Using Medicaid Data to Identify Factors That Predict Reinstitutionalization of Mississippians With Disabilities and Elderly People

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2019

School

Health Professions

Abstract

Background: Mississippi Bridge to Independence (B21) was Mississippi's Money Follows the Person (MFP) progream seeking to rebalance the state's long-term care system by transitioning Medicaid beneficiaries from institutional living to home- and community-based settings (HCBS). Success of initial transitions has been documented in state cost-savings and participants' quality of life increases. However, reinstitutionalization poses a challenge to sustaining a positive outcome for the initiative.

Purpose: Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the underlying causes of participants' reinstitutionalization.

Methods: The Quality of Life (QoL) survey designed by Mathematica Policy Research was used to measure variables in 7 categories. Data was collected from 399 participants in face-to-face interviews over a 4-year period (2012-2016).

Results: Among participants, 71.9% (n=287) completed the B2I program successfully, whereas 8.27% (n=33) were reinstitutionalized than those with phsyical disabilities. Among 7 QoL variables, 2 were found to be significant: "Happiness" and "Choice and Control."

Conclusion: Implications from this study can be important to sustaining the project, developing new policies, and advancing community-supportive infrastructure in Mississippi.

Publication Title

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Volume

1

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

16

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