independently predictive of mortality (P = .033), but not MALE (P = .088) or hospital LOS (P = .125). There was no difference in the distribution of revascularizations or amputations by ADI (P = .628), but there was higher proportion of uninsured patients undergoing amputation compared with revascularization (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that ADI is not associated with an increased risk of mortality or MALE in patients undergoing open lower extremity revascularization, but that uninsured patients are at higher risk of mortality after revascularization. These findings indicate that individuals undergoing open lower extremity revascularization at this single tertiary care teaching hospital received similar care, regardless of their ADI. Further study is warranted to understand the specific barriers that uninsured patients face.

Geographic variation in diabetic retinopathy screening within the Veterans Health Administration

AIMS

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains the leading cause of vision impairment among working-age adults in the United States. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) supplemented its DR screening efforts with teleretinal imaging in 2006. Despite its scale and longevity, no national data on the VA's screening program exists since 1998. Our objective was to determine the influence of geography on diabetic retinopathy screening adherence.

METHODS

Setting: VA national electronic medical records.

STUDY POPULATION

A national cohort of 940,654 veterans with diabetes (defined as two or more diabetes ICD-9 codes (250.xx)) without a history of DR.

EXPOSURES

125 VA Medical Center catchment areas, demographics, comorbidity burden, mean HbA1c levels, medication use and adherence, as well as utilization and access metrics.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Screening for diabetic retinopathy within the VA medical system within a 2-year period.

RESULTS

Within a 2-year time frame 74 % of veterans without a history of DR received retinal screenings within the VA system. After adjustment for age, gender, race-ethnic group, service-connected disability, marital status, and the van Walraven Elixhauser comorbidity score, the prevalence of DR screening varied by VA catchment area with values ranging from 27 % to 86 %. These differences persisted after further adjusting for mean HbA1c level, medication use and adherence as well as utilization and access metrics.

CONCLUSIONS

The wide variability in DR screening across 125 VA catchment areas indicates the presence of unmeasured determinants of DR screening. These results are relevant to clinical decision making in DR screening resource allocation.

Using Comorbidity Statistical Modeling to Predict Inpatient Mortality: Insights Into the Burden on Hospitalized Patients

Background The expenditures of the United States for healthcare are the highest in the world. Assessment of inpatient disease classifications associated with death can provide useful information for risk stratification, outcome prediction, and comparative analyses to understand the most resource-intensive chronic illnesses. This project aims to adapt a comorbidity index model to the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database of 2020 to predict one-year mortality for patients admitted with select International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD-10) codes of diagnoses. Methodology A retrospective cohort study analyzed mortality with comorbidity using the Charlson comorbidity index model (CCI) in a sample population of an estimated 5,533,477 adult inpatients (individuals aged ≥18 years) obtained from the National Inpatient Database for 2020. A multivariate logistic regression model was constructed with in-hospital mortality as the outcome variable and identifying predictor variables as defined by the Clinical Classifications Software Refined Variables (CCSR) codes for selected ICD-10 diagnoses. Descriptive statistics and the base logistic regression analyses were conducted using SAS statistical software version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). To avoid overpowering, a subsample (n = 100,000) was randomly selected from the original dataset. The initial CCI assigned weights to ICD-10 diagnoses based on the associated risk of death, and conditions with the greatest collective weights were included in a subsequent backward stepwise logistic regression model. Results The results of the base CCI regression analysis revealed 16 chronic conditions with P-values <0.20. Anemia (1,567,081, 28.32%), pulmonary disease (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], pneumoconiosis; 1,210,892, 21.88%), and diabetes without complications (1,077,239, 19.47%) were the three most prevalent conditions associated with inpatient mortality. Results of the backward stepwise regression analysis revealed that severe liver disease/hepatic failure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 10.50; 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.40-10.59), acute myocardial infarction (aOR 2.85; 95% CI 2.83-2.87) and malnutrition (aOR 2.15, 95% CI 2.14-2.16) were three most important risk factors and had the highest impact on inpatient mortality (P-value <0.0001). The concordance statistic (c-statistic) or the area under the curve (AUC) for the final model was 0.752. Conclusions The CCI model proved to be a valuable approach in categorizing morbidity classifications associated with the greatest risk of death using a national sample of hospitalized patients in 2020. Study findings provide an objective approach to compare patient populations that bear important implications for healthcare system improvements, clinician treatment approaches, and ultimately decision decision-makers poised to influence advanced models of care and prevention strategies that limit disease progression and improve patient outcomes.

