Abstract
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that are living in low-income families are in double jeopardy of having a greater need for healthcare, yet having poorer access to care. In expanding Medicaid, an attempt was made towards addressing the low rates of insurance among those of lower socioeconomic status. However, the potential of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to increase access to behavioral services depends on different states’ decisions to expand Medicaid or not. Four waves of the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) datasets (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) were merged and analyzed using logistics regression. To determine the association between Medicaid expansion status and the use of pharmacological treatment, the outcome variable “Is this child CURRENTLY taking medication for Autism, ASD, Asperger’s Disorder or PDD or ADD or ADHD?” was used for the study. We found a greater proportion of the uninsured were in non-expansion states (5.7%) than in expansion states (3.2%). The result of the crude and adjusted logistics regression models indicates that living in a Medicaid expansion state decreases the likelihood of getting medication for children with ADHD or ASD more than for children in expansion states. Expansion states were significantly less likely to use medication for the treatment of ADHD or ASD. This study makes an important contribution to the larger body of knowledge on Medicaid expansion; particularly as it affects children with ADHD or ASD, an area of research where there is a paucity of evidence.
Presenters
Florida UzoaruAssistant Professor, Department of Health and Human Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University, Louisiana, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Public Health Policies and Practices
KEYWORDS
Affordable Care Act, Mental Health, Health Policy, ADHD, ASD
