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Abstract:
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The majority of healthcare occurs in primary care, which involves the widest scope of care. Studying health policy changes in primary care settings have substantial impact. Statisticians play a crucial role in rigorously evaluating how health policy changes affect clinical care and patient health. We present our approach for evaluating two health policy changes using electronic health record data. First, there is continued debate around the best way to improve health outcomes while decreasing expenditures. We will present an evaluation of an Alternative Payment Methodology that changed Medicaid fee-for-service payments to capitated payments, providing evidence on the most effective payment methodology. Second, we present a study that assesses the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on healthcare utilization and health overall. As national discussion around repealing and replacing the ACA continues, providing timely scientific evidence of its impact could influence future reform. As demonstrated in these projects, statisticians play fundamental roles in the rigorous study of the complex analytic challenges in studying our present-day health policy environment.
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