Examining Patient Outcomes at a Faculty-Led Clinic for Uninsured and Underserved Clients

IMPORTANCE

Routine measurements used in clinical settings can foster evidence-based interventions and show the treatment effectiveness.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the efficacy of occupational therapy services for health outcomes, as determined by modified self-care and mobility items of the Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation Tool, also known as Section GG.

DESIGN

Retrospective and longitudinal. Data were obtained from medical records at four time points over 1 yr.

SETTING

The study took place at a pro bono, faculty-led clinic.

PARTICIPANTS

Ninety-one client charts were reviewed; 64 (70%) clients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled.

INTERVENTIONS

Interventions were provided by registered occupational therapists and entry-level occupational therapy students under supervision.

OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Self-care and mobility function were measured using modified GG0130 and GG0170 items from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Quality Reporting Program; three additional functional items were added. The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, Version 2® (SF-36v2) was used to evaluate clients' quality of life at intake.

RESULTS

Self-care and mobility composites significantly improved throughout the 1-yr intervention period. The additional functional composite significantly improved during the first 6 mo. Clients' scores on the physical function subdomain of the SF-36v2 were significantly related to their self-care, mobility, and additional functional items.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Faculty-led clinics can improve the occupational performance of clients in need of occupational therapy services, particularly in the areas of self-care and mobility, which have previously been identified as top priorities for clients. What This Article Adds: This study addressed health disparities in unique and effective ways. By using objective measures of functional mobility and self-care, the study provides robust evidence of the faculty-led clinic's impact in providing underserved and uninsured communities with effective client-centered occupational therapy services.

Changes in Self-Reported Adult Health and Household Food Security With the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit Monthly Payments

Importance

The 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit (ECTC) provided families with children monthly payments from July 2021 to December 2021. The association of this policy with adult health is understudied.

Objective

To examine changes in adult self-reported health and household food security before and during ECTC monthly payments.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This repeated cross-sectional study used multivariable regression with a difference-in-differences estimator to assess adult health and food security for 39 479 respondents to the National Health Interview Survey (January 2019 to December 2021) before vs during monthly payments. Analyses were stratified by income to focus on low-income vs middle-income and upper-income households.

Exposure

Eligibility for ECTC monthly payments from July 2021 to December 2021.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Overall self-reported adult health and household food security as binary outcomes (excellent or very good health vs good, fair, or poor health; food secure vs food insecure).

Results

In this nationally representative cross-sectional study of 39 479 US adults (mean [SD] age, 41.0 [13.0] years; 7234 [21.7%] Hispanic, 321 [0.9%] non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native, 2205 [5.7%] non-Hispanic Asian, 5113 [13.7%] non-Hispanic Black, and 23 704 [55.8%] White individuals), respondents were predominantly female (21 511 [52.4%]), employed (33 035 [86.7%]), and married (19 838 [55.7%]). Before disbursement of ECTC monthly payments, 7633 ECTC-eligible adults (60.1%) reported excellent or very good health, and 10 950 (87.8%) reported having food security. Among ECTC-ineligible adults, 10 778 (54.9%) reported excellent or very good health and 17 839 (89.1%) reported food security. Following disbursement of monthly payments, ECTC-eligible adults experienced a 3.0 percentage point (pp) greater adjusted increase (95% CI, 0.2-5.7) in the probability of reporting excellent or very good health compared with ECTC-ineligible adults. Additionally, ECTC-eligible adults experienced a 1.9 pp greater adjusted increase (95% CI, 0.1-3.7) in the probability of food security than ECTC-ineligible adults. In income-stratified analyses, the association between ECTC eligibility and overall health was concentrated among middle-income and upper-income households (3.7-pp increase in excellent or very good health; 95% CI, 0.5-6.9). Conversely, the association between ECTC eligibility and food security was concentrated among low-income adults (3.9-pp increase in food security; 95% CI, 0-7.9).

