Prevalence and Correlates of Unmet Medical and Social Needs in Virginia’s Medicaid Managed Long Term Services and Supports Program

Bibliographic Data

ID9099007
AuthorsSarah J Marks (0000-0002-3468-3474, Virginia Commonwealth University, corresponding author), Heather Saunders (0000-0002-4393-1660, Virginia Commonwealth University, corresponding author), Hannah Shadowen (0000-0003-1939-7311, Virginia Commonwealth University, corresponding author), Neil McCray (Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, Richmond, VA), Chethan Bachireddy (0000-0002-8855-5769, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, Richmond, VA), Sandra Dagenhart (Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, Richmond, VA), Sandra Brown (0000-0001-5146-5973, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, Richmond, VA), Sandra M Brown (Department of Medical Assistance Services), Lauren Guerra (0000-0003-2391-4692, Virginia Commonwealth University, corresponding author), Peter J Cunningham (Virginia Commonwealth University), Peter Cunningham (0000-0001-8695-7644, Virginia Commonwealth University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume62
Issue2
Pages93-101
Publication date2024-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedical Care (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0025-7079 • E-ISSN: 1537-1948
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/mlr.0000000000001957
PMID38063515
OpenAlexW4389489211
LanguageEN
References cited13

BACKGROUND: Medicaid Long Term Services and Support (LTSS) programs serve individuals with complex medical and social needs. Increasingly, state Medicaid programs are contracting with managed care organizations to administer LTSS programs. OBJECTIVES: Understand the prevalence of and risk factors for unmet medical and social needs among a sample of patients within a Medicaid managed LTSS program. METHODS: We surveyed a cross-sectional random sample of 798 community-residing individuals over 21 in Virginia who were served by the state Medicaid managed LTSS program. Outcomes of interest include 3 distinct medical needs: medical appointments, medical transportation, and prescriptions; 4 distinct social needs: housing security, food security, utility bills, and nonmedical transportation, and composite measures of unmet social and medical needs. RESULTS: We found that 12.5% of our sample had any unmet medical need, while far more (62.2%) of our sample had any unmet social needs, with food insecurity being the most common. We found that members of color had almost 2 times the odds of having both unmet social and medical needs [social: adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 2.21; 95% confidence Interval (CI): (1.59, 3.09); medical aOR: 2.25 ; 95% CI: (1.34, 3.8)]. CONCLUSION: Medicaid members may not be fully realizing the potential of LTSS programs and would benefit from both Medicaid agency and managed care organizations' strategies aimed at addressing social drivers of health. To achieve health equity for LTSS members of color, Medicaid agencies may consider policies specifically targeting racial disparities

Business · Environmental health · Family medicine · Health care · Logistic regression · Medicaid · Odds · Odds ratio · Social security · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Gerontology

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