TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | a p r i l 2 0 1 5 30 By Arthur Garson Jr., M.D., MPH Director of the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute HERE'S HOW IT WORKS: A state legislator (or staff), or member of the state, county or city administration goes to www.TMC72.org and enters a question on health data. This program is also available to TMC member CEOs and government affairs staff. The requester is always kept confidential. The question is analyzed rapidly by our staff, who then go to work to provide data from a number of sources. An answer is returned within 72 hours. See examples at right. T he day the legislative session opened, TMC|72 was born. TMC|72 is a program of the TMC Health Policy Institute that provides a 72-hour turnaround for requests for health data or analysis. As the session is proceeding and people are understanding what TMC|72 does, the requests are rolling in. And it's free. REQUEST: What are the top five health care issues/diagnoses for women aged 18-65 at 200 percent federal poverty level* (FPL) and below? Information specific to Texas would be helpful. RESPONSE: The most common diagnoses among women within this age group are similar, regardless of income; however, issues related to screenings, treatments and outcomes can be significantly different, depending on income. Some background information is provided: • In Texas, about 9.9 million people, or 37 percent of the total population, are below 200 percent FPL • Approximately 3.3 million women in Texas are at or below 200 percent FPL • Among women aged between 19 and 64 in Texas, 16 percent are below 100 percent FPL Women who are under 200 percent FPL and unin- sured receive less preventive care and less treatment for diseases and chronic conditions. They are more likely to have diagnoses of advanced stage disease, and have significantly higher mortality rates from many diseases… (Included 13 references) * The federal poverty level is defined as $11,670 for a single person, and $23,850 for a family of four. REQUEST: What data/evidence exists that shows how health care consumers who have cost sharing (e.g. co-pays) comply with providers' orders (e.g. follow-up visits), compared to consumers who do not participate in cost sharing? RESPONSE: Evidence from a 1970 study demonstrated that cost- sharing decreased the number of outpatient visits [...] Surprisingly, this has not been studied recently [...] In April, TMC is releasing the results of a survey addressing this issue. (Included 8 references) 2 3 1 H H E A L T H P O L I C Y Al Po i L e Th C y

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