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Insurance status and mortality among patients with AIDS
Author(s) -
Jabs AW,
Jabs DA,
Van Natta ML,
Palella FJ,
Meinert CL
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.53
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1468-1293
pISSN - 1464-2662
DOI - 10.1111/hiv.12531
Subject(s) - medicine , medicaid , hazard ratio , observational study , proportional hazards model , cart , confidence interval , diabetes mellitus , health care , demography , family medicine , emergency medicine , mechanical engineering , sociology , engineering , economics , economic growth , endocrinology
Objectives The aim of the study was to evaluate risk factors for mortality, including health care insurance status, among patients with AIDS in the era of modern combination antiretroviral therapy ( cART ). Methods This study was part of the prospective, multicentre, observational Longitudinal Study of the Ocular Complications of AIDS ( LSOCA ). Patients were classified as having private health care insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, or no insurance. Hazard ratios ( HR s) for death were calculated using proportional hazards regression models and staggered entries, anchored to the AIDS diagnosis date. Results Among 2363 participants with AIDS , 97% were treated with cART . At enrolment, 31% of participants had private insurance, 29% had Medicare, 24% had Medicaid, and 16% were uninsured. Noninfectious, age‐related diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and renal disease, were more frequent among persons with Medicare than among those with private insurance. Compared with those who were privately insured, mortality was greater among participants with Medicare [adjusted HR ( HR adj ) 1.35; 95% confidence interval ( CI ) 1.08–1.67; P = 0.008]. Among participants with a suppressed HIV viral load, compared with those who were privately insured, HR adj values for mortality were 1.93 (95% CI 1.08–3.44; P = 0.02) for those with Medicare and 2.09 (95% CI 1.02–4.27; P = 0.04) for those with Medicaid. Mortality among initially uninsured participants was not significantly different from that for privately insured participants, but these participants typically obtained ART and insurance during follow‐up. Compared with privately insured participants, time‐updated HR adj values for mortality were 1.34 (95% CI 1.05–1.70; P = 0.02) for those with Medicare, 1.34 (95% CI 1.01–1.80; P = 0.05) for those with Medicaid, and 1.35 (95% CI 0.97–1.88; P = 0.05) for those who were uninsured. Conclusions In persons with AIDS, compared with those with private insurance, those with public insurance had increased mortality, possibly as a result of a greater burden of noninfectious, age‐related diseases.