Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of patients with Medicaid versus no insurance at the start of dialysis
| Characteristic | No Insurance at Day 1, n=6358 | Medicaid at Day 1, n=4322 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N or Mean | Percent or SD | N or Mean | Percent or SD | |
| Age, yra | 48 | 11 | 48 | 11 |
| Sexb | ||||
| Women | 2105 | 33% | 1878 | 44% |
| Men | 4253 | 67% | 2444 | 57% |
| Raceb | ||||
| White | 3571 | 56% | 2396 | 55% |
| Black | 2518 | 40% | 1649 | 38% |
| Otherc | 269 | 4% | 277 | 6% |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| Hispanicd | 1521 | 24% | 1039 | 24% |
| Employedb,e | 1021 | 16% | 374 | 9% |
| BMI, kg/m2f | ||||
| <18.5 | 189 | 3% | 126 | 3% |
| 18.5 to <30 | 3607 | 57% | 2410 | 56% |
| 30 to <40 | 1831 | 29% | 1222 | 29% |
| ≥40 | 677 | 11% | 523 | 12% |
| Albumin, g/dla,f | ||||
| <2.5 | 1072 | 23% | 797 | 26% |
| 2.5 to <3 | 1170 | 26% | 761 | 25% |
| 3 to <3.5 | 1202 | 26% | 724 | 23% |
| ≥3.5 | 1133 | 25% | 807 | 26% |
| Hemoglobin category, g/dlb,f | ||||
| <8 | 1363 | 25% | 769 | 20% |
| 8 to <9 | 1356 | 24% | 874 | 23% |
| 9 to <11 | 2086 | 38% | 1598 | 42% |
| ≥11 | 744 | 13% | 548 | 15% |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Coronary artery diseaseb | 424 | 7% | 420 | 10% |
| Congestive heart failureb | 1280 | 20% | 1107 | 26% |
| Cancerb | 121 | 2% | 132 | 3% |
| Hypertensiona | 5614 | 88% | 3721 | 86% |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseb | 231 | 4% | 286 | 7% |
| Diabetes mellitusb | 2894 | 46% | 2366 | 55% |
| Peripheral vascular diseaseb | 323 | 5% | 382 | 9% |
| Prior strokeb | 277 | 4% | 308 | 7% |
| Drug dependencea | 401 | 6% | 340 | 8% |
| Smoker | 785 | 12% | 510 | 12% |
| Patient institutionalizedb | 95 | 2% | 246 | 6% |
| Needs assistance with ADLs and/or inability to transferb | 303 | 5% | 483 | 11% |
| Facility characteristics | ||||
| Large dialysis organization | 4172 | 66% | 2869 | 66% |
| Facility is for profita | 5331 | 84% | 3693 | 85% |
| Facility is hospital basedb | 625 | 10% | 291 | 7% |
| Total facility patients per yearb | ||||
| 0–50 | 1114 | 18% | 693 | 16% |
| 51–100 | 2726 | 43% | 1708 | 40% |
| 101–150 | 1509 | 24% | 1124 | 26% |
| >150 | 1009 | 16% | 797 | 18% |
| Full-time patient-to-nurse/technician ratiob | ||||
| <7 | 3368 | 53% | 2089 | 48% |
| ≥7 | 2990 | 47% | 2233 | 52% |
| Residence characteristics | ||||
| Urban | 4762 | 75% | 3234 | 75% |
| Poverty in zip code,b % | ||||
| <15 | 2143 | 34% | 1274 | 30% |
| 15 to <25 | 2244 | 35% | 1603 | 37% |
| ≥25 | 1971 | 31% | 1445 | 33% |
| Less than high school education in zip code,b % | ||||
| <15 | 2354 | 37% | 1450 | 34% |
| 15 to <30 | 2869 | 45% | 1985 | 46% |
| ≥30 | 1135 | 18% | 887 | 21% |
| Year of dialysis start | ||||
| 2010 | 1127 | 18% | 770 | 18% |
| 2011 | 2223 | 35% | 1430 | 33% |
| 2012 | 1852 | 29% | 1358 | 31% |
| 2013 | 1156 | 18% | 764 | 18% |
| Season of dialysis starta | ||||
| Winter | 1773 | 28% | 1126 | 26% |
| Spring | 1511 | 24% | 1132 | 26% |
| Summer | 1532 | 24% | 1033 | 24% |
| Fall | 1542 | 24% | 1031 | 24% |
BMI, body mass index; ADL, Activities of Daily Living.
a
P<0.05.
b
P<0.001.
c
Other race includes Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, and people with unknown or missing race.
d
Hispanic ethnicity was determined using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-2728 (CMS-2728) form.
e
Employment status was determined using the CMS-2728 form and included full-time and part-time employment. Patients who were retired, students, and homemakers were categorized as not employed.
f
The following variables had missing values: body mass index (n=95, 1% missing), serum albumin (n=3014, 28% missing), and hemoglobin concentration (n=1342, 13% missing).