Conclusions and Relevance

The results of this cross-sectional study suggest that monthly ECTC payments were associated with improved adult overall health and food security. Cash transfer programs may be effective tools in improving adult health and household nutrition.

Invasive Management and In-Hospital Outcomes of Myocardial Infarction Patients in United States Safety-Net Hospitals

AIM

Safety-net hospitals (SNHs) look after a higher proportion of uninsured patients and are often located in deprived areas. This study aimed to determine whether there are differences in the clinical characteristics, treatments and outcomes of patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in SNHs versus non-SNHs (N-SNHs).

METHODS

All hospitalizations with a principal diagnosis of AMI in the United States' National Inpatient Sample between 2016 and 2019 were stratified by safety-net hospital status. Multivariable logistic regression with adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI) was conducted to investigate invasive management and clinical outcomes.

RESULTS

A total of 2,544,009 weighted discharge records were analyzed, including 601,719 records from SNHs (23.7 %). Compared with N-SNHs, SNH AMI patients were younger (median 66 years vs. 67 years, p < 0.001), and had a higher proportion in the lowest quartile of median household income (37.3 % vs. 28.5 %, p < 0.001). Patients from SNHs were less likely to receive coronary angiography (aOR 0.92, 95 % CI 0.91-0.93, p < 0.001), percutaneous coronary intervention (aOR 0.94, 95 % CI 0.93-0.95, p < 0.001), and coronary artery bypass grafting (aOR 0.93, 95 % CI 0.92-0.94, p < 0.001). In addition, they had increased all-cause mortality (aOR 1.11, 95 % CI 1.09-1.12, p < 0.001), major adverse cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events (composite of mortality, stroke and reinfarction) (aOR 1.11, 95 % CI 1.09-1.12, p < 0.001), and stroke (aOR 1.11, 95 % CI 1.08-1.14, p < 0.001), while there was no difference in major bleeding (aOR 1.02, 95 % CI 1.00-1.04, p = 0.107).

CONCLUSION

Among AMI patients, treatment in SNHs was associated with lower utilization of coronary angiography and revascularization and worse clinical outcomes.

Neurorehabilitation for the Uninsured: Georgia Rehabilitation Services Volunteer Partnership Clinic

PURPOSE

Individuals who experience brain injury and are uninsured often do not have access to health care services following their injury. The Georgia Rehabilitation Services Volunteer Partnership (GA RSVP) Clinic is a free outpatient rehabilitation program for uninsured individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) and/or spinal cord injury (SCI) for all racial and ethnic backgrounds. While the clinic serves people with ABI and SCI, this clinical focus article will focus on people with ABI by describing the clinic, lessons learned from operations, an ABI patient case study, and future directions.

METHOD

Our mission is to provide free outpatient rehabilitation care that maximizes independence, wellness, and community participation. The clinic has been in operation since September 2020, staffed by volunteers who provide services once a month in donated space at a rehabilitation hospital. We currently have 69 active volunteers, seven founding Board of Directors, and 17 founding Advisory Board members. We provide education to clients and their families and run peer and family support groups. For clients who cannot attend due to medical or transportation challenges, we have added telehealth services. We have 11 partner organizations as well as individual donor's financial support. The Chair of the clinic volunteers 50% of time managing clinic operations.

RESULTS

From September 2020 to December 2021, we provided care for 40 clients: 23 clinic admissions and 17 were provided information/referral services to access necessary health care services.

