County-level Variation in the Prevalence of Medicaid-enrolled Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Overview

Journal J Autism Dev Disord

Publisher Springer

Date 2010 Mar 3

PMID 20195736

Citations 11

Authors

David S Mandell

Knashawn H Morales

Ming Xie

Daniel Polsky

Aubyn Stahmer

Steven C Marcus

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This study examined how county-level resources are associated with the identification of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Medicaid. Medicaid claims from 2004 were combined with county-level data. There were 61,891 children diagnosed with ASD in the Medicaid system in 2004. Counties with lower per-student education expenditures, more students, a greater proportion of students in special education, higher per capita number of pediatricians and pediatric specialists, and a greater proportion of Medicaid enrollees and white residents had higher Medicaid prevalence. Within states, counties differ in how they implement Medicaid policies. The results suggest the substitution of education and Medicaid-reimbursed services. Our findings highlight the need for geographically targeted outreach to minority groups and clinicians to improve recognition of ASD.

Citing Articles

Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in a large, diverse metropolitan area: Variation by sociodemographic factors.

Shenouda J, Barrett E, Davidow A, Halperin W, Silenzio V, Zahorodny W Autism Res. 2021; 15(1):146-155.

PMID: 34672116 PMC: 8755586. DOI: 10.1002/aur.2628.

Heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorder Case-Finding Algorithms in United States Health Administrative Database Analyses.

Grosse S, Nichols P, Nyarko K, Maenner M, Danielson M, Shea L J Autism Dev Disord. 2021; 52(9):4150-4163.

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Understanding Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Autism-Related Service Use Among Medicaid-Enrolled Children.

Bilaver L, Sobotka S, Mandell D J Autism Dev Disord. 2020; 51(9):3341-3355.

PMID: 33219917 PMC: 8137720. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04797-6.

Accuracy of Reported Community Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Hausman-Kedem M, Kosofsky B, Ross G, Yohay K, Forrest E, Dennin M J Psychopathol Behav Assess. 2018; 40(3):367-375.

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Development of a Machine Learning Algorithm for the Surveillance of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Maenner M, Yeargin-Allsopp M, Braun K, Christensen D, Schieve L PLoS One. 2016; 11(12):e0168224.

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