Oral

While geographic variations in Medicare spending and utilization has been well documented, less information has been available for the Medicaid program. The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the Department of Health and Human Services is developing and will launch the Medicaid Atlas of Health Care web site in 2012. In this session, a panel will examine different dimensions of area-level differences in Medicaid spending, utilization, and quality of care for three types of services -— acute care, mental health and long-term care. Data from the 2000-2007 Medicaid Analytical eXtract (MAX) will be presented at both the state and sub-state levels, controlling for area differences in health status, health care prices, and demographic traits of Medicaid beneficiaries. Prominent experts will discuss these results.

Session Objectives: Describe geographic variations in utilization of care by Medicaid beneficiaries. Compare differences of Medicaid enrollees' use of acute care, mental health care, and long-term care. Assess variation in Medicaid utilization at both the state and sub-state levels. Analyze variations controlling for health, price differences, and demographic traits of beneficiaries.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)