CONCLUSIONS

A volunteer, free outpatient rehabilitation clinic is feasible and can contribute to improved outcomes for uninsured individuals with ABI. Further research to understand impact on patient outcomes is needed.

The Impact of the Medical Insurance System on the Health of Older Adults in Urban China: Analysis Based on Three-Period Panel Data

The impact of the medical insurance system (MIS) on the health of older adults is a key element of research in the field of social security. Because China's MIS consists of different types of insurance, and the benefits and levels of coverage received by participating in different medical insurance vary, different medical insurance may have a differential impact on the health of older adults. This has rarely been studied before. In this paper, the panel data of the third phase of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted in 2013, 2015 and 2018 were used to investigate the impact of participation in social medical insurance (SMI) and commercial medical insurance (CMI) on the health of urban older adults and its mechanism relationship. The study found that SMI had a positive impact on the mental health of older adults, but only in the eastern region. Participation in CMI was positively correlated with the health of older adults, but this association was relatively small and was only observed in the sample of older adults aged 75 years and above. In addition, future life security plays an important role in the process of improving the health of older adults through medical insurance. Both research hypothesis 1 and research hypothesis 2 were verified. The results of this paper show that the evidence of the positive effect of medical insurance on the health of older adults in urban areas proposed by scholars is not convincing enough. Therefore, the medical insurance scheme should be reformed, focusing not only on coverage, but on enhancing the benefits and level of insurance, so as to enhance its positive impact on the health of older adults.

Along party Lines: Examining the gubernatorial party difference in COVID-19 mortality rates in U.S. Counties

Drawing upon the literatures on risk factors for COVID-19 and the roles of political party and political partisanship in COVID-19 policies and outcomes, this study quantifies the extent to which differences in Republican- and Democrat-governed counties' observable characteristics explain the Republican - Democrat gap in COVID-19 mortality rate in the United States. We analyze the county COVID-19 mortality rate between February 1 and December 31, 2020 and employ the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method. We estimate the extent to which differences in county characteristics - demographic, socioeconomic, employment, health status, healthcare access, area geography, and Republican vote share, explain the difference in COVID-19 mortality rates in counties governed by Republican vs Democrat governors. Among 3,114 counties, Republican-governed counties had significantly higher COVID-19 mortality than did Democrat-governed counties (127 ± 86 vs 97 ± 80 per 100,000 population, p < 0.001). Results are sensitive to which weights are used: of the total gap of 30.3 deaths per 100,000 population, 12.8 to 20.5 deaths, or 42.2-67.7 %, are explained by differences in observable characteristics of Republican- and Democratic-governed counties. Difference in support for President Trump between Republican- and Democrat-governed counties explains 25 % of the additional deaths in Republican counties. Policies aimed at improving population health and lowering racial disparity in COVID-19 outcomes may also be correlated with reducing the partisan gap in COVID-19 mortality.

Prevention Science and Health Equity: A Comprehensive Framework for Preventing Health Inequities and Disparities Associated with Race, Ethnicity, and Social Class

The ultimate goal of our public health system is to reduce the incidence of disability and premature death. Evidence suggests that, by this standard, the USA falls behind most other developed countries largely as a function of disparities in health outcomes among significant portions of the US population. We present a framework for addressing these disparities that attributes them, not simply to differences in the behavioral and physical risk factors, but to social, environmental, and structural inequities such as poverty, discrimination, toxic physical setting, and the marketing of harmful products. These inequities result from de facto and instituted public policies. An analysis of the NIH research portfolio indicates a relative lack of investment in experimental evaluations of preventive interventions-especially studies targeting disadvantaged populations. Moreover, experimental research on reducing social inequities is almost entirely lacking. A line of research focusing on the drivers of inequities and their dissolution must include experimental evaluation of strategies for getting policies adopted that will reduce inequities. In conclusion, a summary is provided of the types of research that are needed and the challenges involved in conducting the experimental research that is essential for reducing inequities and disparities and, in turn, prolonging life.

