Publications [#349699] of Frank A. Sloan

Journal Articles

1. Yan, BW; Sloan, FA; Boscardin, WJ; Guo, F; Dudley, RA, The Opioid Epidemic Blunted the Mortality Benefit of Medicaid Expansion., Medical care research and review : MCRR, vol. 78 no. 2 (April, 2021), pp. 103-112 [doi]
   (last updated on 2025/05/31)

   Abstract:
   Although the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion reduced uninsurance, less is known about its impact on mortality, especially in the context of the opioid epidemic. We conducted a difference-in-differences study comparing trends in mortality between expansion and nonexpansion states from 2011 to 2016 using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mortality data. We analyzed all-cause deaths, health care amenable deaths, drug overdose deaths, and deaths from causes other than drug overdose among adults aged 20 to 64 years. Medicaid expansion was associated with a 2.7% reduction (p = .020) in health care amenable mortality, and a 1.9% reduction (p = .042) in mortality not due to drug overdose. However, the expansion was not associated with any change in all-cause mortality (0.2% reduction, p = .84). In addition, drug overdose deaths rose more sharply in expansion versus nonexpansion states. The absence of all-cause mortality reduction until drug overdose deaths were excluded indicate that the opioid epidemic had a mitigating impact on any potential lives saved by Medicaid expansion.