TY - JOUR PY - 2021// TI - Association of Medicaid expansion with suicide deaths among nonelderly U.S. adults JO - American journal of epidemiology A1 - Austin, Anna E. A1 - Naumann, Rebecca B. A1 - Short, Nicole A. SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - In 2014, the Affordable Care Act gave states the option to expand Medicaid coverage to nonelderly adults (18-64 years) with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. The association of Medicaid expansion with suicide, a leading cause of death in the U.S., has not been examined. We used 2005-2017 National Violent Death Reporting System data for eight Medicaid expansion and seven non-expansion states. We examined the association of Medicaid expansion with rates of suicide death among nonelderly adults per 100,000 population using a difference-in-differences approach. Adjusting for state-level confounders, Medicaid expansion states had 1.2 (95% CI -2.5, 0.1) fewer suicide deaths per 100,000 population per year in the post-expansion period than would have been expected if they had followed the same trend in suicide rates as non-expansion states. Medicaid expansion was associated with reductions in suicide rates among women, men, those 30-44 years, white, non-Hispanic individuals, and those without a college degree. Medicaid expansion was not associated with a change in suicide rates among those 18-29 or 45-64 years, and non-white or Hispanic individuals. Overall, Medicaid expansion was associated with reductions in rates of suicide death among nonelderly adults. Further research on inequities in expansion benefits is needed.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0002-9262 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwab130 ID - ref1 ER -