Improving Access to Cardiovascular Care Through Telehealth: A Single-Center Experience

Background

Historically, access to healthcare has been a serious shortcoming of our healthcare system. Approximately 14.5% of US adults lack readily available access to health care and this has been worsened by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. There are limited data on the use of telehealth in cardiology. We share our single-center experience in improving access to care via telehealth at the University of Florida, Jacksonville cardiology fellows' clinic.

Methods

Demographic and social variables were collected 6 months before and 6 months after the initiation of telehealth services. The effect of telehealth was determined via Chi-square and multiple logistic regression while controlling for demographic covariates.

Results

We analyzed 3,316 cardiac clinic appointments over 1 year. Of these, 1,569 and 1,747 were before and after the start of telehealth, respectively. Fifteen percent (272 clinical encounters) out of the 1,747 clinic visits during the post-telehealth era were through telehealth, completed via audio or video consultation. Overall, there was a 7.2 % increase in attendance after the implementation of telehealth (P value < 0.001). Patients who attended their scheduled follow-up had significantly greater odds of being in the post-telehealth group while controlling for marital status and insurance type (odds ratio (OR): 1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07 - 1.62). Patients who attended had higher odds of having City-Contract insurance - an institution-specific indigenous care plan (OR: 3.51, 95% CI: 1.79 - 6.87) compared to private insurance. Patients who attended also had higher odds of being previously married (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.05 - 1.70) or married/dating (OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.05 - 1.82) compared to patients who were single. Surprisingly, telehealth did not lead to an increase in the use of Mychart, our electronic patient portal (P value = 0.55).

Conclusions

Telehealth enhanced patients' access to care by improving appointment show-rate in a cardiology fellows' clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth as a resource adjunct to traditional care in cardiology fellows' clinic should be further explored.

Excess Deaths in the United States Compared to 18 Other High-Income Countries

The U.S. is exceptional among high-income countries for poor survival outcomes. Understanding the distribution of excess deaths by age, sex, and cause of death, is essential for bringing U.S. mortality in line with international peers. We use 2016 data from the World Health Organization Mortality Database and the Human Mortality Database to calculate excess deaths in the U.S. relative to each of 18 high-income comparison countries. The U.S. experiences excess mortality in every age and sex group, and for 16 leading causes of death. For example, the U.S. could potentially prevent 884,912 deaths by achieving the lower mortality rates of Japan, the comparison country yielding the largest number of excess deaths, which would be comparable to eliminating all deaths from heart disease, unintentional injuries, and diabetes mellitus. In contrast, the U.S. could potentially prevent just 176,825 deaths by achieving the lower mortality rates of Germany, the comparison country yielding the smallest number of excess deaths, which would be comparable to eliminating all deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases and assault (homicide). Existing research suggests that policies that improve social conditions and health behaviors are more likely to bring U.S. mortality in line with peer countries than policies that support health care access or new biomedical technologies. Achieving the death rates of peer countries could result in mortality reductions comparable to eliminating leading causes of death.

Comparison of 6 Mortality Risk Scores for Prediction of 1-Year Mortality Risk in Older Adults With Multimorbidity

