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Maternal Health Insurance Coverage as a Determinant of Obstetrical Anesthesia Care
- Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 12, Number 2, May 2001
- pp. 177-191
- 10.1353/hpu.2010.0780
- Article
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This study measures the association between health insurance and the likelihood of receiving different obstetrical anesthesia protocols among 121,351 singleton live births in upstate New York during 1992. Mothers receiving a cesarean under Medicaid were approximately twice as likely to receive general anesthesia as those with traditional private coverage. Those receiving a cesarean under an HMO were least likely to receive general anesthesia with adjusted odds of 0.73 (confidence interval [CI] = 0.68-0.79), compared to those with traditional private insurance. Those delivering vaginally under Medicaid, HMO, or no coverage had adjusted odds of receiving an epidural of 0.45 (CI = 0.43-0.48), 0.68 (CI = 0.64-0.71), and 0.44 (CI = 0.38-0.52), respectively, compared to those under traditional private insurance. Although there was some differences by race, the strongest determinant of anesthesia remained insurance type. Insurance-mediated disparities in obstetrical anesthesia care are evident in upstate New York and warrant further study nationally.