An analysis published Wednesday found that Black Medicaid patients are more likely to be hospitalized for preventable conditions.
The new analysis by the Urban Institute found that Black Medicaid enrollees were “significantly more likely” to be hospitalized for preventable reasons than white patients. Preventable conditions included asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes and heart failure.
“This analysis of preventable hospitalizations among Medicaid-enrolled adults finds higher rates of preventable hospitalizations by SSI status and for Black versus white enrollees and documents considerable variation in preventable hospitalizations across states,” according to the analysis.
“Documenting these patterns represents an important step in identifying populations at especially high risk for experiencing preventable hospitalizations,” it continued.
The analysis found that 12.7 percent of Black patients among those who were previously diagnosed with heart failure and could enroll in Medicaid through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program had a preventable hospitalization. This is nearly twice the rate of white enrollees, of which about 7.2 percent experienced preventable hospitalizations.