IMPORTANCE

The most appropriate therapy for older adults with multimorbidity may depend on life expectancy (ie, mortality risk), and several scores have been developed to predict 1-year mortality risk. However, often, these mortality risk scores have not been externally validated in large sample sizes, and a head-to-head comparison in a prospective contemporary cohort is lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To prospectively compare the performance of 6 scores in predicting the 1-year mortality risk in hospitalized older adults with multimorbidity.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This prognostic study analyzed data of participants in the OPERAM (Optimising Therapy to Prevent Avoidable Hospital Admissions in Multimorbid Older People) trial, which was conducted between December 1, 2016, and October 31, 2018, in surgical and nonsurgical departments of 4 university-based hospitals in Louvain, Belgium; Utrecht, the Netherlands; Cork, Republic of Ireland; and Bern, Switzerland. Eligible participants in the OPERAM trial had multimorbidity (≥3 coexisting chronic diseases), were aged 70 years or older, had polypharmacy (≥5 long-term medications), and were admitted to a participating ward. Data were analyzed from April 1 to September 30, 2020.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The outcome of interest was any-cause death occurring in the first year of inclusion in the OPERAM trial. Overall performance, discrimination, and calibration of the following 6 scores were assessed: Burden of Illness Score for Elderly Persons, CARING (Cancer, Admissions ≥2, Residence in a nursing home, Intensive care unit admit with multiorgan failure, ≥2 Noncancer hospice guidelines) Criteria, Charlson Comorbidity Index, Gagné Index, Levine Index, and Walter Index. These scores were assessed using the following measures: Brier score (0 indicates perfect overall performance and 0.25 indicates a noninformative model); C-statistic and 95% CI; Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test and calibration plots; and sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values.

RESULTS

The 1879 patients in the study had a median (IQR) age of 79 (74-84) years and 835 were women (44.4%). The median (IQR) number of chronic diseases was 11 (8-16). Within 1 year, 375 participants (20.0%) died. Brier scores ranged from 0.16 (Gagné Index) to 0.24 (Burden of Illness Score for Elderly Persons). C-statistic values ranged from 0.62 (95% CI, 0.59-0.65) for Charlson Comorbidity Index to 0.69 (95% CI, 0.66-0.72) for the Walter Index. Calibration was good for the Gagné Index and moderate for other mortality risk scores.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Results of this prognostic study suggest that all 6 of the 1-year mortality risk scores examined had moderate prognostic performance, discriminatory power, and calibration in a large cohort of hospitalized older adults with multimorbidity. Overall, none of these mortality risk scores outperformed the others, and thus none could be recommended for use in daily clinical practice.

Universal healthcare as pandemic preparedness: The lives and costs that could have been saved during the COVID-19 pandemic

The fragmented and inefficient healthcare system in the United States leads to many preventable deaths and unnecessary costs every year. During a pandemic, the lives saved and economic benefits of a single-payer universal healthcare system relative to the status quo would be even greater. For Americans who are uninsured and underinsured, financial barriers to COVID-19 care delayed diagnosis and exacerbated transmission. Concurrently, deaths beyond COVID-19 accrued from the background rate of uninsurance. Universal healthcare would alleviate the mortality caused by the confluence of these factors. To evaluate the repercussions of incomplete insurance coverage in 2020, we calculated the elevated mortality attributable to the loss of employer-sponsored insurance and to background rates of uninsurance, summing with the increased COVID-19 mortality due to low insurance coverage. Incorporating the demography of the uninsured with age-specific COVID-19 and nonpandemic mortality, we estimated that a single-payer universal healthcare system would have saved about 212,000 lives in 2020 alone. We also calculated that US$105.6 billion of medical expenses associated with COVID-19 hospitalization could have been averted by a single-payer universal healthcare system over the course of the pandemic. These economic benefits are in addition to US$438 billion expected to be saved by single-payer universal healthcare during a nonpandemic year.

Healthcare coverage and service access for low-income adults with substance use disorders

INTRODUCTION

Although health coverage facilitates service access to adults in the general population, uncertainty exists over the extent to which this relationship extends to low-income adults with substance use disorders.

METHODS

The health status and service use patterns of low-income adults with substance use disorders who had continuous, discontinuous, and no past year health coverage were compared using data from the 2015-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The NSDUH is a nationally representative survey of the civilian non-institutionalized population.

RESULTS

In the weighted sample (unweighted n = 9243), approximately 65.66% of low-income adults with substance use disorders had continuous coverage, 17.03% had discontinuous coverage, and 17.31% had no insurance coverage during the past year. Although few group differences were observed in self-reported health status, the uninsured group compared to the discontinously and continuously covered groups, respectively, was less likely to report a past year substance use treatment visit (11.03% vs. 14.83% vs. 15.61%), an outpatient care visit (53.39% vs. 71.27% vs. 79.04%), an emergency department visit (33.33% vs. 45.76% vs. 45.57%), or an inpatient admission (9.24% vs. 15.11% vs. 15.58%).

