Universal health coverage will not likely impact number of TJA procedures

LAS VEGAS — If findings from an earlier implementation of widespread health care coverage in Massachusetts are reflective of national results, universal health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act will not likely have a large impact on the number of total joint arthroplasty procedures performed, according to data presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

Steven M. Kurtz, PhD, said that little impact was seen in the number of total joint arthroplasties (TJAs) in Massachusetts following the implementation of mandatory health insurance policies in 2006, a policy that is widely believed to have been used to model the Affordable Care Act.

Kurtz and colleagues studied health care utilization related to TJA adjusted to 2014 dollars since the inception of the provisions in Massachusetts. The researchers studied the Massachusetts Inpatient Database and used ICD-9 codes to identify TJA procedures performed between 2002 and 2011. They used this information to discern health care utilization, and found few differences in the number of TJA procedures before and after inception of the Massachusetts provisions with the exception of a slight increase in procedures.

“If there is an effect, it is small,” Kurtz said, and added that the biggest change was seen in decreased use of Medicare in favor of private insurance in Massachusetts. -by Shirley Pulawski

Reference: Kurtz SM, et al. Paper #333. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 24-28, 2015; Las Vegas.

Disclosure: Kurtz reports no relevant financial disclosures.