J Yu et al. Pediatrics: 2022 Jan 1;149(1):e2021050353. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-050353. Open Access: Underinsurance Among Children in the United States

Methods: Secondary analysis of US children in the National Survey of Children’s Health combined 2016–2019 dataset who had continuous and adequate health insurance

Key findings:

• The proportion of US children experiencing underinsurance rose from 30.6% to 34.0% (+3.4%; 95% CI, +1.9% to +4.9%), an additional 2.4 million children
• The estimate of children lacking continuous insurance coverage rose from 8.1% to 8.7%

My take: The U.S. healthcare system is messed up. Economic incentives nudge/force families to neglect high value care frequently (& getting worse). At the same, the U.S. expends a ton of resources on low value care.

NA Wahid et al. Liver Transplantation 2021; 27: 1723-1732. Medicaid Expansion Association With End-Stage Liver Disease Mortality Depends on Leniency of Medicaid Hepatitis C Virus Coverage

Key finding:  Improvements in ESLD mortality and LDRs (listing-to-death ratios) were associated with both Medicaid expansion and leniency of HCV coverage under Medicaid. In patients living in states with nonexpansion/restrictive cohort, deaths continued to increase throughout study period.

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