TABLE 1—
Population Characteristics for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program Patients With Medicaid by Number of Hospitalizations and ED Visits: Boston, MA, 2010
| No. of Hospitalizations |
No. of ED Visits |
|||||||
| Characteristics | Total (n = 6494), Mean ±SD or No. (%) | 0 (n = 4287), Mean ±SD or No. (%) | 1–2 (n = 1436), Mean ±SD or No. (%) | ≥ 3 (n = 771), Mean ±SD or No. (%) | 0 (n = 1990), Mean ±SD or No. (%) | 1–2 (n = 1932), Mean ±SD or No. (%) | 3–5 (n = 1168), Mean ±SD or No. (%) | ≥ 6 (n = 1404), Mean ±SD or No. (%) |
| Age,a,b y | 45.5 ±13.3 | 45.4 ±13.5 | 45.5 ±13.1 | 46.8 ±12.1 | 47.8 ±13.4 | 45.1 ±14.2 | 44.3 ±12.5 | 43.8 ±11.7 |
| Genderb,c | ||||||||
| Male | 4587 (71) | 3058 (71) | 956 (67) | 573 (74) | 1472 (74) | 1329 (69) | 801 (69) | 985 (70) |
| Female | 1907 (29) | 1229 (29) | 480 (33) | 198 (26) | 428 (26) | 603 (31) | 367 (31) | 419 (30) |
| Race/ethnicityb | ||||||||
| Non-Latino White | 2868 (44) | 1692 (39) | 709 (49) | 467 (61) | 786 (40) | 756 (39) | 530 (45) | 796 (57) |
| Non-Latino African American | 2058 (32) | 1487 (35) | 397 (28) | 174 (23) | 683 (34) | 660 (34) | 369 (32) | 346 (25) |
| Latino | 986 (15) | 702 (16) | 210 (15) | 74 (10) | 333 (17) | 314 (16) | 169 (14) | 170 (12) |
| Other | 214 (3) | 155 (4) | 43 (3) | 16 (2) | 77 (4) | 73 (4) | 35 (3) | 29 (2) |
| Unknown | 368 (6) | 251 (6) | 77 (5) | 40 (5) | 111 (6) | 129 (7) | 65 (6) | 63 (4) |
| Insurance and disability | ||||||||
| Medicareb,d | 1761 (27) | 1006 (23) | 440 (31) | 315 (41) | 579 (29) | 532 (28) | 294 (25) | 356 (25) |
| Medicaid enrollment daysa,c | 340.8 ±61.7 | 335.9 ±68.9 | 347.4 ±49.6 | 356.0 ±33.3 | 326.7 ±79.9 | 340.4 ±61.3 | 349.1 ±46.7 | 354.6 ±35.9 |
| Disabilityb,c | 3734 (58) | 2191 (51) | 951 (66) | 592 (77) | 1044 (52) | 1085 (56) | 682 (58) | 923 (66) |
| Housing statusb,c | ||||||||
| Housed | 1391 (21) | 953 (22) | 306 (21) | 132 (17) | 527 (26) | 453 (23) | 214 (18) | 197 (14) |
| Doubled up or motel | 696 (11) | 486 (11) | 146 (10) | 64 (8) | 248 (12) | 217 (11) | 100 (9) | 131 (9) |
| Transitional housing or residential treatment | 1105 (17) | 700 (16) | 257 (18) | 148 (19) | 250 (13) | 303 (16) | 271 (23) | 281 (20) |
| Shelter | 2448 (38) | 1602 (37) | 545 (38) | 301 (39) | 681 (34) | 732 (38) | 446 (38) | 589 (42) |
| Street | 253 (4) | 135 (3) | 60 (4) | 58 (8) | 53 (3) | 54 (3) | 39 (3) | 107 (8) |
| Unknown | 601 (9) | 411 (10) | 122 (9) | 68 (9) | 231 (12) | 173 (9) | 98 (8) | 99 (7) |
| Behavioral health disorders | ||||||||
| Any mental illnessb,c | 4384 (68) | 2469 (58) | 1186 (83) | 729 (95) | 944 (47) | 1274 (66) | 921 (79) | 1245 (89) |
| Any SUDsb,c | 3890 (60) | 2017 (48) | 1104 (77) | 714 (93) | 701 (35) | 1078 (56) | 860 (74) | 1251 (89) |
| Co-occurring mental illness and SUDsb,c | 3135 (48) | 1489 (35) | 961 (67) | 685 (89) | 463 (23) | 818 (42) | 722 (62) | 1132 (81) |
| Selected physical conditions: anyb,c | 4215 (65) | 2395 (56) | 1119 (78) | 701 (91) | 1061 (53) | 1201 (62) | 810 (69) | 1143 (81) |
| Disease burden: DxCG scoreb,c | 3.8 ±3.8 | 2.2 ±1.8 | 5.3 ±3.1 | 9.9 ±5.3 | 1.9 ±2.2 | 3.2 ±3.2 | 4.5 ±4.0 | 6.6 ±4.4 |
| Service utilization | ||||||||
| Ambulatory care office visitsb,c | 10.0 ±11.0 | 8.6 ±9.8 | 12.0 ±11.4 | 14.3 ±14.0 | 7.1 ±8.4 | 9.6 ±9.4 | 11.8 ±13.1 | 13.3 ±12.8 |
| Hospitalizationsb,c | 1.0 ±2.4 | 0 | 1.3 ±0.5 | 6.0 ±4.0 | 0.2 ±0.7 | 0.5 ±1.1 | 1.0 ±1.8 | 2.8 ±4.0 |
| ED visitsb,c | 4.0 ±7.3 | 2.1 ±3.7 | 5.1 ±6.8 | 12.7 ±14.0 | 0 | 1.4 ±0.5 | 3.8 ±0.8 | 13.6 ±11.1 |
Note. ED = emergency department; SUD = substance use disorders. Selected physical conditions include hepatitis C, HIV, liver cirrhosis, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, congestive heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and diabetes.
a
P < .05 for hospitalizations.
b
P < .01 for ED visits.
c
P < .01 for hospitalizations.
d
P < .05 for ED visits.