Disparities in postdischarge follow-up and risk of readmission between Medicaid and privately insured patients.

Background: Studies have identified higher risk of readmission for patients with Medicaid compared to those with private insurance. Postdischarge follow-up is utilized as an intervention to reduce readmissions in the Medicare population, but it is unclear whether follow-up reduces risk of readmission for patients with Medicaid.

Objective: To assess whether follow-up within 30 days of discharge reduces risk of readmission and mitigates readmission disparities based upon insurance status.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used Cox proportional hazard and competing risk models to estimate associations between sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, follow-up, and readmission. We analyzed data from 4281 patients aged 21-64 years with Medicaid or private insurance who were hospitalized from January 2017 to December 2019 for one of five conditions associated with high risk of readmission. Outpatient follow-up within 30 days of discharge and 30-day all-cause readmission were outcomes.

Results: Overall risk of readmission was similar for Medicaid and privately insured patients in this cohort (13.7% and 14.5%, respectively). Patients with Medicaid were 23% points less likely to complete outpatient follow-up within 30 days compared to patients with private insurance (p < .001). However, outpatient follow-up before readmission within 30 days of discharge was not associated with a significant difference in readmission rate (hazard ratio: 1.10, 95% confidence interval: 0.91-1.32) in the overall sample or in analysis stratified by payer.

Conclusions: We found similar rates of readmission for Medicaid and privately insured patients despite significant disparities in postdischarge follow-up. Timely follow-up care alone may not be sufficient as an intervention to reduce readmissions.