MRT Supportive Housing Evaluation: Outcomes Report 2, Volume 2: Treatment versus comparison Groups, Pre-Post Analyses

Authors

Sandra McGinnis, University at Albany, State University of New York
Margaret Gullick, University at Albany, State University of New York
Mir Nahid Mahmud, University at Albany, State University of New York
Chris E. Rees, University at Albany, State University of New York
Lauren Polvere, University at Albany, State University of New York

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

6-2020

Abstract

This report details outcomes related to quality of life associated with enrollment in programs sponsored by the New York State Medicaid Redesign Team’s Supportive Housing initiative (MRT-SH). It also includes a summary of these projects and selected outcomes for Treatment participants (i.e., clients enrolled in MRT-SH) versus a Comparison group of people similar to MRT-SH clients but who were not enrolled. For each included MRT-SH participant, outcomes data are presented from one year before participant enrollment through the first year post-enrollment; for each included comparison participant, outcomes data are presented for a similar two-year timespan. The goal of the analysis is to present a comparison between changes in outcomes before and after MRT-SH program enrollment for enrolled clients versus similar but not enrolled Medicaid users.

These outcomes include overall inpatient utilization (both as a binary yes/no variable, as well as number of days utilized), overall emergency department (ED) utilization (again as a binary yes/no variable as well as number of visits), inpatient and ED use for certain conditions of interest (e.g., behavioral health conditions, housing-sensitive conditions), and potentially preventable ED use. Other outcomes of interest are nursing home utilization, homeless shelter stays, and recorded mortality. It should be noted that the propensity score modeling and subsequent matching procedure were optimized around Medicaid costs, not service utilization. As such, matched pairs of clients have similar levels of pre-period Medicaid spending, but are not necessarily similar in their pre-period utilization of services. Pre-period differences in utilization-based outcomes require a difference-in-differences approach to assessing treatment effects, which is less ideal than using a propensity score model specifically optimized for these outcomes.

Recommended Citation

McGinnis, Sandra; Gullick, Margaret; Mahmud, Mir Nahid; Rees, Chris E.; and Polvere, Lauren, "MRT Supportive Housing Evaluation: Outcomes Report 2, Volume 2: Treatment versus comparison Groups, Pre-Post Analyses" (2020). Health and Healthcare Services Reports and Research Briefs. 12.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/chsr-hhs-reports-and-briefs/12