CONCLUSIONS

Although the cross sectional design limits causal inferences, the correlations between lacking health insurance and low rates of substance use treatment and healthcare use raise the possibility that increasing healthcare coverage might increase access to substance use treatment and other needed healthcare services for low-income adults with substance use disorders.

Health and Dental Insurance and Health Care Utilization Among Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With CKD: Findings From the CKiD Cohort Study

Rationale & Objective

To understand the association between health and dental insurance status and health and dental care utilization, and their relationship with disease severity in a population with childhood-onset chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Study Design

Observational cohort study.

Settings & Participants

Nine hundred fifty-three participants contributing 4,369 person-visits (unit of analysis) in the United States enrolled in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) Study from 2005 to 2019.

Exposures

Health insurance (private vs public vs none) and dental insurance (presence vs absence) self-reported at annual visits.

Outcomes

Self-reported suboptimal health care utilization in the past year, defined separately as not visiting a private physician, visiting the emergency room, visiting the emergency room at least twice, being hospitalized, and self-reported suboptimal dental care utilization over the past year, defined as not receiving dental care.

Analytical Approach

Repeated measures Poisson regression models were fit to estimate and compare utilization by insurance type and disease severity at the prior visit. Additional unadjusted and adjusted models were fit, as well as models including interactions between insurance and Black race, maternal education, and income.

Results

Those with public health insurance were more likely to report suboptimal health care utilization across the CKD severity spectrum, and lack of dental insurance was strongly associated with lack of dental care. These relationships varied depending on strata of socioeconomic status and race but the effect measure modification was not significant.

Limitations

Details of insurance coverage were unavailable; reasons for emergency care or type of private physician visited were unknown.

Conclusions

Pediatric nephrology programs may consider interventions to help direct supportive resources to families with public insurance who are at higher risk for suboptimal utilization of care. Insurance providers should identify areas to expand access for families of children with CKD.

Does Geographic Location Affect the Quality of Care? The Difference in Readmission Rates Between the Border and Non-Border Hospitals in Texas

Purpose

Materials and Methods

Results

Conclusion

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Decompensated Cirrhosis Patients Admitted to Hospitals With Acute Pulmonary Embolisms: A Nationwide Analysis

Introduction: Cirrhosis is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Recent studies suggested that cirrhosis is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which disproves the old belief that chronic liver disease coagulopathy is considered protective against VTE. We conducted a retrospective study which is to our knowledge the first of its kind to assess clinical characteristics and outcomes of decompensated cirrhosis (DC) patients admitted with acute pulmonary embolism (APE).

Methodology: We used the National Inpatient Sample database for the years 2016-2019. All adults admitted to the hospitals with a primary diagnosis of APE were included. Patients less than 18 years old, missing race, gender, or age were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups, either having DC or not. A multivariate logistic regression model was built by using only variables associated with the outcome of interest on univariable regression analysis at P < 0.05.

Results: 142 million discharges were included in the NIS database between the years 2016 and 2019, of which 1,294,039 met the study inclusion criteria, 6,200 patients (0.5%) had DC. For adult patients admitted to the hospitals with APE, odds of inpatient all-cause mortality were higher in the DC group than in patients without DC; OR of 1.996 (95% CI, 1.691-2.356, P-value < 0.000). Also, vasopressor use, mechanical ventilation, and cardiac arrest were more likely to occur in the DC group, OR of 1.506 (95% CI, 1.254-1.809, P-value < 0.000), OR of 1.479 (95% CI, 1.026-2.132, P-value 0.036), OR of 1.362 (95% CI, 1.050-1.767, P-value 0.020), respectively. In addition, DC patients tend to have higher total hospital charges and longer hospital length of stay, coefficient of 14521 (95% CI, 6752-22289, P-value < 0.000), and a coefficient of 1.399 (95% CI, 0.848-1.950, P-value < 0.000), respectively.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that DC is a powerful predictor of worse hospital outcomes in patients admitted with APE. An imbalance between clotting factors and natural anticoagulants produced by the liver is believed to be the primary etiology of thrombosis in patients with DC. The burden of APE can be much more catastrophic in cirrhotic than in non-cirrhotic patients; therefore, those patients require closer monitoring and more aggressive treatment.

