Related Experiment Videos
Perinatal outcomes following implementation of TennCare
W A Ray1, J Gigante, E F Mitchel
1Department of Preventive Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232-2637, USA.
JAMA
|February 5, 1998
Summary
The transition to Tennessee's Medicaid program (TennCare) did not impact perinatal outcomes for Medicaid births. Key indicators like prenatal care access and birth weight remained stable after the program
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
- Maternal and Child Health
Background:
- The 1994 implementation of capitated Medicaid care in Tennessee (TennCare) raised concerns regarding potential shifts in healthcare quality.
- Evaluating the impact of this significant healthcare policy change on vulnerable populations is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effect of the TennCare transition on critical perinatal health outcomes.
- To determine if changes in healthcare delivery models influenced birth and infant health indicators.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective cohort analysis comparing perinatal outcomes before (1993) and after (1995) TennCare implementation.
- Focused on births to women enrolled in Medicaid, utilizing birth certificate data for demographic and outcome information.
Main Results:
- Analysis of over 70,000 births per year revealed no significant changes in late/inadequate prenatal care, low birth weight, very low birth weight, or infant mortality within 60 days.
- These findings persisted across multivariate analyses, high-risk subgroups, and demographic characteristic analyses.
Conclusions:
- The shift to TennCare did not adversely affect study perinatal outcomes among Medicaid births.
- This suggests the program's initiation did not negatively impact key maternal and infant health indicators in Tennessee.