 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
|
| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Ivis T. Forrester-Anderson, PhD, RD, Family and Consumer Sciences, Morgan State University, 1700 Coldspring Lane, Baltimore, MD 21251, 443-885-3905, Dr__Ivisforrester@hotmail.com, Emmanuel A. Taylor, MSc, DrPH, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Morgan State University, 1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Jenkins Bldg., Suite 351, Baltimore, MD 21251, and Dennis L. Anderson, PhD, DVM, Dept. of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, Tuskegee University, Patterson Hall, Tuskegee, AL 36088.
Cardiovascular diseases and risk factors contribute significantly toward the escalation in health care costs. The economic impact has posed a challenge to individuals and families, the health care system and the nation’s over-all resources. Medical service and supply utilization, expenditures and sources of payment are not evenly distributed among racial/ethnic groups. Data utilized in this analysis were on adults 25 years and older, derived from the Household Component of the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) of health care costs and utilization. The survey collected nationally representative data on the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population by the use of computer-assisted personal interviewing. MEPS was co-sponsored by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality and the National Center for Health Statistics. The data were analyzed using the Software for Survey Data Analysis (SUDAAN). The findings show that blacks, Hispanics and others (B/H/O) with CVD/risk factors utilized less ambulatory physician visits (p<.001); were prescribed less number of medications (p<.001) and had a higher percent with emergency room visits (p<.001) compared to whites. Mean total medical expenditures for inpatient hospitalization, ambulatory physician visits and ambulatory non-physician services, although higher in B/H/O with CVD/risk factors, were not significantly different from whites. B/H/O with only CVD, had significantly less expenditures (p<.001) for prescribed medications compared to whites. The inequity in medical resource utilization may be an important factor in the prevailing disparities in cardiovascular health in the U.S. Implications for improving access to appropriate quality medical care will be discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Cost Issues, Access to Health Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.