Association of health insurance coverage and probability of dying in an emergency department or hospital from a motor vehicle traffic injury

OBJECTIVE

Describe the association of health insurance coverage with the odds of mortality in an emergency department (ED) or hospital for adult victims of a motor vehicle crash.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study pooled and averaged 6 years of data, 2009-2014, from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). Our analysis was restricted to patients 20-85 years old that were treated in an ED for an injury sustained from a motor vehicle traffic crash (N = 2,203,407 average annual hospital discharges). The outcome variables were whether the motor vehicle crash victim died in the ED or hospital. The predictor variable was health insurance status that was measured as uninsured, Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and other health insurance.

RESULTS

Most patients that died had some form of health insurance with less than a quarter classified as uninsured (23%). Nearly half of the patients that died had private insurance (48%) followed by Medicare (13%), Medicaid (9%), and other insurance (8%). Compared to the uninsured, the multivariate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for death were significantly (P < 0.001) lower for Medicare (OR = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.76-0.92), Medicaid (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.69-0.84), private insurance (OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.58-0.68), and other insurance (OR = O.61, 95% CI = 0.54-0.70).

CONCLUSION

After accounting for hospital and patient characteristics, lack of health insurance was associated with a higher likelihood of death for patients admitted to an ED or hospital for injuries sustained from a motor vehicle crash.

Improved survival for individuals with common chronic conditions in the Medicare population

It is well established that the United States lags behind peer nations in life expectancy, but it is less established that there is heterogeneity in life expectancy trends. We compared mortality trends from 2004 to 2014 for the United States with 17 high-income countries for persons under and over 65. The United States ranked last in survival gains for the young but ranked near the middle for persons over 65, the group with universal access to public insurance. To explore the over-65 mortality trend, we estimated Cox proportional hazards models for individuals soon after entering Medicare. These were estimated separately by race and sex, controlling for 26 chronic conditions and condition-specific time trends. The separate regressions enabled survival comparisons for the 2004 and 2014 cohorts by race and sex, conditional on baseline health. We predicted 5-year survival for all combinations of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease (IHD). All 16 combinations of these conditions showed survival gains, with diabetes as a key driver. Notably, survival improved and racial disparities narrowed for individuals with diabetes, hypertension, and IHD. White females, black females, white males, and black males gained 3.61, 3.90, 3.57, and 5.89 percentage points in 5-year survival, respectively.

Looking around the corner: COVID-19 shocks and market dynamics in US medical tourism

Patients have historically travelled from across the world to the United States for medical care that is not accessible locally or not available at the same perceived quality. The COVID-19 pandemic has nearly frozen the cross-border buying and selling of healthcare services, referred to as medical tourism. Future medical travel to the United States may also be deterred by the combination of an initially uncoordinated public health response to the pandemic, an overall troubled atmosphere arising from widely publicized racial tensions and pandemic-related disruptions among medical services providers. American hospitals have shifted attention to domestic healthcare needs and risk mitigation to reduce and recover from financial losses. While both reforms to the US healthcare system under the Biden Presidency and expansion to the Affordable Care Act will influence inbound and outbound medical tourism for the country, new international competitors are also likely to have impacts on the medical tourism markets. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, US-based providers are forging new and innovative collaborations for delivering care to patients abroad that promise more efficient and higher quality of care which do not necessitate travel.