The Affordable Care Act's “community first choice” option: Effect on long-term care expenditures

Objective

To empirically assess the effect of adopting Affordable Care Act's Community First Choice (CFC) option on overall state home and community-based services (HCBS) expenditures as well as distribution of HCBS expenditures across different HCBS mechanisms. We also explore the heterogeneous effect of CFC across adopting states.

Data Source

We used data from the Medicaid Long Term Services and Support (LTSS) expenditure reports prepared by Truven Analytics and Mathematica for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from 2008–2018 for all 48 states and the District of Columbia.

Study Design

An event-study difference-in-differences model was used to estimate the effect of CFC on HCBS expenditures using Medicaid LTSS expenditure reports from 2008–2018. We also employ the synthetic control method to unmask heterogeneity across CFC adopting states using data from 2008–2018.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

Not applicable.

Principal Findings

Overall, CFC was not associated with a change in HCBS expenditures per capita or HCBS expenditures as a proportion of LTSS expenditures. However, there appears to be an increase in HCBS expenditures among states that were institutionally-oriented prior to CFC adoption. Additionally, CFC adoption was associated with an overall decrease in expenditures in alternative HCBS mechanisms (Personal Care Services State Plan Option and 1915(c) waivers), suggesting potential substitution across overlapping programs.

Conclusion

Results indicate heterogeneity across states adopting CFC. More institutionally-oriented states appear to use CFC to expand HCBS. In contrast, more HCBS-oriented states appear to employ CFC to strategically restructure their overall portfolio and processes.     

稳定性冠心病血瘀证的血浆定量蛋白质组学探析＊

目的 基于数据非依赖性采集的定量蛋白质组学技术（data independent acquisition，DIA）对稳定性冠心病血瘀证患者的血浆蛋白质进行研究分析，初步探索冠心病血瘀证的关键生物学过程与核心靶点。方法 选择中国中医科学院广安门医院心血管科收治的5例稳定性冠心病患者作为疾病观察组，同时选取健康成人5人作为对照组，采用DIA蛋白质组学技术对受试者的血浆进行检测，确定蛋白质表达量后进行差异蛋白质表达分析、GO富集分析、KEGG信号通路图查询和蛋白质互作网络分析。结果 在差异倍数为1.5倍时，疾病观察组相比于健康对照组，共鉴定到22个蛋白质下调，9个蛋白质上调。进一步的生物信息学分析表明，冠心病血瘀证的生物学过程与补体参与的慢性炎症反应有关，关键信号通路是补体与凝血级联反应的信号通路，核心蛋白质为C反应蛋白、转甲状腺素蛋白、补体因子H、维生素D结合蛋白等。结论 冠心病血瘀证的生物学过程与补体参与的慢性炎症反应有关。     

胰腺切除患者围术期血糖管理的最佳证据总结

背景血糖紊乱是胰腺切除患者围术期常见问题。然而，目前国内开展的胰腺切除患者围术期血糖管理实践多以经验为指导，缺乏循证依据。目的总结胰腺切除患者围术期血糖管理的最佳证据。方法系统检索BMJ最佳临床实践、Up to Date、国际指南协作组、国际糖尿病联盟（IDF）、世界卫生组织（WHO）、美国国立指南数据库（NGC）、美国糖尿病协会、英国国家临床优化研究所（NICE）、新西兰指南研究组、加拿大糖尿病协会、澳大利亚糖尿病协会、苏格兰校际指南网络（SIGN）、PubMed、Web of Science、EMBase、CINHAL数据库、Cochrane图书馆、乔安娜布里格斯研究所（JBI）循证卫生保健中心、医脉通、万方数据知识服务平台、中国知网（CNKI）、生物医学数据库（CBM），筛选关于胰腺切除患者围术期血糖管理的文献。检索时间为建库至2020年12月。指南的质量评价采用国际AGREE协作组织2009年更新的AGREE Ⅱ量表。专家共识的质量评价采用澳大利亚JBI循证卫生保健中心专家共识评价标准2017版。随机对照试验的评价采用Jadad评分量表。结果通过初步检索筛选出文献6 637篇，最终纳入文献13篇，其中7篇为临床实践指南，4篇为专家共识，2篇为随机对照试验。评价结果显示，7篇临床实践指南中3篇总体质量评价为A级，剩下4篇为B级；4篇专家共识的质量评价在"观点与其他文献不一致的地方是否有合理解释？"条目的评价结果为"不清楚"，其余条目的评价结果均为"是"。2篇随机对照试验均为高质量文献。共汇总了62条最佳证据，主要涉及围术期组织管理、入院评估及处理、血糖控制目标、血糖监测、术前血糖管理策略、术中血糖管理策略、术后血糖管理策略、危急状况处理以及出院指导9个方面。结论临床医务人员应根据总结的9个方面最佳证据（包括围术期组织管理、入院评估及处理、血糖控制目标、血糖监测、术前血糖管理策略、术中血糖管理策略、术后血糖管理策略、危急状况处理以及出院指导）为胰腺切除患者制定个体化、全程化的围术期血糖管理方案。     

Emergency Care EMTALA Alterations During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

The coronavirus 2019 pandemic has affected almost every aspect of health care delivery in the United States, and the emergency medicine system has been hit particularly hard while dealing with this public health crisis. In an unprecedented time in our history, medical systems and clinicians have been asked to be creative, flexible, and innovative, all while continuing to uphold the important standards in the US health care system. To continue providing quality services to patients during this extraordinary time, care providers, organizations, administrators, and insurers have needed to alter longstanding models and procedures to respond to the dynamics of a pandemic. The Emergency Medicine Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986, or EMTALA, is 1 example of where these alterations have allowed health care facilities and clinicians to continue their work of caring for patients while protecting both the patients and the clinicians themselves from infectious exposures at the same time.     

Moderately increased alcohol consumption is associated with higher pressure wave reflections and blood pressure in men

Background and aimsIncreased alcohol consumption has been associated with CVD risk. Subclinical arterial damage (SAD) precedes the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and allows early identification and study of the pathophysiology of CVD. Reliable, noninvasive vascular biomarkers are available for the early detection of SAD and reclassification of CVD risk. To investigate the association of alcohol consumption with multiple SAD biomarkers and central hemodynamics in a large sample of Greek adults with CVD risk factors.Methods and resultsThis cross-sectional study was conducted with 938 participants (43.5% men) and collected data on SAD biomarkers, central hemodynamics, and dietary intake. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed according to sex after adjusting for several confounders. In men, alcohol consumption of 20–30 g/d was positively associated with mean, diastolic, and peripheral systolic blood pressure (BP). The consumption of >30 g/d was positively associated with the augmentation index. In women, no statistically significant associations were found between alcohol consumption and BP or SAD indices. No statistically significant associations were found between alcohol consumption and arterial compliance or distensibility in both sexes.ConclusionIn men even a small deviation from the current recommendation for alcohol consumption is associated with both higher BP indices and pressure wave reflections. The absence of association in women might be due to very low alcohol intake, even in the high consumption group. More studies are needed to verify our findings and establish the above associations in each sex.